Veg bags

This is one of the veg bags alongside our south facing kitchen/bathroom extension. It's all concrete along here so raised beds of some sort or pots are the only realistic option for growing plants. For many years I grew chillies and tomatoes in pots but then thought I would be able to grow a greater variety of crops using a raised bed. I wasn't sure if it would work so rather than build more permanent beds made from wood I opted for the bags to start off with. They also makes it slightly easier to access the wall should we need to for maintenance purposes. If the experiment didn't work I could use them elsewhere in the garden or Freegle them. I have three bags altogether that I bought from Unwins but there are plenty of other sources on the web that sell them. They are now into their third year and are still intact but they do tend to "sag", so I have to kick the front facing side back into shape and prop it up with planted pots. I'm happy with them as an interim measure but I'm now considering a more long term replacement.

All three of the bags have tomatoes and onion/garlic borders but I also plant chillies, lettuce, beetroot or carrots. The one in the photo contains tomatoes, garlic (about to be harvested), onions (about to be harvested), lettuce, plus a couple of things (squash/marrow?) that popped up out of the compost added to the bag earlier in the year. Throughout the year there is always something growing in these bags, which are in our permaculture zone 1.

I add a thin layer of my own compost to the top twice a year and when stuff starts to actively grow I water them once a week with a very dilute feed of comfrey fertiliser (around 1:100). I've stopped the liquid feed now as I have added some shredded comfrey leaves to the surface.

I was thinking the other day that I wasn't having many problem with pests in the bags. I assumed it was because of the the mix of veg I had planted and the onion-garlic borders. Then this morning I spotted a frog, no doubt just having finished her breakfast and thereby zapping a few more pests for me. This is the third frog I've seen hopping around the garden. We don't have a pond - just some areas that are shady and covered in foliage, a couple of wood piles, and a few plant pot saucers containing water dotted around.

So, the veg bags are still looking good and I'll probably continue using them until they fall apart. 

Garlic from bulbils

Last year I decided to try growing garlic from the bulbils that had formed on the top of one of my garlic plants. I harvested them and rather than plant them in the main part of the garden and forget where they were I put them in pots.

Two of the pots were quite large but the third was a shallow seed pan; I had so many of the bulbils I just grabbed the nearest pot for the last batch. I did not expect many of them to grow. To be totally honest I did not expect any of them to grow.

They have all grown! So I am going to have to see if I can transplant the ones from the seed pan to somewhere more appropriate. Or just eat them. I shall be more positive with any bulbils that I harvest this year!

Stag or lesser stag beetle?

I was starting to clear away part of a rotting tree stump at the back of the garden when I found seven or eight of these larvae. I'm not sure if they are the larvae of the stag beetle or lesser stag beetle. They were about 1.5-2 inches long and curled up when they were exposed.

I went off to check my identification guides and when I returned about 10 minutes later to take a closer look they had burrowed back under the remaining rotting wood. Rather than disturb them, I shall keep my eyes peeled and wait for the adults in order to determine which of the two beetles they are. From the information I've found so far I may have to wait at least a year or two if they are stag beetles.

An Easter bouquet

The weather may still be too cold to sow and transplant crops outside but the herbs and wild plants are flourishing. For our Easter meals I gathered the first bouquet of herbs from the garden: garlic chives, chives, mint, lemon balm, ramson leaves, dandelion leaves, fennel and hairy bittercress.

Slugs!

It's that time of year when the slugs emerge from winter quarters hungry and raring to go. Earth Ways has a timely article on Dealing With Slugs in a Permaculture Garden including a description of the different slugs and which ones are the veggie munchers. I especially like the diagram showing the anatomy of a slug. 

Our garden is now totally out of balance after the removal of bordering trees and fence replacement plus the associated digging. I'm going for a nematode solution supplemented by the bottle beer trap recommended in the article while the imbalance is corrected. We used nematodes several years ago and they did seem to reduce the number of slugs sufficiently to minimise crop damage. I've also tried open beer traps but decided that was not a good idea as the sozzled slugs were quickly gobbled up by other wildlife. Whether or not alcohol is present in the slugs in a sufficient concentration to affect anything that eats them, I don't know, but probably best to err on the side of caution.

Chutneys and piccalilli

Some of my spiced chutneys and piccalilli made last year from produce from our own garden and foraging. From left to right: spiced marrow and bean chutney; spiced damson; hot chilli and tomato relish; piccalilli. The flavours have definitely merged and matured over the past few months but I think I overdid the onion seed in the marrow chutney. The hotness has leached into the chutney, which now has a hell of a kick to it!

We have enough jars of these and other chutneys to last well into the autumn when the next production cycle begins.

The bread is homemade sourdough, which I am now making on a regular basis. Every loaf is different mainly because I am experimenting with different combinations of flour (white, spelt, rye) and varying degrees of "stickiness", but also because I am trying different ways of baking the loaf. This one turned out rather flat because the dough was a bit too wet. Nevertheless, it tastes great and makes wonderful toast.

Taken as part of the Flickr photo group Challenge Friday, #‎cf15‬, theme spice.

My rosemary bush has died

My poor old rosemary bush has finally given up the ghost. It is a bit old - about 20 years - but has thrived in this spot, which is not ideal, to the extent that it required regular pruning.

It's in semi shade and although the ground drains well it gets the run off from the shed roof. For the last two years there has also been a vigorous comfrey plant growing behind the bush and in the autumn I have simply left the leaves to rot back into the ground. So too much nitrogen might be a contributing factor. I have two small rosemary plants from cuttings but won't plant them here in case of disease. One I'll put in a pot and the other I'll put at the front of the house where it is sunny and dry.

I've decided to apply my recent permaculture training to help me decide what should be planted in this area in its place. Expect to be bored by sketches, photos and outline plans in the near future!