Saturday 21 July 2012

In the garden ...

Welcome to my new follower The Iowa Housewife. I can't remember how or whose blog I found you on but will soon be trying some of your lovely recipes. The potato bread and the buttermilk and chive bread both look lovely!

Well, 9pm last night saw us unwrap the yoghurt and it seems to have a better set than normal. Not quite as good as whole milk but definitely better than my usual way of making it. Also, this time around, I used some of the previously made yoghurt as the starter.

So it would seem that boiling the milk first (I did mine in the microwave) really seems to help. Apparently boiling it seems to release or break down something in the milk enabling the starter to work better. Time will tell if it continues to be so.

We have both been busy in the garden this morning. I am not sure if my tomatoes will make is as the flowers are rotten and falling off as are some of the green tomatoes. The tomatillo plants seem fine and are setting fruit. I have been busy pruning our trained quince tree as it is blocking out too much light. No quinces this year but that is not surprising. Haven't got any plums either and very few apples or pears. 

OH has been digging downwards in probably a futile effort to rid us of next door neighbours bamboo thing. Mind you, it was mind to begin with. I didn't like it and thought I had gotten all its roots out. Apparently not. They in turn do like it and a bamboo triffid is now at fence height and migrating back to us. Blasted thing.

Things in the garden in general are at the moment looking particularly yucky! Hopefully some sun will sort them out.

Mind you we are not alone. Monty Don on Gardener's World last night has not had a brilliant time in his vegetable patch nor have the gardeners at Beechwood Grove Gardens.

9 comments:

  1. Why is it that the weeds have thrived on all this rain and the veggies have drowned? I have been really unsuccessful getting seeds to grow at the allotment this year and have resorted to buying some seedlings from roadside stalls. Have a good weekend x

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  2. It is my first year having a proper go at veg so it is a relief to know others who are more practised are having similar problems!

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    1. My climbing beans are the best followed closely by some early carrots. The onions are not too bad but most other things look very sorry for themselves. Mind you, a good drop of sunshine might help but that might finish the tomatoes off as such weather can then induce blight on them! Ah well, always next year!

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  3. My potatoes and onions are really my successes.Other things havent done too well.A bit disappointing all in all, ah well, theres always next year!!

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    1. I only had 2 tubs of potatoes - when tipped out one had a few huge ones in it which were very nice. The tops on the other ones are now dying off so will tip them out this week.

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  4. I have to say that for the first time in many years I'm ashamed of the garden, at least you do have some things other than weeds doing well.
    I'm overrun with weeds in one large patch under the bird feeder,,,the flamin' pigeons have been scattering the seed everywhere, and with all the rain they've all set amongst the border plants and in the gravel too :o( Hopefully tomorrow will see an end to most of them.
    Enjoy Sunday!
    Rose H

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    1. We too used to have zillions of seedlings particularly from the niger seed. As our neighbour is an ardent bird feeder, we now only use peanuts in feeders. A lot less mess and weeds and hardly anything for the pigeons to eat! I was fed up with them landing on my lovely plants.

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  5. The vegetables in my kitchen garden are not doing so well either. The carrots and onions are doing fine, while all other veggies are growing very slowly. Luckily the tomatoes seem fine, as they grow inside the greenhouse and hve been protected from the changing weather...

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  6. Hi Hilde, my thoughts are with you and your fellow countrymen today!

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