organic kitchen garden
After discovering I was pregnant last August, I naively thought that not much would change in my daily life until I was ‘really’ pregnant (except the obvious dietary restrictions). I would soon discover just how wrong I was! Now at 8 months, I’ve decided to reflect on the ups and downs of gardening while pregnant, and to share my learning curve in the hopes it might help to prepare, motivate and ultimately reassure other people on this crazy journey.
It is now summer everywhere; in the deep woods, beneath the shady hedgerows, even in dell and dingle, where twilight reigns at noonday, the warm breath of summer penetrates – the fertilising showers have fallen.Wherever the eye alights, the ground is covered with flowers.The Garden and its Work in Every Department in July, Mrs Beeton’s… Continue reading July 2020
We started this month riding on the high of an unusually warm spring, and with all of the vigorous growth that brings. Since then, June has seen deluges and thunderstorms, and more recently soaring temperatures in the early thirties! And yet while I have at times struggled with the whiplash of this month's extremes, the… Continue reading June 2020
We’re now starting year 3 of the kitchen garden, and having mastered the basics, set up our raised beds and got used to growing in a north facing garden, I’ve decided it’s time to branch out and try some new varieties. A mix of classics I haven’t tried yet and a couple of unusual choices… Continue reading 6 New Vegetables to Grow This Year
Now, as we head into winter and the garden prepares for a long sleep until next year, there isn’t much more I can do outside. The leafy winter veg and hardy parsnips are still growing and garlics are already in, but most of the beds lie empty and I am working through adding a layer… Continue reading November 2019
I started writing this post sat at our new garden table, enjoying the glorious sunny July weather. I’m finishing it off to the sound of rain falling on some very grateful vegetables. This month, our little kitchen garden has really come to life. Butterflies flit among the plants, and there is a gentle hum of… Continue reading July 2019
We kicked off this year in January with the beginnings of an ambitious project for our garden. Six new raised beds went into it in March, joining the one Vegtrug we planted up last year. More recently, in April, two long planters for peas and an assortment of buckets of potato plants joined them. Desire… Continue reading May 2019
It feels like a while since I first wrote my plan for growing extra vegetables in our garden this year, and already I can see it starting to come together. The first 3 planters have been in the garden for a while now, and a second set of 3 will be finished today. Liners between… Continue reading March 2019
Just after Christmas and the New Year in the depths of cold January, summer and the homegrown vegetables it brings feel like forever away. But now is actually the perfect time to start planning and preparing the ground for growing, especially if you’re starting from scratch, or like me expanding the range of crops and… Continue reading January 2019
It’s a strange thought as we're here on the edge of Christmas, that only a few months ago our garden was full of tasty vegetables waiting to be picked and eaten. Now when I look out of the window it seems empty in comparison. The huge courgette plant that dominated our patio is long gone,… Continue reading December food: A look back at summer, and forward to winter