I took up this nice size turnip today and it was headed straight for the "pot"..lol still have about a dozen turnip left in the ground to be harvested
Harvested these carrots and parsnips a couple days ago
Showing posts with label organic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organic. Show all posts
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
Sunday, 9 September 2012
Germinating parsnip seeds
I'm happy to say my parsnip seeds are sprouting!So my experiment about growing my own parsnip seeds was a success.Probably next year I might try some carrot seed....
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Seed Saver
I'm a seed saver. I've saved lots of flower seeds before but this is my first attempt at veggie seeds.
Below, the seeds look ready to fall off, so I decided to cut some bunches off before they fell to the ground.
Parsnip seeds on a paper towel
I'm testing the viability of these seeds in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag.
This is my drying setup. I'm excited to see how it turns out. I hope to have plenty of parsnip seeds for next year.
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Friday, 27 July 2012
Monday, 23 July 2012
Gardening Mentors-Harry Dodson
Harry Dodson, who has died 85, became a household name in 1987 when the 13-part series The Victorian Kitchen Garden was first shown on BBC 2.
Chronicling a year in a restored walled garden in Berkshire, Dodson, with his soft Hampshire burr and affable demeanour, and his co-presenter, the horticultural lecturer Peter Thoday, explained the techniques practised in the heyday of country house kitchen gardens.
Although not a Victorian himself, Dodson remembered working with those who were; and he had been trained in the rigorous tradition of "private service" which survived until after the Second World War.
Harry J Dodson was born at Byfleet, Surrey, on September 11 1919, the son of a gardener. His father died when he was six, and he moved with his mother and brother to the Selborne estate at Blackmoor, Hampshire, where his grandparents lived and where his uncle, Fred Norris, was head gardener. Even before he left the local school at 14, young Harry could thin a bunch of grapes and tie a peach tree. He began work as a "garden boy" under his uncle, earning 7s 9d (39p) a week, moving on regularly to better himself. He was an "improver journeyman" in the kitchen garden at Stansted Park, Hampshire, seat of the Earl of Bessborough, where he lived in a bothy with other unmarried gardeners. When war broke out, he was at Ashburnham Place, Sussex, where he enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment; he saw service in France.
With the return of peace, Dodson went to work as general foreman for Lord Harcourt at Nuneham Park, Oxfordshire, where he met his future wife. In 1947, he advertised for a job as head gardener, "to be married when suited", and was taken on at Chilton Foliat, a house near Hungerford belonging to the Ward family. At 27, he was one of the youngest head gardeners in the country.
Chilton's kitchen garden boasted four peach houses, three vineries, a rose house, flowering block, carnation house, tropical house, four melon houses, hotpits, cold frames and nearly 500 cloches.
Dodson became well known in horticultural circles, winning 10 Royal Horticultural Society Gold Medals for displays of vegetables. In 1956, he was asked to join the RHS's Fruit and Vegetable Committee, and served on it on it for almost 50 years. In 1961, he was made an Associate of Honour of the RHS. He was also a member of the Council of the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society from 1961 to 2003.
Eventually, the cold hand of economics clutched Chilton, and "things began to wind down", as he put it. Rocketing oil prices made heating such extensive glass unviable, and the owners allowed Dodson to use the walled garden rent free for his lifetime as a commercial nursery.
His life changed in 1984 when Jennifer Davies, a researcher for BBC Bristol who was planning a television series on Victorian gardening, found both the walled garden and the gardener she wanted to talk about it. Dodson's enthusiasm for the project was immediate and, with the blessing of the Wards, the gardens were restored and planted with period cultivars; a student "apprentice" was provided, and filming began.
The programme's attraction lay partly in Keith Sheather's masterly direction, partly in the authenticity of the techniques shown, and partly in the soft-focus nostalgia they evoked for an age most viewers never knew, when every task was done with practised care.
Dodson was a product of a long, exhaustive, hierarchical apprenticeship, the like of which had completely disappeared by the 1980s. Modest and charming, respectful yet with a proper self-confidence, friendly and generous with his knowledge, and neatly dressed in collar and tie, he was a "natural" on television.
The Victorian Kitchen Garden was followed by The Victorian Kitchen (when Dodson joined forces with a cook of the old school, Ruth Mott), as well as The Victorian Flower Garden and The Wartime Kitchen Garden.
All were accompanied by books written by Jennifer Davies, which have undoubtedly contributed to the contemporary interest in "heritage" fruit and vegetables.
Harry Dodson remained at Chilton Foliat, living in the head gardener's house, until his death on July 25. He is survived by his wife Jane.
Chronicling a year in a restored walled garden in Berkshire, Dodson, with his soft Hampshire burr and affable demeanour, and his co-presenter, the horticultural lecturer Peter Thoday, explained the techniques practised in the heyday of country house kitchen gardens.
Although not a Victorian himself, Dodson remembered working with those who were; and he had been trained in the rigorous tradition of "private service" which survived until after the Second World War.
Harry J Dodson was born at Byfleet, Surrey, on September 11 1919, the son of a gardener. His father died when he was six, and he moved with his mother and brother to the Selborne estate at Blackmoor, Hampshire, where his grandparents lived and where his uncle, Fred Norris, was head gardener. Even before he left the local school at 14, young Harry could thin a bunch of grapes and tie a peach tree. He began work as a "garden boy" under his uncle, earning 7s 9d (39p) a week, moving on regularly to better himself. He was an "improver journeyman" in the kitchen garden at Stansted Park, Hampshire, seat of the Earl of Bessborough, where he lived in a bothy with other unmarried gardeners. When war broke out, he was at Ashburnham Place, Sussex, where he enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment; he saw service in France.
With the return of peace, Dodson went to work as general foreman for Lord Harcourt at Nuneham Park, Oxfordshire, where he met his future wife. In 1947, he advertised for a job as head gardener, "to be married when suited", and was taken on at Chilton Foliat, a house near Hungerford belonging to the Ward family. At 27, he was one of the youngest head gardeners in the country.
Chilton's kitchen garden boasted four peach houses, three vineries, a rose house, flowering block, carnation house, tropical house, four melon houses, hotpits, cold frames and nearly 500 cloches.
Dodson became well known in horticultural circles, winning 10 Royal Horticultural Society Gold Medals for displays of vegetables. In 1956, he was asked to join the RHS's Fruit and Vegetable Committee, and served on it on it for almost 50 years. In 1961, he was made an Associate of Honour of the RHS. He was also a member of the Council of the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society from 1961 to 2003.
Eventually, the cold hand of economics clutched Chilton, and "things began to wind down", as he put it. Rocketing oil prices made heating such extensive glass unviable, and the owners allowed Dodson to use the walled garden rent free for his lifetime as a commercial nursery.
His life changed in 1984 when Jennifer Davies, a researcher for BBC Bristol who was planning a television series on Victorian gardening, found both the walled garden and the gardener she wanted to talk about it. Dodson's enthusiasm for the project was immediate and, with the blessing of the Wards, the gardens were restored and planted with period cultivars; a student "apprentice" was provided, and filming began.
The programme's attraction lay partly in Keith Sheather's masterly direction, partly in the authenticity of the techniques shown, and partly in the soft-focus nostalgia they evoked for an age most viewers never knew, when every task was done with practised care.
Dodson was a product of a long, exhaustive, hierarchical apprenticeship, the like of which had completely disappeared by the 1980s. Modest and charming, respectful yet with a proper self-confidence, friendly and generous with his knowledge, and neatly dressed in collar and tie, he was a "natural" on television.
The Victorian Kitchen Garden was followed by The Victorian Kitchen (when Dodson joined forces with a cook of the old school, Ruth Mott), as well as The Victorian Flower Garden and The Wartime Kitchen Garden.
All were accompanied by books written by Jennifer Davies, which have undoubtedly contributed to the contemporary interest in "heritage" fruit and vegetables.
Harry Dodson remained at Chilton Foliat, living in the head gardener's house, until his death on July 25. He is survived by his wife Jane.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1495783/Harry-Dodson.html
book image top of page : http://www.amazon.ca/dp/0563363576/ref=rdr_ext_sb_pi_hist_2
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Sunday, 22 July 2012
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Growing plants under lights
Turnips and cabbage are doing good, had them outdoors for a couple of hours today in the cold frame to toughen them up. I'll talk about my newly built cold frame in another post.
Cabbage plants.
We have tomatoes!
Peppers are also looking good.
We have tomatoes!
Here's my high grade liquid kelp fertilizer . An energy boost for your plants.
Thursday, 24 May 2012
Finished Turnip Row
Finally finished my new row to plants turnips.
Here's my kelp compost pile that i'll be using as fertilizer.
I dug a trench through the row and layered in some kelp.
Here is the finished row.
Now i'm waiting for the weather to cooperate so I can put in my turnip seedlings.
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Grubbing Around
(Here comes the sun)
This was a hot one. If this weather keeps up, I may get some seed in the ground by the middle of June. If not, it'll be the last of June. I took some time today to make a new row to plant some turnips. I think i'll get 8 in a row.
I put it next to my potato beds. I did the digging with my homemade grubber hoe, which I made last year as an experiment after watching some videos on the use of the Chillington hoe.
I still have some work to do, clearing out rocks and adding some seaweed compost.
This was a hot one. If this weather keeps up, I may get some seed in the ground by the middle of June. If not, it'll be the last of June. I took some time today to make a new row to plant some turnips. I think i'll get 8 in a row.
I put it next to my potato beds. I did the digging with my homemade grubber hoe, which I made last year as an experiment after watching some videos on the use of the Chillington hoe.
I still have some work to do, clearing out rocks and adding some seaweed compost.
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Cellar Dwellers
Hi all,
I've been keeping my 'mini' cellar between -2 and -5 all winter but now the temperatures outside are rising and my cellar dwellers are coming back to life. My seed potatoes are starting to chit, forming 'eyes' and the remainder of my carrots are putting out roots and sending up tops.
Another growing season in zone 5A in Newfoundland is not far off.
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