A lot of work to do.......

Jack, you picture seems familiar, is that one of Shackleton's crew?

I was sitting outside after a bit of gardening as the night fell - getting some mosquito bites - and was thinking about gardens and their mortality. Allotments have every likelihood of being quite perpetual; but my gardens are most likely to revert to forest when ever I move on. Gardening is all about managed life and death with renewal being the driver behind much of the reason we do it. Last weekend was Easter which is about that, and right now the garden is burgeoning with new green - I always have something I want to do, every day, as I can set down some new feature or some new plant.

Today I potted ornamental peppers, also some collected baby palm trees, planted swamp iris in the water bank, weeded, trimmed some grapes, and the afternoon was gone.

 

Love post Nathan. So glad about the ladybirds. I like to read of someone who is caring and sensitive of all these little creatures that do so much good for us in the span of their brief lives,
Jenny

 

118F !

Here a market gardener I know uses fabric tunnels to grow winter greens on a largish scale. They apparently do a fantastic job of warming during the day and blocking frost at night.

Will you have a small heated portion in the poly tunnel so you can have some tropicals? I would recommend a kumquat tree - they are ok down to 26f , -3.3c and produce a very decorative - small, orange that is good for cooking or marmalade. They come in two kinds, sweet which you eat whole, peel and seeds and all - and sour for marmalade and cooking. A very pretty plant and I think self fertilizing. I have one in a pot which makes enough fruit on a small bush sized tree to make 4 pints of marmalade with the addition of a grapefruit and 2 limes juice.

Here it is - with a cayenne pepper. It stays small in the pot.

 

Nope, tis I , I know I am old but not that old ?

Jack McHammocklashing

 

Great read and a great job your doing
should have my allotment next year cant wait

 

Hi dave, what kind of gardening do you do? In an allotment would you wish to grow staples or exotics more? Are you interested in cooking? I wonder how much our wish to grow is also linked with the preparation and eating. It is an odd phenomenon how such a simple thing like some broccoli is so much more interesting and important at a meal when we grew it ourselves.

 

Hi at the mo iv only really grown potatoes from bags. But once I get a allotment I will be looking to grow all types.
I was told yesterday I might be offered a allotment next year. Its very close to my house too which is a bonus.
iv got some raddish just in as a trial at the mo also
and yes I am interested in cooking and as im only 27 I have many years hopefully to learn

 

Cooking is vital to maximizing enjoying life. Food can be a great aesthetic thing as well as just being very enjoyable. When ever I have traveled I make a real point of trying any local specialty - I do not understand people who do not take mealtimes very seriously. We begin every evening meal with soup - mostly made from something fresh, then the main course with, hopefully, something local and fresh, and some sweet to finish. It is a tie to the natural world that is all out there although we forget that so easily, human culture, human history, nature, geography, taste, and aesthetics all come together at the table with a proper meal.

here you go, all you need are a radish and razor sharp knife and a small bandage if it goes badly - see food aesthetic run wild (My wife used to make a very simple one of these which would open when put in a bit of cold water before serving - but we just have them sliced and on the side mostly:

 

Looks like the wind's dried the plot out . Lovely soil though. Must feel good to be at planting out stage at last. Still seem to have the place to yourself. Oooh - there's posh then - terracotta pots no less!!
Jenny