Leek Trial Update

 Following on from my last update, some bad news regarding the leeks. On 18th November, I dug up some leeks because Mary was making leek and potato soup.First leeks of 2022 SeasonThe leeks were a decent size bearing in mind the late sowing. Unfortunately, after washing and cleaning it was obvious...

Strawberry Tree

 This evergreen shrub or tree from the Mediterranean area is an interesting addition to the English garden. Known as the Strawberry Tree, for obvious reasons, it is said to be the national tree of Italy due to the red fruit, white flowers, and green leaves representing the colours of the Italian...

Putting the Asparagus Bed to Bed for Winter

Asparagus berries dripping with Autumn morning dew (4/11/22)The first spears of asparagus started to appear in mid-April and were harvested on April 22. In total, we cut about 60 spears from the 5 crowns planted about 5 years ago. The season finished at the beginning of June in our garden. By November...

Which is the Biggest Killer - Extreme Heat or Extreme Cold?

This question came about from an interesting BBC article called 'Staying Warm: What does an unheated room do to your body?' Some of the body changes that occur as room temperature drops from 21 ℃ to 10 ℃ are summarised in the pictorial below.This BBC article is one of a number of posts offering advice...

Electric Vehicles - Good or Bad?

 We have a small campervan - and I do mean small - powered by a 1500 cc diesel engine. It is both our family car and holiday home. It does about 45 mpg (19 kilometres/litre). It was bought new in 2013 so is getting on for 9 years old and has done 47141 miles: a total of 14.6 tonnes CO2  which...

2022's Olive Crop

 Picked this year's olive harvest picked a couple of days ago ...Cherry Tomato and this year's Olive CropOne very small olive now looking a bit wrinkled! The tree is doing fine ...Olive Tree - 17th November 2022... although that wasn't the case this Spring. New growth was weak and under attack...

Malmesbury

 While visiting Westonbirt Arboretum, we spent a pleasant, damp, morning looking around Malmesbury. Depending on your worldview, you may have heard of Malmesbury because of this ...King Æhelstan's tomb, Malmesbury Abbey... or this ...Dyson hoover/vacuum cleanerThe Dyson Institute of Engineering...

Westonbirt Arboretum

 We have just returned from a weekend trip where the primary objective was a visit to Westonbirt Arboretum to see its "spectacular display of autumn colour". We stayed in an excellent self-catering cottage in nearby Crudwell.Westonbirt is the National Arboretum containing over 15,000 trees spread...

Cauliflower 'ere

 Cauliflower (3rd November)Never had much success growing cauliflowers which is a shame because cauliflower cheese is very much a 'comfort' food, either as a mains or side dish, on a winter's afternoon. I like to fry up onions, courgettes, sweet peppers, celery, garlic and chilli pepper in oil,...

End of the Cucumber Season?

 Cucumbers and Tomatoes picked on 10th NovemberA busy day in the polytunnel picking the last of the cucumbers and tomatoes. While the weather is still mild, it is a good time for clearing out the polytunnel and preparing it for next season.The first cucumbers were picked on the 20th June, some...