Monthly Archives: January 2018

This year’s Jerusalem artichokes

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Helen

It has been unbelievably springlike today and for the first time in an absolute age I enjoyed working in the garden. The plan was to dig up the Jerusalem artichokes, put the contents of the last bokashi bin in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Permaculture | Tagged , | 16 Comments

More rot

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Helen

Yesterday seemed one misfortune after another, from sleeping in and forgetting to put yeast in the panettone to being reminded of how stressful it was to drive in busy city traffic. However, we did make it to the clothing exchange … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Permaculture | Tagged , | 2 Comments

How many babies?

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Helen

Today on Gardeners’ Question Time (BBC Radio Four), one member of the public asked the panel what they thought of reducing plastic pots that most plants come in. Good one! Suddenly, plastic waste seems to be all over the news … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Permaculture | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Hidden garlic

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Helen

Yesterday, I didn’t have time for any gardening exploits. It was snowing, anyway – that slushy kind, which is an uncomfortable nuisance. However, before we got on the train to go dancing, I did take a photo of the garlic … Continue reading →

Posted in Days out, Gardening | Tagged , | 11 Comments

The currants can breathe now

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Helen

One of the jobs on my garden list has been to remove the strawberry plants growing too close to the red and black currants. These strawberry plants seem to have been sucking the life out of the mint, so they … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Permaculture | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Blueberries or mint?

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Helen

For weeks, I’ve been meaning to dig up the mint which has been swamping the blueberry bush. Now, I think the moment has past. After finally sowing the sweet cicely seeds (kept a few aside to sow separately in case … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Permaculture | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

An evening with Google!

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Helen

How much do you like technology? When all goes well, I love being able to do so much with my phone. Not least, it is great to be able to blog without having to switch my laptop on. In fact, … Continue reading →

Posted in Permaculture | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Rotting squash

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Helen

When I picked the butternut squash last autumn, I left them in the shed to ripen and then simply because it was cool. It seemed cold enough to keep them until they were needed. As you can see from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Permaculture | Tagged , | 21 Comments

Carbon capture and a robin

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Helen

It is being said that this winter is quite mild. I’m not sure I agree. There seems to have been a lot more frost and day time temperatures seem lower than I’m used to. Not that I’m complaining. It’s great … Continue reading →

Posted in Days out, Permaculture, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Evening primrose roots

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Helen

Last autumn, I discovered that the roots of evening primrose can be eaten and are apparently like parsnips. So, today I finally got round to digging up last year’s plants, which I thought had died, in order to see what … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Permaculture | Tagged , , | 4 Comments