STOP MICE EATING PEAS - HELPFUL TIP

YOU SOW YOUR PEAS, AND WAIT - AND WAIT -

It happens to me, every time.  Last year on the allotment I got only 2 peas growing, out of a full packet of Alderman peas that I sowed.  

Also last year there was a huge number of mice living in the compost heap, fat and lazy. From the number of empty seed cases under the sunflower seedheads, they had been running up the stems,  having a bonanza feed, then probably going home for a bit of nooky.

I VOWED NOT TO LET MY SUNFLOWER SEEDHEADS REMAIN ON THE ALLOTMENT THIS YEAR  - I have cut them off.

Also this year, I sowed my peas in Rootrainers and transplanted them.
It is a fiddle and I resented having to go to all that trouble.  But I did get pea plants, and peas.

PENNARD PLANTS

Pennard Plants website

I just read this helpful tip, in the newsletter I get from Pennard Plants  

THEIR TIP OF THE MONTH

"Tip of the month - Protect peas from mice, birds and slugs, strew half an inch thickness of sawdust over the row after the peas are sown. Mice never touch it, birds do not like it and never meddle with the peas after they appear through it and it bothers slugs by adhering to them. (The Gardener's Receipt Book around 1900)."

THANKS SO MUCH, CHRIS AND MIKE

SAVE MONEY - GET FREE SEEDS (AND GET SOME HALF PRICE)

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON SEEDS

Yes, I know it sounds unlikely but I am trying a new idea.

After reading an article in The Royal Horticultural Society magazine, September issue, I am saving seeds of perennials to sow straight away.  

SAVING SEEDS FROM PERENNIALS

I read a very interesting article from September issue of The Garden,  the journal of the Royal Horticultural Society.

The author says get your  perennial seeds straight off the plant as soon as you can find the seed pods.
Then plant the seeds now, don't wait until the spring.
He says it doesn't matter if the seeds do not appear to be ripe, either.

I have had problems getting perennial seeds to germinate, ones that I have bought from seed merchants

So I am trying the new technique.  I have collected some lavender seeds (off a tender lavender canariensis), seen in the photo (drawing pin is for size comparison).  They are already germinated and very tiny lavender plants.

TINY SEEDS, LITTLE BLACK DOTS, LAVENDER

And I am trying to find the seeds on the gaura lindheirmeri, which somehow does not seem to have seed pods of any size!

I will also get seeds of verbena bonariensis.  They used to be prolific in the garden but sadly I am down to just one plant now; I love them, they are so pretty.


My first verbena bonariensis was grown years ago from a little flower head, gone to seed, which I snaffled from a plant in Christopher Lloyd's lovely garden, at Great Dixter.

FREE SEEDS OF BIENNIALS AND ANNUALS

Yes I know, everybody collects these, and so far I have old envelopes of cornflower, corncockle, tobacco plant, larkspur and marigold (calendula). 

Being full of good intentions, I sometimes find these old envelopes from past years, with seeds I never got round to sowing. 
One such envelope I found, with a date of 1998 on it, reading 'Delphinium', full of seeds  from a plant bought in Oxford which died after flowering.  I put the seeds in a pot and to my surprise I have three large healthy plants.  I think this one is a biennial.  We shall see.

The lovely hollyhock is so easy to grow, and my little pots of seeds of these, and schizanthus  are already sprouting tiny plants.  I shall also collect cosmos from plants on the allotment.  All for free! Probably the seedlings are not frost-hardy, so I will have to protect them somehow.

THE GARDEN CENTRE SELLS OFF SEEDS NOW

This time of year you can get some 50%  off full price seeds.

My new seed purchases, half price!

The local garden centre has regular sales like this, and you can get Thompson & Morgan, Unwins, Suttons, Franchi etc half price.

Later last year, round December time, the same seeds were for sale at 50p a packet.

Never one to pass by a bargain, I got some more seeds, both flowers and veg, and have sown some already.

Hope that the sweet williams and wallflowers I have sown will survive the winter, in trays. 
Might keep them in the cold frame, and hope they survive, snails permitting.

I have got some sweet rocket coming up too.

It is so exciting to see the little seedlings from your own seeds, but I can't resist buying them if they are really cheap

CHUTNEY CHORES - TWO RECIPES

REQUEST FOR TOMATO CHUTNEY RECIPE

I made two different recipes, first one from a tatty cutting which is from The Telegraph, in a column by Xanthe Clay. Not sure of date of her column.

(comes from Tom Bradbury, who was chef at the Cornwall Hotel Spa and Estate)

cutting from The Telegraph

Makes 2 jars

Tomato and sultana chutney

 5 fl oz/140 ml cider or white wine vinegar

5 oz/140g caster sugar

2 shallots, diced (I used small onions)

1 clove garlic, crushed

half teaspoon fennel seeds (from the garden)

half teaspoon coriander seeds

half teaspoon pepper (I used black)

3 tablespoon tomato puree

1lb 2 oz/500g tomatoes, washed and chopped (not peeled)

1 bay leaf

2oz/50g golden sultanas

1 teaspoon thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon black onion seeds (or I used black cumin)

and I added a chopped chilli from the garden - not very hot

Put vinegar, sugar, shallots, garlic, fennel, coriander seeds, pepper and a little salt in pan.  Bring gently to boil, cook till 'syrupy'.  (mine did not get very syrupy)

Add tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, sultanas and reduce heat to gentle simmer.

Cook until thick, then bottle in sterilised jars.

A favourite book of mine

TOMATO AND MARROW CHUTNEY

Page 156, Preserves for all Occasions, by Alice Crang (Penguin, First published 1944)

My second lot of Chutney made quite a lot more, but I used 4 lb tomatoes and 1 lb courgette, 2 lb onion, three quarter pound sugar, plus  salt, spice, chilli and half pint of vinegar.  The method is similar, please get in touch for more info. if you need it

Nice illustrations too

SNAILS CHOMP ON JUICY TOMATOES

SNAILS AND SLUGS RAMPAGE ON LONDON TOMATOES

I have found that snails in particular love eating tomatoes.  

Their favourites, like mine, are the juicy, soft skinned ones.

Juicy and sweet Mortgage Lifter

I try and find the pesky critters in the greenhouse and tread on them, with a certain amount of glee.

This year they have beaten me to it, and had feasts on lots of the best tomatoes.

Snails had a feast

GOT A LOT 

Anyway, despite the snail army, we have a very good crop of tomatoes, due no doubt to the very hot and sunny days this August. 

I have found that as usual I grew too many plants, carried away by the selection of packets of seeds I got cheap, cheap.

Picked on the allotment

Even with too many plants, which I had no pots for, I decided to plonk them on the allotment with not many caring gestures, waterings or feeds, and even so the little darlings have rewarded me with lots of fruits.

NEGLECTED TOMATO PLANTS

This seems to prove that even if you neglect a plant that is said to need staking, regular feeding, watering, cutting back, pulling off leaves and removing 'robbers', and just leave them to nature, you still might get a good crop.  Depends on the weather, I am sure.

Chutney nearly ready to 'jar'

CHUTNEY TIME

I don't like making chutney, it is a fiddle, and takes ages.  Also I never can find enough jars.  So the tomato chutney is a real labour of bother.  Got about 6 jars in the end, and they will be good for the cold days to come

TOMATO BLIGHT

You may remember that last year, with constant rain and cold days, we had dreadful blight.  This year, hoorah, no blight!  Got mildew on the courgettes, though