The Potato Famine occurred in Ireland in the years between 1845 and 1849 when the potato crop failed in successive years. The Irish famine was the worst to occur in Europe in the 19th century and the crop failures were … Read more
At the end of July I was sowing turnip seeds for planting out and expecting a September harvest. Some of the plants went in under fleece and some in the open air and, as expected, those under the fleece did … Read more
I mentioned last week that the well-known cook and writer Jane Grigson took a dim view of the culinary value of the humble swede. Not everyone agrees of course and I find them very acceptable! This year, for the first … Read more
The latter part of August is when sweetcorn starts to come on stream. You may remember seeing a photo of these being planted on the allotment in May. We start to test to see if the cobs are ready for … Read more
Under the entry for August in my book ‘Vegetable Growers Calendar’ is this rather sanctimonious and self-satisfied quotation from ‘Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie’ written by Thomas Tusser in 1583: ’Tis good to be knowne,to have all of thine … Read more
The summer pruning of the apple trees I mentioned a week or two ago is well under way and indeed the harvest of the earliest apples from the variety ‘Katy’ has already started – ripening a good 10 days before … Read more