This poem written by Rod Whitworth is on the garden gate at the start of the poetry trail at Nostell Priory
February 8, 2010
February 7, 2010
Sweet Potatoes for 1st stage Baby Weaning
Sweet Potatoes are ideal for the 1st stage of weaning for babies from 6 months old. Babies love them & they are full of vitamins & dietary fibre.
The whole family will enjoy sweet potatoes. They are cooked in the same way as ordinary potatoes – roasted, boiled or baked.
sweet potatoes
The nutritional value sweet potatoes is excellent, they are high in:
- Vitamin A
- beta carotene
- potassium
- Vitamin E
- calcium
- folate
The Nutrition Action Health Letter rated 58 vegetables by adding up the percentages of United States Recommended Daily Allowances for six nutrients (Vitamins A and C, folate, iron, copper, and calcium), plus fiber. Sweet Potatoes came out top with 582 points; raw carrot came next with 434 points.
Click this link to buy some sweet potato slips so that you can grow your own & be ready for weaning your baby!
Blue Danube Potato Variety
Blue Danube is an early maincrop potato variety. It was known as Adam Blue.
BlueDanubePotato
Properties of Blue Danube potato tubers:
- blue/purple skinned
- oval
- bright white flesh
- delicious
- general culinary use
The Blue Danube potato variety has good resistance to:
- blackleg
- potato virus Yo
- dry rot
- potato leafroll virus
- potato blight – tubers have excellent blight resistance, although the foliage has only moderate resistance.
Click this link to buy some Blue Danube potato seed, which is an early main crop variety.
February 6, 2010
Potato Growing Bags
Potato Growing Bags are ideal for gardeners who are short of space. The bags will go on a small verandah, porch or patio.
The potato grow bags have handles to move them about. The potatoes can even be started off inside, and moved out when the first shoots appear. This should speed up the time to harvest, and produce an even earlier crop of new potatoes!
new potato leaves
There should be no slug damage with potato grow bags, as slugs do not like crawling up the outside of the bag to reach the potatoes.
potato-leavesKingEdward
Watering is very important with grow bags, particularly when the potatoes are in full leaf. Care must be taken to get the water under the leaves so that it soaks into the soil. If the potatoes are getting a lot of sun, they will need a lot of water to replace that lost by transpiration.
The Potato Growing bag is quite an investment because it can be re-used over & over again.
Click the link to buy some potato grow bags
Raised Bed Kits
Raised bed kits make vegetable gardening simple & are an perfect for beginners.
Alison's raised bed
Advantages of Raised Beds:
- drain well
- warm sooner
- earlier crops
- provide ideal soil for vegetables to grow
- easy to maintain
- few pests
- less weeds
- higher yields
- better for bad backs
Click this link to buy a kit for raised beds
Gill's raised bed
February 5, 2010
Ultimate Allotments!
According to compostpope on the BBC gardening message board, allotments in Switzerland boast:
- a shredder which comes to the allotments 4 times a year, complete with 2 guys to do the work!
- flushing toilets on-site
- a shop that doubles as a cafe-restaurant
What more could you wish for?
Early Broad Bean Variety – Express
The early broad bean variety, Express, matures quickly, thus producing a very early crop of broad beans.
ExpressBroadBeanPods
Broad Bean Express:
- produces up to 34 good pods per plant!
- yields well for early plantings
- is winter hardy
- matures quickly
- freezes well
- has tender and tasty beans
shelled-broad-beans-Express
Click this link to order the variety Express Broad Bean
Rainfall in the TopVeg garden January 2010
Rainfall in the TopVeg garden in January 2010 was 57 ml
Rainfall in the TopVeg garden in 2009 was 518.75
| Month | Rainfall ml |
|---|---|
| January | 32 |
| February | 45.5 |
| March | 17 |
| April | 7 |
| May | 41.5 |
| June | 13 |
| July | 111 |
| August | 40 |
| September | 11.5 |
| October | 63.75 |
| November | 69.5 |
| December | 67 |
The annual rainfall in the TopVeg Garden:
| Year | Rain ml |
|---|---|
| 206 | 631 |
| 207 | 795 |
| 208 | 571 |
| 209 | 519 |
The rainfall in January 2010 in the TopVeg garden (57) was much higher than last year (32), what was yours?
February 4, 2010
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-04
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-28 http://ff.im/-eZaqq #
- RT @
igrowveg RT @GardeningGuide: Add a trellis to your raised bed to grow peas, beans or cucumbers on them # - sending grow cards for marjoram, nasturtiums, oregano, rosemary and thyme. #
- Comment on Contact us by Commercial grower(s) of Tayberries Wanted « TopVeg – growing veg,fruit&herbs http://ff.im/-f0Tna #
- Sow carrot seed now http://ff.im/-f0Tns #
- Comment on Commercial growers of tayberries and loganberries? by TopVeg http://ff.im/-f0Tnz #
- Commercial grower(s) of Tayberries Wanted http://ff.im/-f0TnD #
- Comment on Commercial growers of tayberries and loganberries? by Commercial grower(s) of Tayberries Wanted « TopVeg… http://ff.im/-f12p2 #
- @AFairCoop Lucky you! a welcome sign of spring! in reply to AFairCoop #
- @AFairCoop white over here – birds look chilly – not conducive to egg laying! in reply to AFairCoop #
- Mistletoe – second season – leaves emerge http://ff.im/-f7wxq #
- decided on Maris Bard & Lady Christl for early potatoes http://topveg.com/2009/02/361/ #
- RT @TeeRiddle
New Blog Post: Top 10 Most Prolific Vegetables For Your Vegetable Garden: http://tinyurl.com/yzk7rcs need list4UK #
- enjoying purple sprouting broccoli! #
- Number of potato tubers from one seed. http://ff.im/-f9ETt #
- @TeeRiddle thanks – most prolific veg in UK gardens coming up! in reply to TeeRiddle #
- Comment on How to Chit Seed Potatoes by Jobs for February in the Vegetable Garden « TopVeg – growing veg,fruit&herbs http://ff.im/-fcMfM #
- Comment on Grow Jerusalem artichokes by Jobs for February « TopVeg – growing veg,fruit&herbs http://ff.im/-fcMfW #
- Food 2030 http://ff.im/-fgzgN #
- RT @ schoolfoodtrust Parents: Here r some fast food facts 2 wow ur kids – did you know carrots used to be purple? #
- How to pick sprouting broccoli http://ff.im/-fi735 #
- Comment on Food 2030 by TopVeg http://ff.im/-fi73w #
- Comment on How to pick sprouting broccoli by farmingfriends http://ff.im/-flckL #
- Comment on How to pick sprouting broccoli by TopVeg http://ff.im/-floEe #
- Leek spacing http://ff.im/-floEj #
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How To Grow Borage Card
Farming Friends & TopVeg have collaborated to create a How To Grow Borage card.
If you would like a pdf of the grow card for How to Grow borage, please complete the contact form asking for the grow card for borage and we will email it to you.
borage-shoot
Borage is included in the How to Grow Culinary Herbs ebook written by TopVeg & Farming Friends which costs £3.
Click this link to buy a copy of the ebook How to Grow Culinary Herbs.
