The vegetable seedsmen have fantastic catalogues, which advise on the best varieties for specific situations.

The catalogues often have:

• special offers
• or free delivery

They are a good read on a cold, wet winter’s day.

The Demeter Seeds Stormy Hall catalogue has biodynamic, open pollinated vegetable seeds with organic certification. It is based at the Camphill Village in North Yorkshire. The varieties are robust and grow well in harsher Northern climates. They tend to be rather Germanic, vigorous, heavy croppers often bland in flavour. Highly recommended by TopVeg! Email for a catalogue:

stormy.hall.botton@camphill.org.uk

Order catalogues online from the most famous:

www.suttons-seeds.co.uk
www.dobies.co.uk
www.unwinsdirect.co.uk
www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk
www.thompson-morgan.com

Watercress is added to the list of super vegetables.� Research suggests that eating watercress regularly may reduce the chances of developing cancer.

The University of Ulster has found that watercress cuts DNA damage to white blood cells, considered to be an important trigger in the development of cancer.

The report states:

‘Blood levels of antioxidant compounds, such as lutein and beta-carotene, which can combat the effect of free radicals were raised. ‘
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See� our blog on colouful vegetables�

There are many ways in which animals can damage trees:

• Leaves can be browsed during the growing season, or buds and twigs chewed off during the winter.

• Bark can be stripped, normally during winter and spring, when other food is scarce. If bark is removed all the way around the stem, the tree will die, because the bark is needed to transport the water and food to the whole tree (in the phloem and xylem.)
• The main shoot is eaten, so the tree will not grow straight, & will start to branch and bush out.

Guards are used to protect young trees from rabbits & other animals

• Spiral tree guards

Made from a special plastic that will stand up to animals, weather and strimmers etc.
These are designed to protect young trees against bark-stripping by rabbits and voles. Quick and simple to install, being simply wound around the stem of the tree. Push the end into the ground around the base of the tree, to lessen the chance of the wind or animals dislodging it. Read More »

rabbit tree

Grey Squirrels cause considerable damage to young trees.

Squirrel damage is caused by:

• gnawing the bark of trees. If a complete ring of bark disappears, the tree will die. This is because the food and water are transported up and down the tree in the bark - in the phloem and xylem. If the bark is removed, the tree starves to death because the transport links are broken.
• damaging the growing tip of the tree. This causes loss of apical dominance, resulting in the tree becoming multi-stemmed, & loosing form.
• wounding the surface of the tree, which allows infections to enter, causing disease and decay

squirrel tree

Today we have been planting shallots. The ground was pretty dry as the plot had been covered.

We planted 2 varieties:

• Golden Gourmet
• Home Farm Best (passed down the generations of our family)

Planting:

• The soil was raked level Read More »

Now is the time to plant shrubs and trees, before they start to grow, & the sap rises.

Laurels make good wind breaks. Make sure they have plenty of fibrous roots.

Dig a hole which is twice as big as the root ball. This gives the roots plenty of easy space to grow into. Read More »

tree vegetable garden wind

Lisa Tarbuck demonstrated the power of colourful veg last night on TV. The pigments giving the colour to the veg are great antioxidants.

Research has shown that patients who eat diets high in spinach or greens are less likely to develop macular degeneration. These and other green leafy vegetables (kale, mustard greens, and turnip greens) are excellent sources of lutein and zeaxanthin, both important macular pigments.

Eating spinach once a week actually improves vision by increasing the number of healthy cells in the macula at the back of the eye (retina). It is particularly valuable for the over 40’s

Eating tomatoes every day, with a spoonful of concentrated tomato puree added, protects the skin against UV light from the sun. The red pigment in tomatoes is called lycopene. Lycopene is a carotenoid antioxidant that may also have other health- promoting effects.

Try the excellent recipe for balsamic tomatoes from FarmingFriends

Carrots help you see in the dark . Beta-carotene gives carrots their yellow colour. It forms Vitamin A, which is an antioxidant.

 Leafy green vegetables are very good for eyes, too. They contain lutein & Vitamin E which are antioxidants. Lutein protects the retina from sunlight.

Leafy green vegetables are the best veg in the garden in February. Examples are kale, spinach, cabbage and sprouting broccoli.

There are 3 types of sprouting broccoli:

• white                                  

  

• purple
• perpetual

The white broccoli has small white flowering tips.

These are snapped off when about 2″ long.

 Steamed or boil them for 10-15 minutes for a very special veg.

Ours are about ready to harvest now.

 

The purple sprouters are a week or so later, & have a stronger taste.

The perpetual broccoli comes up year after year, so rather messes the rotation up. But it is easy to grow.

Beans are also important for eye health. Beans contain zinc, which is an essential element for healthy eyes.

Onion sets are immature onion bulbs specially grown for planting.

Gardeners prefer to grow sets, rather than onion seeds, because sets are:

• quick maturing
• less prone to disease
• able to grow in a rougher seedbed
• happy in most sorts of soil
• more suitable for later springs in the North

But, sets used to have a tendency to ‘bolt’.

Bolting means they go to seed, that is, instead of producing a nice big onion, they put all their energy into producing a seed head.

Modern sets are heat treated to destroy the internal flower bud, & stop bolting.

TO PLANT SETS:

• Prepare the bed by digging over & raking flat. Mix in some well rotted compost, farm yard manure or general fertiliser.
• Place the measuring stick on the row, and plant the sets every 10 cm, leaving 23 cm between the rows
• Push the sets into the soft earth, & bring the earth back around them, leaving just the tip showing
• Watch for birds, as they like to pull the tips, so that the sets are pulled out of the ground. If the birds start to do this, cover the sets with netting, string or cotton, to keep the birds off until the sets have grown good roots.

onion plant

I wore Joules wellys for the first time today.� A green, stripy welly, with a matt finish.

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Not quite the thing in the shooting field, but a bit more fun in the garden.� I really wanted the flowery ones, but they did not have my size.

The size is very generous. I reckon I could do with a half size smaller in these, than the standard green welly I have had in the past.

You always had to go for the larger size to allow for thick socks to keep your feet warm.� But the Joules are really warm & do not need thick socks.� They have a thick, insulated sole, which keeps the cold soil temperatures out. The printed lining helps, too.

Certainly recommended!

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