tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post72906542120433630..comments2023-10-17T12:05:26.540+01:00Comments on Razor-blade of Life: Kitchen garden bluesZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-14306819963890849712007-07-16T08:37:00.000+01:002007-07-16T08:37:00.000+01:00I'm a funny shape all over, Dandelion. The polytu...I'm a funny shape all over, Dandelion. The polytunnel is the usual long rounded shape like a giant cloche - but all we've got is the framework and net (in case one wants to use it for shade and to keep birds out). We'd have to buy new poly-whatever-material. It was going begging, so we begged and got it, but I'm not sure what to use it for yet.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-69634492870529345862007-07-16T01:00:00.000+01:002007-07-16T01:00:00.000+01:00Actually, no, no sarcasm there. I just wanted to ...Actually, no, no sarcasm there. I just wanted to show off that I knew what one was, and that it might be apropos. I'm delighted that you've got one. Is it a funny shape?Monozygotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04965915993980593549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-26906145987665657312007-07-15T20:35:00.000+01:002007-07-15T20:35:00.000+01:00Pi is not easily offended and quite able to put yo...Pi is not easily offended and quite able to put you in your place if needed.<BR/><BR/>Er, we have a polytunnel. We haven't got around to putting it up yet, though. It would give us another 40'x15' - we cleared the space, but at present I grow squashes there.<BR/><BR/>Of course, I know there wasn't a hint of sarcasm there...(no, no, just friendly irony).Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-77423718669069561062007-07-15T19:32:00.000+01:002007-07-15T19:32:00.000+01:00Sorry. I hope pi is not offended.Also, I was wond...Sorry. I hope pi is not offended.<BR/><BR/>Also, I was wondering if you'd thought about a polytunnel?Monozygotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04965915993980593549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-54060408341879313262007-07-15T15:56:00.000+01:002007-07-15T15:56:00.000+01:00Trust you, Dand!Trust you, Dand!Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-17550577842554189002007-07-15T15:50:00.000+01:002007-07-15T15:50:00.000+01:00I have one son who drools over my gooseberry fool ...<I>I have one son who drools over my gooseberry fool and I can never get them when he's coming.</I><BR/><BR/>A classic.Monozygotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04965915993980593549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-52106258369206356592007-07-15T07:58:00.000+01:002007-07-15T07:58:00.000+01:00I've never had a garden with a clay soil, I think ...I've never had a garden with a clay soil, I think I'd find it difficult to adjust to it. Here, I can dig the garden in the pouring rain without it becoming sticky. Not that I do of course.<BR/><BR/>Gooseberries. They grow on a bush about 3 or 4 feet high, which is covered with thorns. They are slightly bristly round green berries (some varieties redden when they ripen) about half to three-quarters of an inch in diameter and have a fleshy outside and lots of seeds in a pulpy middle. Before they are fully ripe they are sour and, even when ripe, the outer flesh can be sharp, depending on the variety. They make lovely jam and jelly, when the green turns to a pretty russet, and can be cooked, sieved and mixed with cream and custard for fools, or used for pies etc. I like them raw. I split them in half, let Squiffany have the sweet fleshy seeds and eat the sharp outer flesh myself.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-7271809684926692682007-07-14T23:58:00.000+01:002007-07-14T23:58:00.000+01:00As a relatively new gardener, I am dumbfounded by ...As a relatively new gardener, I am dumbfounded by the sheer volume of what you grow. Our yard is so loaded with weeds and the famously (infamously?) difficult Georgia clay that I was barely able to manage a couple of beds this year. Jealous of your greenhouse. And curious about gooseberries.heybartenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09916319179509954795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-46768236954697922582007-07-14T22:57:00.000+01:002007-07-14T22:57:00.000+01:00You're right - I'm lucky. And I'm not complaining...You're right - I'm lucky. And I'm not complaining, but observing. 4" weeds? Eek. Some of mine are nearly as tall as I am.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-37600189538890794452007-07-14T20:59:00.000+01:002007-07-14T20:59:00.000+01:00I read every word with wistfulness remembering the...I read every word with wistfulness remembering the lushly planted .5 acres we left four years ago. The .16 we have now in an HOA is a sore spot with so many rules and regulations. We were allowed 6" weeds last year. With a new regime this year, they can only be 4". And it took us awhile to figure out just what was planted and what was a weed. We have a lovely view though!luckyzmomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04176703683321469118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-20162768652637478402007-07-14T19:43:00.000+01:002007-07-14T19:43:00.000+01:00That vine smell is almost as good as the tomato it...That vine smell is almost as good as the tomato itself, isn't it.<BR/><BR/>I don't know if Al could get gooseberries from the wholesaler, but people bring them in from their gardens for him to buy. Mine did well this year.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-72489284260400103442007-07-14T19:41:00.000+01:002007-07-14T19:41:00.000+01:00We have to buy our veg and fruit but I had some de...We have to buy our veg and fruit but I had some delicious toms this week-end - on the vine - Jersey ? and they had that lovely acrid smell. I wish gooseberries were more easily available. I have one son who drools over my gooseberry fool and I can never get them when he's coming.Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01529798893653033970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-49927453208427757912007-07-14T16:11:00.000+01:002007-07-14T16:11:00.000+01:00Well done on ebay - those last few minutes are rea...Well done on ebay - those last few minutes are really quite exciting, aren't they, and satisfying to buy at the right price. <BR/><BR/>My garden can be quite disheartening - I've given up on some areas because of the ground elder. And there's more work than I'm able to do. However, the enlarged veg garden will be big enough to put in some flowers too, around the fruit trees I'll plant against the wall (when it's built).<BR/><BR/>I'm never sure whether the pleasure of reminiscing is worth the pain of knowing those times are gone. Better to have happy memories than sad ones, however. I hope you will recover and be able to garden again.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-21198671227124348742007-07-14T15:50:00.000+01:002007-07-14T15:50:00.000+01:00Only yesterday I was saying how much I missed gard...Only yesterday I was saying how much I missed gardening, and what I would like to be able to do in the garden, and then I read your post :-)<BR/><BR/>I had conveniently forgotten the disasters, be it bad weather, slugs, poor planting choice, etc. I had only remembered the good bits, the sowing, planting, and growing, those warm evenings when the Chairman and I would look out at the garden before we went to bed with quiet satisfaction. Sitting by the pond with a glass of wine in the twilight while the bats flittered round the Ash tree (always a sign that it was time to go in, as I hate them). The occasional 'plop' of a very small, but beautifully marked Koi breaking the surface of the pond.<BR/><BR/>So today I don't feel so sad about the gardening, but glad that I have had a successful week on ebay, having bought 2 fairly rare pieces of Carnival Glass at good prices.Chairwoman of the boredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09283126747440830086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-27840633847575202912007-07-14T12:01:00.000+01:002007-07-14T12:01:00.000+01:00The salad stuff is finished - I don't bother at th...The salad stuff is finished - I don't bother at this time of year as it goes to seed so quickly. In the last few years, I've narrowed the range of things I grow and gone for what's easy and reliable, but I've got more room now so I'll grow onions and roots and more potatoes and things. <BR/><BR/>I grow lots of everything because I can sell the surplus. I love growing vegetables, but I'm regaining an enthusiasm for growing flowers too. I have plans for next year..<BR/><BR/>Oh blimey, this is turning into a second post. Sorry, Wendz.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822383355869390919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21602861.post-33467276906351834272007-07-14T11:40:00.000+01:002007-07-14T11:40:00.000+01:00Not exactly bored. But just a bit dumbfounded that...Not exactly bored. But just a bit dumbfounded that anyone could have so much stuff in a garden. <BR/><BR/>I have in my fridge (veggie wise that is)...tomatoes, cucumber and rocket.<BR/><BR/>I have in the veggie basket some potatos, onions and garlic.<BR/><BR/>In the freezer, spinach and flageolets verts.<BR/><BR/>C'est tout.y.Wendy.yhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10630727119097764058noreply@blogger.com