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Gardener's Diary: May

Posted by Verity Mihai on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, In : Gardening 
This time of the gardening year has a rhythm all of its own.  

Tasks need doing in a set order to ensure everything is ready to be planted out or sown at the right time.  

Then of course the weather intervenes and puts plans awry.  

The warm early spring caused many of the spring crops to run to seed, then the very cold weather has brought an abrupt halt to any ideas of planting out all but the hardiest plants.  

I will be starting to harden off tomatoes, peppers, corn, beans and aubergines and f...

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Gardener's Diary: April

Posted by Verity Mihai on Sunday, March 26, 2017, In : Gardening 
As I write at the end of March it is definitely not going out like a lamb!  

Today has been cold and there have been high winds and heavy downpours of rain. 

Frosts have been forecast and this serves as a warning to those of us gardeners who have been tempted to start sowing and planting out too early. The odd day of beautiful sunshine, the welcome appearance of spring flowers and blossom as well as the unwelcome appearance of weeds can trap the unwary.  

The last average frost date for our area...

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One Vegetable Can a Summer Make

Posted by BCM on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, In : Gardening 

It’s mid-summer already. 

And, apart from a sharp blast of inferno like heat, the weather so far has fallen well short of expectations.

Post BREXIT referendum exchange rates make it more expensive to go abroad. Many of us then will have chosen to stay firmly put in the UK this year.

There’s nothing at all wrong with staycations. But there’s no need to feel deprived of sunshine. It can be brought to us on a plate using readily available ingredients.

Take aubergines. And let’s refer to the...

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Let's Go Pick Strawberries

Posted by BCM on Saturday, June 25, 2016, In : Gardening 


At this time of year, thoughts turn naturally to strawberries.

For starters, we’ve just had the “strawberry” moon. This quaint name for June’s full moon was coined by the Algonquin tribe of North America and signaled the start of strawberry picking. They gave every full moon of the year a different name to help keep track of the seasons and would have found the last one we had on 20th June particularly auspicious because it coincided with the summer solstice. That’s rare and won’t ...

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From Soil to Table: November

Posted by Rosemary Jeboo on Wednesday, November 18, 2015, In : Gardening 
November brings us the interminable rains accompanied by mild weather.  

Nasturtiums and late roses still give colour to the garden.  Now is the time to protect your dahlias for next year.  You can leave the dahlias in the ground, but I would not take that risk.  I lift the tubers out and place them in an old compost bag and store them somewhere frost free.

As winter approaches, one does not have to live with bare stems and dark days.  There are lots of bright and beautiful plants that love the...

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From Soil to Table: October

Posted by Rosemary Jeboo on Monday, October 19, 2015, In : Gardening 
October descends on us with that autumnal air. Hues of burnt oranges and reds litter the landscape from the trees to the fallen leaves. Dahlias and nasturtiums heighten these colours and make this month a delightful one to be in the garden. Even the pyracantha shrubs show off their orange and red berries.

Summer gave us a glut of courgettes.  This month brings an abundance of squashes and pumpkins.   They all belong to the same family called cucurbitaceae.  These vegetables encapsulate autumn ...

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From Soil to Table: September

Posted by Rosemary Jeboo on Thursday, September 17, 2015, In : Gardening 
September had a brief dalliance with the hot weather then the rains came.  

This is a good month to forage and collect all those blackberries and sloes which can be left in gin or vodka to produce the most beautiful liqueur for Christmas.  One should not overlook the herbs such as meadowsweet, comfrey and nettle.  They provide a source of refreshing tea or in the case of comfrey a treatment for pulled muscles.  Foraging reminds one of the healing effects of nature.  

I have chosen the bulbs tha...

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From Soil to Table: August

Posted by Rosemary Jeboo on Saturday, August 15, 2015, In : Gardening 
August arrives almost imperceptibly as July hands over the relay of good weather and bountiful fruits and vegetables. Tending a garden gives one crucial life skills which is dealing with the present and planning for the future.

Although this is a month to harvest, one can also still sow chard and leaf beet, so that you can have a plentiful supply of rainbow chard, Swiss chard and perpetual spinach well into the autumn.  Pick up fallen or damaged fruits as they harbour insects and diseases.  Th...

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From Soil to Table: July

Posted by Rosemary Jeboo on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, In : Gardening 
July rewards the gardener for their patience with a bountiful supply of vegetables and flowers.  

Orange hues from pomegranate flowers and runner beans flowers interspersed with vibrant poppies, fragrant sweet peas and nasturtium flowers bring joy to the eyes.  Dahlias and honeysuckle peer through the apple and bay foliage.  Now is the time to enjoy the ‘fruits of one’s labour.’  

The sight of fruit trees laden with apples, pears and plums fills the gardener with a satisfaction of what na...

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From Soil to Table: June

Posted by Rosemary Jeboo on Saturday, June 20, 2015, In : Gardening 
June brought a taste of the exotic and unexpected as I took a break in South Florida.

Sown seeds in my garden were left to grow and watered when necessary. Fortuitously, abundance and resourcefulness pursued me.  Stationed at my brother’s garden in Florida, I was surrounded by exotic and colourful flowers - frangipani, buttercups, and bougainvillea.  

But it was the sheer weight of hundreds of fruits on the trees that exploded on my mind. Pineapples perched in the centre of the plants. Avocad...

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From Soil to Table: May

Posted by Rosemary Jeboo on Saturday, May 9, 2015, In : Gardening 
May arrives with an enchantment and an expectation. 

Gardening work is intercepted for a few minutes as apple blossoms among wisteria flowers challenge my senses and my mind is stilled with appreciation and gratitude. 

I have started the interminable task of planting seedlings into the prepared soil ensuring that I have dug in enough compost.  Vegetables such as the brassicas and courgettes are hungry for nutrients.  The leguminous plants such as peas and beans have root nodules which convert a...

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From Soil to Table: April

Posted by Rosemary Jeboo on Monday, April 20, 2015, In : Gardening 

April brings an array of seedlings ready for planting.  

I have learnt from past mistakes that labelling is essential to growing from seeds.  Cucumber, pumpkin, squashes and courgettes all belong to cucurbit family and look the same. The sight of hundreds of seedlings which need to be planted out may look daunting.  But any negative thoughts quickly dissipate.  

Greens are full of Vitamin K, folic acid and natural colourings of lucetin and beta-carotene.  Good for my brain. Then...


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From Soil to Table: March

Posted by Rosemary Jeboo on Saturday, March 28, 2015, In : Gardening 

By Rosemary Jeboo, a regular BCM producer

March is an awakening of the senses and a quickening in pace to sow seeds that will give seasonal produce for tasty meals.  My garden now has perennials such as sorrel, kale and spinach ready to cook.  These are all hardy crops which can withstand the winter and provide produce all year.  Rosemary, thyme, mint and nettle can be grown in containers and a small cutting will produce plants which will enhance any dish or salad.  

I have so...


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