‘Rain, Rain go away come a back another day’
A rhyme my mother used to say and one that I imagine has been handed down and adapted through the generations. I am told it dates back to the 17th century. She always recounted the rhyme on Mondays because that was washing day, the use of the mangle to extract the water; a fond memory for me though I think mum would have regarded it as a task versus a toy to play with. With today’s regulations there would have been many safety guards in place restricting my fun! I still clean the house on a Monday, but the washing machine strikes up regardless throughout the week.
This winter must have been the most unrelenting regarding the rainfall for some years, I don’t have the facts and figures I just know from the physical experience of being continually wet and sliding and skidding through deep mud when walking Bertie, and the frustration of not being able to get onto the garden. I have noted the weather down in my diary with its fluctuating temperatures, and my need for one day to be donning thermal underwear and the next a t shirt, (maybe an exaggeration) but I would imagine you know where I am coming from, it has become rather tiresome. Not only have we had endless rain but sharp winds and frosts. It has been a bad time for plants, even the hardiest have struggled when faced with soaking wet soil one day and then freezing winds; I would even hazard to say it can be the worst conditions in which for a plant to survive. Again I was reading Beth Chattos book whilst having my peppermint tea and to endorse my thoughts she mentions a wind frost which she describes “as even more deadly”. Two of my most healthy Choisya ternata have been badly damaged and the Virburnum tinus have also taken a hit, streaks of brown leaves now decorate the shrubs which always have for me been solid stalwarts in my garden structure. I am also sad to report that the ‘Sparrow Hotel’ (Ceanothus) is in real trouble; I am hoping it recovers in time for the nesting season. Having never really used a foliar feed before, my attitude has always been that it encourages too much growth, but I am finding myself definitely thinking that perhaps this year might be the first.
On a brighter note now is the time to prune evergreens, once the pruning has been done it allows the tree or shrub enough time to put on new growth that will in turn cover the branches that have been pruned. To move to an even brighter note the weather this weekend was positive, my potatoes were planted and the first harvest of Rhubarb pulled, absolutely delicious. The framework for the apple step-over’s (blog to follow) was put into place as was the autumn fruiting raspberries, the variety I chose on this occasion is called ‘Joan J’, it has worked well for me over the past few years and the position in which I have planted them is not favourable as I would like it to be, so I will just have to wait and see.
Going back to the subject of planting potatoes, I do not plant them in the ground, but in containers not being avid potato eaters, but I have to confess they are delicious either roasted with a splash of olive oil and some sea salt or gently boiled with fresh mint from the garden. I grow my potatoes in plastic pots, thinking back they once contained large shrubs so are of a good size. They stand 27cm tall and 35cm wide, smaller in comparison to the ones I bought originally many years ago from a garden centre only one of those remains in use today, the size of those are approximately 40cm wide from edge to edge and 39 to 40cm deep. I still get a good result from the smaller containers but I must admit to having a larger crop from the deeper pot. When planting only use three potatoes per bucket anymore and you won’t get a decent crop, fill a third of the container with compost, evenly space your potatoes with the eyes facing up I am not sure if it matters at this stage but I always do. Cover lightly with compost, gently water and then wait until the green foliage starts to show, if it is dry (we can always hope) then do give water but do not drown them! When the foliage starts to show add more compost covering all signs of growth. Carry on doing this until you are approximately 10 cm below the edge of the pot. Then wait, and let them grow. Not all potatoes will flower so don’t assume it hasn’t worked. Harvest when you are ready in autumn, last year I harvested the first bucket on the 14th August thanks to my diary entry I know that for certain, the subsequent containers were harvested towards the end of August, some I left too late which gave me a good crop but of larger potatoes. It’s all personal taste. Harvest them when you want to eat them. I don’t grow the pots in full sun they are positioned near the Rhubarb which does get sun for part of the day.
Any garden can produce potatoes in this way, even a small back yard, I used to do it in London, and we had no garden however there was ample space near where the bins were stored, there is always a way, never give up. It is so much fun harvesting the potatoes especially when you have young children, find a large plastic sheet when ready to harvest and turn the container over, the excitement of searching through the soil and finding ‘Treasure’ as we used to call it, then taking them inside and cooking them for supper. A treat and experience never forgotten, likened to opening Christmas presents! When it comes to storing the potatoes they are placed in the very popular plastic sweet containers that seem to appear in abundance at Christmas, yet more recycling. The last of the 2017 crop of ‘Pink fir Apples’ was eaten in February of this year. For some reason I have only grown one variety in 2018 and that is ‘Charlotte’ an extremely adaptable potato, useful in lots of dishes. If you do grow the two varieties then the Pink fir Apple does store well and its knobbly pink skin lends itself to the autumn palate of roasted meats. Don’t wash them store them as you harvest them. If you have a pantry then all the better if not then store in the coolest, darkest place possible, a shed or a garage, a building that is not in sun. My pantry which I would never be without is called affectionately ‘The Grim Reapers Room’ during winter; you go in get what you need and get out as quickly as possible. On numerous occasions I have taken food from the freezer left it in the pantry in order to cook it for supper that evening and still found it frozen. It just shows how cold it is. Alas no supper!
I am not sure when the pantry was created but hats off to an extremely clever person. In the Tudor period of the reign of Henry VII it was at its best during the summer months, when dairy products were being produced. The windows as in my pantry were placed on two separate walls allowing ventilation to flow through the room, it was built on the north side of the house the main building shielding it from the heat of the day, and the floor tiles of the Tudor pantry were porous so when water was literally thrown over the floor in the morning it would evaporate throughout the day and in doing so kept the room would be kept to between 5 to 6 degrees regardless of the temperature outside. The pantry here is tiled floor to ceiling; it houses the fridge and two freezers and numerous shelves for storage. The most valuable space you could ever wish for. I still remember someone commenting on how we could extend the kitchen by removing the pantry, I could not think of anything worst.
