Sunday 29 January 2017

Veg.

It's a cold wet day, best suited to sitting by a well-stocked log fire and having a leisurely read through the papers or starting on one of the Christmas books.  The various seed and plant firms are bombarding me with emails tempting me to purchase their goods. I would love to be swinging into action in the garden but it's far too early in the year to be doing much. We are still cropping plenty of vegetables; sprouts, leeks, chard, spinach, turnip and swede, but it's not much fun squelching about in the sodden soil to harvest them. To eat with our haggis we had the traditional mashed 'neeps 'n tatties,'  homegrown. (Turnips and potatoes to you sassenachs.)
I sowed swede and turnip seed in the autumn after clearing one of the veg beds of a summer crop at the suggestion of Monty Don on a gardening programme. I thought that it might be too late in the season to have much success, but worth trying as otherwise the ground would just lie idle.
I'm pleased with the results, a good crop of both. Something has had a nibble at the swedes, but without inflicting too much damage, as you can see. 
There's plenty of seed left in each packet to plant again this autumn. Now doesn't that gladden the heart of someone who has a combination of Scottish and Yorkshire blood in her veins!

6 comments:

  1. A mark of a true gardener. Let no earth lie fallow even in winter. I can only try and keep plants alive in winter with no space to plant things for harvesting.

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    1. Everything is looking very sorry for itself in the garden, Donna, frosted, nibbled, drenched. (And I feel a bit the same way!)

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  2. I had to look up what a swede was. It is a Rutabaga !
    Do you call them swede all the time or did you know they are also Rutabagas ?
    I can not have a garden winter or summer because the pack rats will devour everything. They tunnel under, through and over anything. I sure there is a reason for them but I just can't figure out what.
    Your photo lookes like part of a Duch Master painting. Wonderful

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Rutabaga - never heard of it! Had to go to google to read all about it. It's worthy of another posting!

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  3. Thank you for visit me ;)...nice pictures...in Sweden we still have winter. So we can`t be in garden yet ;)...have a nice week !!
    Hug bia

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    1. Hello Bia, it is still winter here as well, but not as pretty to look at as yours in Sweden! Your photos remind me of the lovely interiors painted by Carl Larsson.

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