Special Offer on Jams Marmalades Curds and Chutneys tomorrow only at Torphins Market

Apologies its been very quiet on the Blog for a few weeks but work has just been relentless!!

 

Anyway just a quick post to let you know of our Special Offer for tomorrow only

 on our Jams Marmalades Curds and Chutneys

 which is any 3 200g jars for £7-50 (normally £2-95 each)

 

At

 

Torphins Market - Platform 22 - 10am till 2pm

 

 

Black Tomatoes ??

Our veggie box customers may notice some strange tomatoes this season and this is one of them - Black Tula a Russian heirloom that may be the ugliest and most delicious tomato you'll ever eat !  Rich and full flavoured

 

 

This deep reddish-brown Russian beefsteak variety is not as dark as some other "black" tomatoes, where it really scores is on taste which is strong, rich and sweetly-sharp with a hint of smokiness.

 

 

Enjoy !!

If I ever see another onion I'll.........

 

 

 

 

If anyone knows any peg producing Gypsies that would be great!!!!

Grow Grow Grow

  With the warmer weather everything seems to be growing like mad at the moment thank goodness - even the peppers

The Tomatoes are starting to ripen, the tattie tops are looking good from all the sun compared with the last few years......plenty of water needed too

 

 

 The Pumpkins too are enjoying life in the big Polytunnel and literally like the courgettes  seem to grow overnight

 The climbing French Beans and Sweetcorn will soon be up to the roof

Climbing French Beans

 

Sweetcorn

Courgettes

Fennel

 
 

Broad Beans

 

Kale 1

Kale 2

 
 

Pointy Cabbage

 

Platform 22 Torphins Summer Market Tomorrow 10am till 2pm

Well for the summer market tomorrow at Platform 22 Torphins more of our own home grown veg will be available including Courgettes, Salad bags Cucumbers, Onions, Broccoli Heads, Baby Cauliflowers and 'pointy' Cabbages - limited quantities at the moment but hopefully will give everyone an idea of what's going to be coming to the Wednesday market each week and be included in the veggie boxes very soon.

 

Everything as ever is picked on the day so tomorrow will be an early start......again.

We'll also have our Jams Marmalades & Chutneys with some tasters for you to try.

For our Wednesday customers the good news is our new hens are laying already so hoping to have plenty of eggs again from next week onwards

Fingers crossed for good weather... see you all tomorrow

The Veggies are coming....at last

yes thank you the first cucumber of 2013 should be ready for eating this week

 or maybe next.......maybe we'll eat it or auction it off !!!

Progress............at last !!!

 

Well finally with the warm weather we've got quite a lot of veg growing outside as you can see from the picture below, Cabbage, Cauliflowers, Broccoli, Peas, Broad Beans, Onions

and as our backs can testify several hundred tatties !!

 

 Inside the Polytunnels the salads are growing like mad.....lucky us ;-)

and the Cucumbers are in their new home and seem to be thriving - in previous years they've not liked being moved and taken a good 10 days or so to settle in

 

and there are some tiny cucumbers on the plants already as hopefully you can see in the picture below - at this rate we'll have some ready by the end of June and if they are half as good as previous years everyone will love them again

The Tomatoes too are settling in

 

and as you can see on the left we've got some fruit which again hopefully will be ready in the not too distant future









For those of you who grow your own tomatoes we picked up this deep root watering system idea recently - watering  is one thing which causes problems with Tomatoes so the idea is that the drainpipe enables water to get to the roots of the plant - all you need to do is 'dig' a hole place a length of drainpipe around a foot or so with 1/2 inch holes drilled in it where it will be below the surface - you can then fill it when watering with a hose or watering can - it will be interesting to see how this works this year

 

The Head Gardeners (Jeannette) seedling tunnel - now 50% taken over with Tomato plants; it's so warm the camera keeps steaming up!!

 

These Onion sets were planted last October but have readily survived the winter and are looking great now. Should be ready to pull at the end of June fingers crossed

 

Plant Sale

Dinnet Hall

Saturday 18th May

10am till 12 noonish

 

Bedding Hanging Basket Veg and Tomato Plants

Flower and Tomato Hanging Baskets

Home made Jams & Marmalades

We love trying new things so this year we're giving 2 new Mulch materials a go. Every gardener surely hates weeding so anything we can do to reduce/eliminate the time spent weeding has got to be a huge bonus.

The first is a paper mulch incorporating a 'built in' fertiliser the second is a fabric made from Corn starch which looks like black plastic both of which last a season and then can be composted or rotavated into the plot.
You can find more information at http://www.mulchorganic.co.uk/

This week thanks to the fine weather we've rotavated
and planted outside Tatties Cauliflowers and Broccoli with Peas and Broad Beans to follow in the next few days weather permitting. The 300 Onions are doing well in the polytunnel...many more to follow and we've got plenty of bedding plants ready for our annual sale at Dinnet Hall on Saturday 18th May 10am till 12 noon

Polytunnels and babies

Well our latest Polytunnel is well and truly taking shape and it's spawned some babies as you can see in the pictures above !! 

Jeannettes been busy again sowing more seeds of every description and variety both for the Veggieboxes later in the year and for our Plant Sales which weather permitting will hopefully be taking place in May

 

Otherwise little has been happening outside as the ground is still very wet but fingers crossed we can get some prep work done very soon

 

 

and get some of the plants outside where they should be like these peas and broad beans

 

 

 

We are now fully committed for Veggieboxes for this coming season thanks to our existing customers and our new ones.  

 

If anyone is still interested then you are very welcome to register and in the event someone drops out we'll be in touch......in 5 years however only 1 customer has !

 

Hopefully the weather will improve shortly and we can actually plant something outside.

 

Tomato plants (Alicante)
Whilst outside is a freezing -1c during the day these little beauties are enjoying their underfloor heating which is at a constant temperature of around 14c.  Happy little bunnies that they are tho' it wouldn't take much to under or over water them even at this stage in their lives.  I leave the radio on sometimes (mainly 70's if possible it's the best up beat music for these little darlings) and even if I never see them dance along you will certainly catch me boogieing.   All told a very happy greenhouse with exception to the cold outside and  it  looks like this will their home well into April.

Cucumber plants (telegraph improved)
A favourite vegetable of mine all told.  This little guy is about 2 weeks old.  You cannot believe that it will produce around 10 or more 12-18inch long succulent fruits within just a few months and continue well up to the first frosts of the autumn.   You just can't beat home grown for flavour. So roll on the summer months.   And don't forget, as bad as the weather is right now there is always sunshine behind those clouds.

“Nature herself does not distinguish between what seed it receives. It grows whatever seed is planted; this is the way life works. Be mindful of the seeds you plant today, as they will become the crop you harvest”.
Mary Morrissey

The consequences of sowing seed is something that constantly amazes me - seeing it appear from underneath the medium in which it has been placed, in such a delicate state, to the grand finale of producing a crop - a reproduction of hopefully what you have in mind in the first place and what the picture shows you on the seed packet.   

Afterall as the quote infers - Nature cannot help itself!

 

First onion seedlings.  Around 3 weeks since they were sown. You can still still see the seed on the tip of the seedling.  Each seedling will be seperated once hardened off a little to give them a chance to expand otherwise they become too spindly and weak. 

Harvest for these babes won't be until July/August.

 

 

An experiment this year is sowing some French Beans earlier than usual.  They've had some heat to get them started and at the moment are being acclimatised to cooler climes in the greenhouse until they can be moved to the polytunnel for planting. 

The idea is that we can have those delicate tasty beans by May/June instead of July/August.   Lets see shall we? 

 

More next week.......

The snow must go on....

 

 

Well the snow keeps putting paid to doing much outside including constructing our new Polytunnel which was going to be for seedlings. So as the others are not being used too much just now we've split one of them in half and double glazed it using bubble wrap

 

 

 and put the staging supports in which we bought with the tunnel. We've then added some batten sized timbers jumbo trays and capilliary matting for the seed trays to sit on when its safe to move the seedlings in

                                      

Next job is to start building cloches for outside and inside the big tunnel. Going to be using the Geoff Hamilton kind of method /principle although simplified from his exquisite structures
You can view how to make them here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGA0P9uB9z4&list=PLc-dF6EoGozTVgVwMDbgnU5UvnEd63xMg&index=14

Pete & Jeannette’s Polytunnel Tips Part 1

Have a look at our website Gallery Page for some Polytunnel pictures:

http://www.thefarmgarden.co.uk/gallery.htm

It’s around this time of year that looking forward desperately to spring people start thinking of growing their own veg and perhaps putting up a Polytunnel or Hoophouse as our cousins across the pond call them Lots of folk have written books about buying a tunnel and you can find loads of information on various websites but we thought that having now had a number of years experience in buying erecting and using them  we thought we’d add our own ten penneth worth too

1. Perhaps first and foremost you should check with your local councils planning department as the situation seems to vary around the UK. Our understanding of the current position is taken from First Tunnels website “In general you do not need planning permission for sheds, greenhouses, summerhouses or polytunnels. However you will need to apply for planning permission if the polytunnel is nearer to any road than the nearest part of the house, unless there's at least 20m between the polytunnel and a road. You can't build over 3m high (or more than 4m if it has a pitched roof). A pitched roof has its ridge at the centre, and both sides slope down at the same angle - this accurately describes a polytunnel roof. Take extra care if your site has a listed building or resides in a conservation area, national park, or area of outstanding natural beauty. There are further restrictions to planning in these cases”

2. Does size matter – always buy as big as you can fit in and afford. Once you start growing your own fruit and veg you’ll never have enough room!!   Bear in mind however the bigger the tunnel the more steelwork and hence construction and the bigger the sheet of polythene to go over it - many hands make light work

3. Siting the Polytunnel - If you have the choice, and you are prone to strong winds, positioning the polytunnel where it will have maximum protection, ie next to a wall, hedge or tree-line. If these don’t exist then position the length of the polytunnel into the prevailing wind As regards growing it is accepted that a North to South orientation will generate slightly lower temperatures than East to West where the sun moves across the long side of the polytunnel.   

Other practical things we would consider would be

   1. Leave sufficient gap between the tunnel and any buildings/hedges/trees. In the case of trees etc we don’t really want any roots possibly affecting the structure neither do we want any tree falling on the tunnel in a storm for example. Leaving a gap to enable recladding (replacing the polythene) in the future and perhaps getting a mini digger or certainly a wheelbarrow down the sides and along the ends would make sense

   2. Think about the site in relation to water supply – if we ever get a summer you will need to water A LOT ! But think about where the water is going to come from and how it will get into your tunnel

   3. The site should really be as level as possible as although we have seen tunnels sloping from end to end, side to side is a no no.

4. Type of Polytunnel – most tunnels consist of a steel frame which sits on foundation tubes which are either hammered directly into the ground or clamped through anchor plates or concreted. The polythene cover is either ‘trenched’ ie buried into the ground all round the length and width – this necessitates depending on the size of your tunnel a good deal of digging or hiring a mini digger (which obviously adds to the total cost) or fitted into base rails either wood or aluminium which are normally clamped to the steel hoops. The advantages of the base rail method are : less digging – you will however still have to dig holes for the foundation tubes/anchor plates but not a trench all round the tunnel If you ever want/need to re stretch the polythene or indeed replace it, it is a lot simpler with base rails. Bear in mind again that base rails will add to the overall cost and aluminium ones which are simpler in our opinion to use are more expensive usually than wooden ones

5. Extras – with a tunnel ‘kit’ you will basically get the steel frame, the polythene cover and all the bits to assemble your tunnel

One or two things you might consider (and why) depending on your supplier/design

Crop Bars – Crop bars basically are bolted onto the tunnel hoops and run from side to side on each hoop apart from the two ends. They are useful for supporting growing plants; running watering/irrigation pipes/systems along and also add a degree of rigidity to the tunnel which if you live in an area prone to high winds is worthwhile

Additional Bracing – in a nutshell this would consist of probably 2 additional ridge bars placed either side of the central ridge bar – we have them placed where the hoop begins to bend coming up from the ground towards the central ridge bar. If you live again in a windy spot or like us experience heavy snowfall from time to time these additional bars add more strength to the whole structure. In all our tunnels we have added 4” x 2” wooden uprights from ground to centre ridge bar as the experience one new years day of seeing our big tunnel looking like a giant had trodden on it (through weight of snow) is not one we care to repeat

Finally a roll of polythene repair tape – with all the care in the world and despite the polythene covers being strong the odd nick/cut is bound to happen sometime whether during construction or later use. Having a roll of this handy can save your investment !

Perhaps a lot of people don't appreciate just what work goes into producing the flowers for our hanging baskets.

Jeannettes been sowing Lobelia today and as you can see below because the seeds are so tiny a magnifying glass is of great help!

But fingers crossed and with a lot of TLC over the next 5 months or so they'll end up in our baskets looking like this

We've updated our Website gallery for The Farm Garden with images from literally day 1 you can have a look at http://www.thefarmgarden.co.uk/gallery.htm

Sowing Sowing Sowing

Well the snow is finally melting thank goodness but we've taken the opportunity of time indoors to put our sowing schedule together

 This is January and February - you can also view this at www.thefarmgarden.co.uk/jan&feb.jpg

 

and this is the whole year again you can view this at www.thefarmgarden.co.uk/wholeyear.jpg

 

 

We've also put a Polytunnel sowing schedule together for those of you who have or might be contemplating getting one

This is in Excel format at www.thefarmgarden.co.uk/sowingschedpt.xls

or as a PDF document at www.thefarmgarden.co.uk/sowingschedpt.pdf

 

Our latest polytunnel has just been delivered from First Tunnels who incidentally have 15% off Polytunnels until 4th February 2013. We've always found them excellent for customer service and they have a series of videos showing construction and lots more so have a look at their website. If you need any additional tips from us drop us a line at 

The Farm Garden and we'll try and help !!

 

Anyway long may the melt continue and we can get back outside.....loads to do as usual

 

We've also updated the Gallery page on our website showing what we've done literally from day 1  The Farm Garden Gallery

 

 

Enough Snow !!!

 

The 2 smaller polytunnels are more semicircular so a lot of the snow comes off by gravity

 

The larger one however is much flatter on top so a long brush is handy!!

We've beefed up the larger one inside with wooden uprights and additional ridge bars on each side so fingers crossed!!

Welcome to our new Blog !!

Time permitting we are going to try and keep a record at least once a week of what we've been up to at The Farm Garden so please come back soon.

At the moment we're spending our daylight hours clearing snow off our polytunnels and keeping our fingers crossed they'll survive through the nights !!

Peter & Jeannette