Tuesday 14 April 2015

Triumph of hope over experience.

Once more into the breach as I drive this afternoon to our local Garden Centre to buy this year's seeds and vegetable plants for our veggie  garden.

Our garden is not in a very productive part of the farmyard and weather conditions play a large part in the success of the growing.
The South side is bordered by our implement shed which - except when the sun is very high in the sky - shades the top third.  It is heavy soil and also very wet.

But the farmer stoically plants it up every year and then gets pleasure harvesting the peas, podding them and giving them to me to blanch and freeze; same goes for the broad beans and eventually for the runner beans. Other things like parsley, turnips, beetroot etc. depend from year to year on weather conditions.

I would give up doing it entirely if it were left to me.   It always needs doing at times when there is a lot to do on the farm itself and good green grocers these days have good fresh vegetables (I know I shall get one or two keen gardeners telling me that fresh is best (Cro yes, I mean you).

But off we go again -  leek plants into the cold frame to harden off, along with some broad bean plants and a tray of sweet pea plants.  The rest into the garden shed to wait for time to be put into the ground.  

As I say at the beginning - as usual a triumph of hope over experience.  Good luck this year I hope.

12 comments:

angryparsnip said...

I am very slowly getting my garden planted. It should have been planted last month.
But It is just for my enjoyment and a small amount of yummy goodness.

cheers, parsnip

Gwil W said...

I only have one 'food' plant and it is a rhubarb. It's in the middle of the lilies. I haven't got the heart to eat it. I just look at it and admire its red stalks, how they seem to get redder every year, and I think maybe it's a kind of flower too.

Jenny Woolf said...

Oh, I wish I had someone to grow veggies. I try but I'm hopeless. I need a gardening fairy I think! nothing like home grown veg, though, truly....

Joanne Noragon said...

How close to home you are. I leave the veggie garden to the self proclaimed farmer in the house. It has been an abject failure for ten years or more, and he will not take a jar or two of soil to the soil and water people for analysis, probably because he does not want to know why all his work yields nothing.

Em Parkinson said...

Our veggie garden isn't great either Pat - perhaps it's an altitude thing? OB was very touched by your comment by the way. Thank you. x

Frances said...

Ahh, but this could be The Year!

Best of luck to you all.

Heather said...

I do hope the weather is kind to your crops this year. I know the quality of vegs in most shops is good but nothing beats those freshly picked from your own garden, especially peas and runner beans. Happy planting and sowing.

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

You are so right that planting/sowing is at a busy time of year. I'm going round in circles trying to get it all done at the moment !

John Going Gently said...

I need to get my arse into gear
Bosoms is looking a bit rough and unkempt

Midlife Roadtripper said...

Always fun to buy them and imagine though.

Cro Magnon said...

For me it's more the convenience of having what I eat at the end of the garden. I also believe that gardening keeps me fit.

Linda Metcalf said...

Nothing like fresh creamed peas and new potatoes. And green beans and new potatoes. I'm anxiously awaiting fresh tomatos but that will be a while yet.