Ideas and Complications

My daughter has found a new dog. It’s in Peterborough. There was another one in Cumbria but she thought that was too far. It’s a chocolate labrador. I didn’t know she was looking for a new dog. Also, I thought new dogs came from the local dog’s home. What do I know? My daughter doesn’t have a car. Can you take me to get it, Dad? So the main and major complication today is that I will spend six hours in the car. Had it been Cumbria it would have been two days. How lucky is that?

That was yesterday.

Action

Today, Friday, I continue to write. This week I have sown lots of kale and cabbages in my home made quarter pots. I have hundreds of small black pots and I’ve cut some into quarters to create four spaces (see picture). Also in the picture are the leeks, which have now come up, and some of the first sowing of cabbages. The other main thing this week was to dig up a large globe artichoke plant and divide it up. I have planted the divisions in pots and put them in a corner of the greenhouse to help them establish.

Plants

Other plants are quietly growing. I have potted up four of each variety of tomato. I’m keeping them in the propagator and taking the cover off during the day to help them establish. They’re doing OK I think. The first pair of true leaves are developing. I’ve also sown some callaloo. I’m not sure what it is, but I had a fantastic Caribbean meal the other day, and I believe callaloo is Carribean. I will also be sowing some scotch bonnet chiles sometime soon. I’ve also ordered some Jasminum sambac seeds because I read the plants were good for something.

Harvest

I’ve used some parsley in a Caribbean dish, and I picked come nettle shoots and used them in a dahl. That’s about it. I have thought about picking some dandelions. In the greenhouse I have potted up some rosemary cuttings and some bay cuttings. One of the beauties about growing cuttings for yourself is that they don’t all have to root. If a nurseryman plants ten cuttings and only two root it’s a failure, but for me, that’s fine. One for me, one to give away. The coriander are still tiny, but two lettuces in the same pot are fattening.

Other things

A bit of a struggle writing this. It’s important for me to get over the fact that it’s not Thursday, and remember that yesterday was a very good day. We collected the dog and stopped on the way back at Lamport Hall, where I was the gardener for a couple of years over thirty years ago. Ellen was three when we left. Going back can sometimes be difficult, but I was struck by the beauty of the place. It was a special place for me, and it was wonderful to see that it was special to those who followed me.