A Time of Plenty

Reaping the harvests at this time of the summer is special. This is when the planning, planting & caring for the garden really pay off well. The basket is laden with beans, actually I’ve planted a few too many as I got carried away with making trellises from prunings. These pruning were a result of a program to reducing the hight of some of our mature fruit trees to make netting easier. I had put them aside to use for weaving projects but then thought they would make interesting trellises. So they are now supporting various beans along with the main bike wheel trellis.

Daily harvests of tomatoes, cucumbers, a rich variety of greens, carrots of all colours, basil, deliciously sweet parsnips, and rich beetroot plus when required chard and, the odd cabbage make meals special. This week a friend brought round a rabbit, which was cooked to perfection by Quentin and shared with our neighbour June. Needless to say it was served with a wide selection of vegetables fresh from the garden.

To ensure continual harvests, continual plantings are necessary .I plant 1 or 2 1 metre rows 2 days before the full moon, some are thinned & transplanted in any gap I can find, the rest let develop & harvested at varying stages. Planting 2 days before a full moon ensures quick germination but more importantly gives me a rhythm to work with & ensures I plant seeds each month for a continual harvest. When I transplant seedlings either from the garden beds or pots I always do it in the late afternoon when the earth in breathing in and preferably on the new moon as the earth's least fertile time. This gives the seedling time to settle in and the take advantage of growth period of the full moon.

Garden View from top of Garden Shed.