Charles Dowding's Veg Journal

I was asked if I'd like to review Charles Dowding's Veg Journal which has recently been published by Frances Lincoln (www.franceslincoln.com , @Frances_Lincoln). I was especially interested in hearing more about the no-dig advice contained in this book, so I was happy to go ahead.

The book has a sturdy hardback cover and would stand up to being used for reference on an allotment plot or outside in the veg patch.

The introduction explains that gardening feels more fulfilling when jobs are spread throughout the year. With this in mind, the book's aim is to travel through a year of vegetable growing, covering the most important seasonal tasks and explaining some jobs which keep cropping up.

Charles Dowding has a no-dig approach to gardening and he explains in the book why he gardens this way and how no-dig works. There's also a section on creating no-dig beds.

Photos demonstrate the difference in soil when it hasn't been dug.

The book is set out month by month, as I expected it would be. Each monthly section contains space to write notes as well as giving a list of jobs for the month.

Further information is given on some of the jobs mentioned, such as composting, harvesting and weeding. I shall find the section on common annual weeds very helpful as I'm always stumped when it comes to weeds, what they're called and how they grow.

I think this book would be excellent for beginners as the How To Grow pages give clear information on where and when to sow, time from sowing to planting, when to plant and spacing and care. There's also lots of tips which will be very useful to a novice. All the most common vegetables are covered, and many more besides.

There's many other topics covered in the book. One which every gardener needs to know is Tackling Pests and Diseases. We never get a season without some pest damage to our crops.

The Seed Saving Tips are something I'm interested in. I don't save much seed myself but it's something I'm keen to improve on.

I haven't read the book from cover to cover but from what I have read, I would say that this book is aimed more at the beginner, though there are certainly some topics which will be useful to the more experienced gardener.

As you can see, each topic is illustrated beautifully, there's some really lovely photos in the book.

If you fancy this book yourself, the publishers are offering a copy as a giveaway prize. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post before twelve noon on Friday the 24th of January 2014, after which, a name will be drawn at random. Please note that this giveaway is open to UK/EU only and that I will be passing on the winner's name and address details to the publishing company in order for them to send out your prize.

To order Charles Dowding's Veg Journal at the discounted price of £12.00 including p&p* (RRP: £14.99), telephone 01903 828503 or email mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk and quote the offer code APG69. 

Alternatively, send a cheque made payable to: 

Littlehampton Book Services Mail Order Department, 

Littlehampton Book Services, 

PO Box 4264, 

Worthing, West Sussex 

BN13 3RB. 

Please quote the offer code APG69 and include your name and address details. 

*UK ONLY - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.

Garden Visiting In January

I don't often visit gardens, Daniel and Eleanor were never keen to traipse around looking at flowers so it's something we've rarely done. Now that Mick and I have time to do things on our own, I've decided that I'm going to try and visit a garden each month this year.

Whilst looking on the internet for somewhere to visit in January, I came across Wentworth Garden Centre. It's set in sixteen acres of walled and landscaped gardens, built in the 18th century by the Fitzwilliams of Wentworth Woodhouse.

The gardens are now being restored by the garden centre, and after our visit there yesterday, I have to say that they're doing a fantastic job.

We haven't had many frosts this year, but I would say that yesterday was our frostiest day of the year. It hung around all day.

The garden centre charge £1.50 per adult admission to the historic gardens and as you walk through the gate, the first thing to greet you is the maze. The replanting of the maze is one of the recent projects to be completed after it was grubbed out shortly after the Second World War.

We weren't very successful in getting round the maze, we ended up exiting the same way we went in. I should think that this would be a firm favourite with children.

The creation of a deer paddock is another project which has recently been undertaken. I should imagine that children would enjoy this area of the garden too.

As we walked further round, we came to a place where you could stand right next to the fence and one or two of the deer were very inquisitive and came to see us. One even waited for her nose to be stroked.

Some of the walls in the garden are hot walls and once contained heated flues. Fruit such as pineapples, peaches and apricots were grown in glasshouses which were erected next to these heated walls.

There's different areas to the garden, all with a different feel to them.

I didn't know what this was until I read up on it. It's a bear pit and the chamber has contained bears within living memory.

There's stairs to climb inside the pit and then you exit in an elevated part of the garden.

I also had to look up what these openings were. Any Ideas?

Here's a closer look. They're actually duck houses which date back to the Victorian period. They housed ornamental varieties including Pintail, Widgeon, Teal and Black Swans.

There's a few odd looking statues dotted about the garden.

I like this one though, sheltering under a tree at the end of a rill.

Wildlife habitats and feeding stations were evident throughout the gardens. Log piles had been left and plenty of bird houses and seed and nut holders were scattered about. They're obviously paying off as there was beautiful birdsong to accompany us on our walk.

We saw three squirrels chasing each other along the ground until they climbed a tree, swirling and twirling as they went. I was too slow with my camera to catch them in the act.

It was a lovely place for a visit and we'll definitely return later in the year to see the gardens again in a different season. I can tell that spring will bring plenty of colour, there were already lots of bulbs beginning to show themselves.

After visiting the gardens, we headed for the garden centre. There's plenty to see here too and it was very busy. In the grounds are a restaurant, a deli, an ice cream parlour and a farm shop. There's craft units in the courtyard and even an adventure playground, among other things.

There was a farmer's market in the car park. It's there on the second Sunday of the month and has stalls which include local venison, ostrich, kangaroo, honey, preserves, artisan cheeses and organic vegetables.

After we'd visited the historic gardens and garden centre, we made our way in to Wentworth village. You can read about that on my Through The Keyhole blog.

All in all, a lovely, but chilly, day out.

Abandoned Veggies

When we took on our new allotment, it had just about all been cleared. I mentioned previously that lots of soft fruit bushes and canes have been left behind, but nearly all the veg which had been growing had been lifted so that the majority of the plot is now bare. There's one exception, parsnips. They don't look much more than weeds at this time of year, but it's what's underground that matters.

The previous plot owners have left absolutely loads of parsnips behind. If I'd been them I'd have been tempted to lift them and take them with me. In fact, that's what we did on our old plot. Parsnips were the only things we had growing, so we didn't want to leave them behind. Delicious they were too. On our new plot, there's two full rows left, and we've already dug up and used an extra half row.

They've grown really well so it's a shame that the old plot holders aren't reaping the rewards of their hard work, but I'm not complaining, this lot should keep us going for quite some time. I keep lifting more than I need for one meal so that I can par boil them and freeze them for use later, otherwise they'll end up going woody before we get round to using them all.

As you can see from the photos, they're a great size. At least I know that parsnips should grow well on the plot for me.

Christmas Presents

I was very lucky this year, Santa brought me lots of lovely things for the garden. I'm sure the birds will be delighted as some of my gifts will benefit them.

I absolutely love this birdbath. I'm still deciding where in the garden to place it. I'd like to be able to see it from the window so that I can enjoy the birds taking a dip or having a little drink.

It's got such lovely detailing on it, these are little leaves draping from the sides in to the bowl.

Even the stand is decorated.

I got another birdbath to hang on my feeding station. I'm going to wait until the strong winds we're currently experiencing have died down before hanging it though as it's ceramic, I don't want any accidents.

There's a cute little birdie on the side.

I think my seed bill is going to go up, I've got another bird feeder to fill now. This feeder comes apart for ease of cleaning which will be very handy, it's so hard to give some feeders a thorough wash out.

I already have a Super7 electric propagator but it can be a little restricting. It's ideal for windowsills as the seed trays are only a quarter size, but it's not very good if you want to use your own pots. This new electric propagator will be much better for starting off larger seeds, or for things like cuttings.

I'm not a huge fan of roses, but I do love pale yellow ones, especially with single flowers. I was really taken with Golden Wings when Sue showed a photo of it on her Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments blog. It was included in the post, Flowers on the plot - Self sown and roses, and I commented then that I really liked it but didn't have anywhere to grow it, but I put it on my wish list all the same. I was thrilled to bits when I opened it up on Christmas morning, I'm just going to have to find a space for it now. It's going to look beautiful when it blooms.

I love the fact that it's fragrant too.

I shall have to take care when planting it, just look at those thorns.

I've mentioned before how I have a thing for pigs. Mavis, my pig from Mevagissey, recently featured on my Meet Mavis post. Now, she has a little companion.

This is Joffrey, my little Micro pig which Daniel bought me for Christmas. He came in his own little carrier, and when opened up, you can see that he was comfortable as he was nestled in hay.

How cute. I can see a little collection in the making here.

Didn't I do well? I've been thoroughly spoilt, as usual.

I'm Giving Up My Allotment

Yes, I'm really giving it up. Actually, this was decided in October but the key to the site will be handed back this week. It's the end of an era.

Don't worry, it's not as drastic as it sounds, I've already got a brand new plot and I love it.

This all came about a long time ago. My allotment is on a very small site, there's only six plots on it. You have to go down a ginnel to reach it and it's tucked right out of the way behind some houses. I was there on my own one day doing a bit of weeding. When I looked up, I saw a lad mooching about nearby. I was a little taken aback and eventually he made his way through some bushes which run along the side of the site. About five minutes later, a couple of men came running through the site. When they saw me, they asked if I'd seen a young lad. Apparently, he'd been trying to break in to one of the nearby houses and the men were giving chase. This episode really unnerved me and since then, I haven't liked to visit the plot on my own. With it being such a small site, it's extremely rare that anyone else is there when we visit so it's quite lonely.

There are four allotment sites in our area, all run by the same association, so Mick had a word with the secretary who put our names on the waiting list to switch sites. We've waited quite some time, but we got a phone call in October offering us a plot on a different site. In fact, we had a choice of plots, but we've really struck lucky with the one we've taken.

It's really been looked after and has only been given up because of ill health. There's a blackberry bush, currant bushes, raspberry canes, gooseberry bush, a strawberry patch and quite a large rhubarb patch. All the fruit is tied in to frames where necessary and looks very neat and tidy. There's also a shed on the plot which Mick's very pleased about. What is it about men and sheds? It will come in very handy anyway.

We'll have to wait and see what the soil's like, but our first impression is that it's better than what we've been used to on our other plot. We've been told by a plot neighbour that it was looked after really well so I'm hoping that there's plenty of nutrients and fertility in the soil. Our old plot used to flood quite badly until we ran a drain along the side of it, but even then, there were places where we still encountered standing water. The new plot looks to drain well.

One thing which will make life much easier on the new site is mains water. We didn't have access to water on the old site other than what we managed to collect ourselves so it will seem a little strange being able to water our plants without worrying we're going to run out of water.

The new site is much larger than our old one and there always seems to be someone around, so I should feel more confident about going down there myself. Mick's uncle has his allotment on this site and he's down there most days. The gardeners we've met there so far have all been so friendly.

Mick's spent a couple of days over the festive period clearing everything from our old plot. We'd only planted a gooseberry bush, a blackcurrant bush and a rhubarb crown a few months ago, so he's dug those up and potted them up until we decide where on the new plot we want to plant them.

The photos in this post were taken on 26th of October 2013 when we signed up for the new plot.

It's all really exciting and taking on a new plot has renewed my enthusiasm. I'm looking forward to getting stuck in now. Roll on seed sowing time.

Two For Joy

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.

Photo taken at Temple Newsam on Saturday.

Wishing you all a joyful, happy and healthy 2014. Hope it's a great growing year for us all.

Blog Of The Month - Review

This year, I dedicated one post each month to Blog Of The Month. This is where I featured a blog I was enjoying reading. Some of the blogs I featured were new to me, others were ones I'd been reading for a while. I hoped that by doing this, I might introduce some of my readers to other, interesting blogs, though I know that many of you already read the blogs I featured.

I thought I'd list the blogs I featured each month in case any of you missed the original posts. They're all definitely worth a read.

January - A Whole Plot of Love
February - Annie's Little Plot
March - Gardens and Wildlife
April - A Rich Tapestry
May - Dig The Outside
June - Rusty Duck
July - Above The River
August - An Urban Veg Patch
September - Living On The Edge
October - The Urban Cottage
November - Grow My Own Eden
December - A Gardener's Weather Diary

If you haven't yet visited any of the blogs I've mentioned, I can highly recommend them. Do pay them a visit, and don't forget to tell them that I sent you.

I should just mention that the photo which accompanies this post has nothing to do with my Blogs Of The Month. I snapped these daisies yesterday at Temple Newsam, the grass there is covered in them.

Monthly Plants 2013

This year, I took the late Geoff Hamilton's advice and purchased a plant each month which was in flower for my garden. I hoped that by doing this, I would have something blooming in my garden every month of the year.

I thought I'd list the plants I chose, firstly so I've got a record all in one place, but also to give other people an idea of plants which will be flowering in any particular month.

January - Cyclamen
February - Primrose
March - Pulmonaria Angustifolia Blaues Meer
April - Arabis Spring Charm
May - Aquilegia Vulgaris Clementine Purple
June - Scabiosa Columbaria Barocca
July - Lewisia Special Mix
August - Liriope Royal Purple
September - Dianthus Sunflor Charmy
October - Salvia Nemorosa Ostfriesland
November - Sedum Spectabile Brilliant
December - Hellebore

I'm pleased with the plants I've chosen throughout the year, they've added more variety in to the garden as well as plenty of colour.

As you can see from the photo, the cyclamen which I bought last January have survived and are ready to burst in to flower again ready for January 2014 so my plan is really working.

I've enjoyed visiting a nursery each month and choosing which plant to buy. It's definitely worth doing if you want year round colour in the garden.

Merry Christmas

Holly, snapped on our walk at Lotherton yesterday.


I'd like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. Hope it's a good one.

Hellebore For December

This year, I'm taking the late Geoff Hamilton's advice and visiting a nursery each month with a view to buying a plant which is in flower for my garden. Doing this should ensure that I have something blooming in my garden every month of the year.

I've seen snowdrops in flower starting to appear on blogs, and as I have very few of them in my own garden, I thought it might be nice to acquire a few more as my December plant. However, after visiting numerous garden centres and nurseries, I've been unable to find any which are already blooming. In fact, only one of the garden centres I visited had any at all. It was time for plan B.

I had to go in to Leeds today, very last minute Christmas shopping. It wasn't as busy as I'd expected actually, which was good, and I'd only got a couple of things to buy so I wasn't there long. I decided to pop in to the market and I managed to find this beautiful hellebore for the princely sum of £2.45. I'm not very knowledgeable where hellebores are concerned, so I don't know the variety, but as the sign stated it was a Christmas Rose, it may be helleborus niger. With only a few days to go until Christmas and with a name such as Christmas rose, I thought it would be fitting as my December plant.

There are very few seasonal flowers for sale in garden centres and nurseries in December, at least in the ones I've visited, but it's at this time of year that my garden needs something to brighten it up. I think the best place to look for plants at this time of year could possibly be the internet, unless I travel further afield to specialist nurseries.

I knew that December would be a challenge in itself with this challenge and I was right.