My first proper shopping trip in a decade and a heart-in-mouth moment when I realise my handbag is missing! But first….a bit of care for the tomatoes before they head off to the garden.
On the Sofa: Garden & Home Move Questions Answered.
A few questions have been recurring in comments and messages recently so I thought I’d address them here including an explanation of how I have scaled back the garden this year…..and the big question of house hunting and how the move is progressing.
Vivi’s Kitchen Garden: Sowing for Skin Care.
Today’s lovely task is to sow the crop which will look after my skin for the next year….but before I can sow calendula I need to do a mountain of work to get the beds ready. Once it’s all done and the seeds are sown I can make my little wattle fences again to prevent the flowers flopping onto the paths and getting muddy and crushed.
On the Sofa: Tomatoes, couriers and islands.
Are you sitting comfortably? Time for another natter and another eclectic mix of subjects: the tomatoes I started a couple of weeks ago, my annoyance with couriers and some fun island trivia (that you can turn into a game with your friends) amongst other things. Get that kettle on.
Vivi’s Kitchen Garden: All about beans!
Today I am going to sow my climbing beans but before I even think about getting my seeds out I need to build a structure to support them as they climb. I discuss different styles of supports (and pros and cons) and a bit about spacing and feeding etc. Bean varieties this year are: Helda (to eat the whole pod) plus, just for the beans inside; Gigantes (my favourite massive Greek beans), Churchill Black, Madeira Maroon and Scarlet Emperor Runners.
On the Sofa: Weather, taxes & puzzles.
A mixed chat to keep you company while you knit, sew, iron or weed…..or practice standing on your head if that’s what you’re into! Chatting about the vagaries of our weather so far this year, the joy of completing the annual tax return, exercising my mind with puzzles and other stuff…..
Vivi’s Kitchen Garden: A Seedy Session.
I grab a moment, between rain storms, to get on with some seed sowing. I’m chatting about seed compost vs. multi-purpose compost, module sowing vs direct sowing, coldframe sowing vs outside sowing etc. What I forgot to mention in the video is that this year I am trying to make the garden with as little money as possible so am mainly using up whatever seed I have left except for a couple of new packets…….total cost this year is less than £10.
Vivi’s Kitchen Garden: Bed preparation & sowing.
It’s high time I got on with sowing my first seeds of the year. Today I’m sowing carrots and my favourite beans, the gorgeous Coco de Paimpol…….but first I need to prepare the beds. I’m also starting to clear the garden of last year’s plants including the old Verbena Bonariensis. And there may be a cat or two hanging out with me.
In the Kitchen: Cooking, Chatting & Comfort Food.
I’m in the kitchen getting supper ready and chatting about all things food and growing it…..and how my cooking/shopping may change with a smaller garden in future. I’ve also received some wonderful foodie treats which make me think about comfort food and how best to comfort ourselves with food that’s still healthy and nutritious rather than junkie.
Vivi’s Kitchen Garden: A tour and a chat (there’s a LOT to do!).
I am finally back in the garden after an absence of two and a half months…….and there’s a lot to do (!!)…..but I’m not panicking! I’ll walk you round the garden and explain how I’m planning to get back on top of things without panic or pressure. With a bit of time and a lot of determination and hard work I’m hoping to produce a whole lot of my own food again this year.
