KW-29 Anybody want a peanut?
Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.
In last week’s newsletter, I had two hopes for this week just gone. To work the vineyard, and to see the year’s first red tomato.
Well, this week, the whole half of the vineyard which is already sown and growing and doing rather splendidly got weeded, and half of the remaining half as well, and I got a good start of filling that up as well.
Yes, it’s the middle/end of July. Yes, this is far too late to be sowing things for crops, but it’s never too late to be sowing things for ground cover.
I finally got the sorghum in. Seven rows of saved seeds from last year. They did seem somewhat dry and lifeless, so we’ll have to see if anything comes from it. There is a tiny chance that, if it does come, it will be in the ground for long enough to make a crop. But even if it doesn’t, there should be some straw from it. Not enough for a whole year of pig-bedding, but a decent dent in the requirements. Oh, and I have decided definitely to sow winter rye this year. At least 200m2 of it. My first proper venture into small-scale grain growing.
I think I’d like to finally make a start on mega-quantities of jam. Because of the rain situation this year, the soft fruits have been ripening in very small batches and I have been picking them and popping them in the freezer ready for mass production.
Last year, I had something like 30 pots of jam, and I ran out of them pretty much as this year’s fruits started to ripen. I did have to ration myself a little, but a pot a week isn’t too frugal. Of all the fruits, the rhubarb and strawberries have suffered the heat and the lack of rain the most. The redcurrants have been doing splendidly, though. It looks unlikely that I’ll break last year’s record - the strawbs and the ‘barb definitely provide the most bulk to the jams, but I’m pretty sure there will be a semi-decent haul. I’ll let you know next week!
What’s your favourite jam? Tell me in the comments, and I’ll send one person a pot of barracks-made berry confiture.
Until then, look after each other, keep cool, and have fun stormin’ da castle.
Pirate love
Ben x
Gardening in different parts of the world is so intriguing. I had to pull up all the tomatoes last week and plant fall ones because we've had 21 days over 100 here already and my spring tomatoes are shot (got 100lbs though). Homegrown tomatoes are one of those things you just can't really appreciate, even if you receive some from friends, until you've grown them yourself.
Went through yesterday and just randomly planted cowpeas all over since they love the heat and will provide that groundcover you talk about.
Good luck on the grains, have always wanted to try that.
I'm pretty into black currant jam...but nothing - and I mean nothing - beats bitter orange marmalade!