This weekend we managed quite a lot of time in the garden, which was a nice surprise considering how ill we all were and the unpredictable weather. I find being outdoors in our garden invigorating even if I did need a long sit down with a cup of tea afterwards!
Turnips
My daughter had been reading the enormous turnip and was able to harvest her very first turnips. They’ve overwintered well and the roots are finally swelling nicely. Plenty more in the ground still too. They weren’t what you’d call enormous, but better to get them small and not woody. The variety we’ve grown is Norfolk Purple Top and it has a really nice texture and strong turnip flavour. I detected a slight bitterness but I’m not sure if that’s the variety or something to do with conditions while growing?
I’m going to sow some more for summer/autumn harvest so will be able to compare.
Peas
The peas are a bit of a waking obsession of mine at the moment. I’ve got dwarf peas ‘Oskar’ and ‘Karina’ and climbing peas mangetout ‘Golden sweet’ and ‘Champion of England’ all have germinated well and are hardening off in the porch/outdoors and I think are ready to plant out this weekend. What I’m not sure about is whether I should be pinching out edible peas as I have done with my sweet peas? Any wisdom on this, dear readers, would be greatly welcomed!
New Trees
At the weekend, my husband planted five new fruit trees. We chose super columns to grow in front of two bare fence panels at the back of the kitchen garden. We now have cherry ‘Summer sun’ and ‘Sweetheart’, plum ‘Cox’s golden emperor’ and ‘Marjorie’s Seedling’ and gage ‘Early transparent’. The yield will be smaller than cordons, but we would have likely only fit three in that space, and there should be much less pruning required. I’m always willing to take a risk on something unusual, so time will tell!
