Tuesday 22 April 2014

Tomatoes.

The tomato plants that I started growing in the house were moved to the greenhouse 3 weeks ago to stop them becoming leggy. They are very healthy looking plants now, the first varieties I have sown are;
Black Krim, Black Russian, Manx Marvel (a local variety), Pink Thai Egg and Sweet 100. The latter 2 were very successful last year and I particularly liked the taste of the Pink Thai Egg. I have sown a lot of other varieties as with all my vegetables I prefer to grow heritage varieties. I do seed and plant swaps with other local growers and buy a lot of my seeds from the Real Seed company who encourage everyone to save seeds from the plants that you grow purchased from their catalogue.
All of what I call my cabbage lookalikes are in flower and attracting many insects. These plants are crosses from the cabbage family of which I grow walking stick kale, tree cabbage, couve tronchuda and regular cabbages and sprouts. There are many bumble bees, honey bees and the first of the ladybirds around the garden. The pond is bursting full of tadpoles and small froglets are hopping around the grass.
A very fine pheasant has decided that he owns our farmyard and is regularly seen strutting up and down it.
I have great pleasure in watching the jackdaws that nest every year in our pigeon holes at the top of the cowhouse. They keep picking up branches that to me are obviously too big to go through the entrance, some get dropped but others are deftly fed sideways into the nest area. Also there is quite a bit of thieving goes on when jackdaws steal nesting material from their neighbours who have flown away for a few minutes. They also take some of the wool I have drying prior to dyeing, I don't mind this but am always more vigilant when I have washed cashmere on the line.