Saturday 13 June 2009

DAPHNE, PEGGY and THE TOAD....

Daphne's gardenWhat a nice way to spend a little time, wandering about in a garden you hadn't taken enough notice of before. You can peek over the fence and see all kinds of things you know and don't know, when you go by yourself with plenty of time. I saw a few black aphids on the borage but then noticed the eggs of the predator lacewing and I knew Daphne's ecosystem was working to keep things in balance.

Her beans are very robust and may outgrow the corn that they are climbing on..... I look forward to seeing what happens there. And since I have visited her garden there has been quite a bit of rain to keep things looking fresh and growing well.

I had a lovely time at Daphne's, while she was out somewhere and I hope you will drop by too. She says we are always welcome, anytime. Here is her address. And here is the post that I took the photo from, all about her garden in June. Thanks Daphne.

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 In the Toads Garden  is about growing food and seed saving in DenmarkIn the toads garden

There is always so much interesting stuff in the toad's garden and I always learn something every time I go there. I just can't keep up with it all and find it fascinating that people can grow such a diverse range of vegetables even in very cold climates, such as Denmark.

......Red Russian is a different kale. The classic kale is deep green with curly leaves, whereas this variety has feathered leaves. Color is somewhat different, with a notable silvery shine. Taste is sweet, and raw leaves are crisp to the bite.

A villager probably recognise the colors from the swedes/rutabagas. Red Russian belong to the same species, whereas most other kales belong to same species as cabbage. When saving seeds it’s important to isolate from swedes/rutabagas and from other kales of this species, like the russian, siberian and baltic kales, as well as the north german scheerkohls. Read more about this here.

Thanks Skrubtudsen....

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Peggy's allotment

It being the self-proclaimed "International day of vegetable garden blogs" I thought I'd take a little trip to Ireland, to Blarney, and see how Peggy is going with her allotment.

She has made a wonderful discovery....I collected 2 bags of compost from our municipal composter which I only found out about recently even though it is very near me!All green waste can be taken there and the finished compost is free to take away. Read more of this post here...

 

(There used to be a place like that in my council area until some idiotic neighbour complained and now it is a carpark! I hope they like it. Sorry Paggy, some things make my blood boil....)

Peggy's latest post talks about their allotment's open day On June 20th....I'd love to come Peggy, maybe next year!

Our Open Day is on Sat 20th June and this year we are going all out to have a super day with all of the new plot holders. Everyone can bring friends and family to view their own and others plots and we will be on hand to answer any questions. We spent the morning painting in glorious sunshine. Zwena has lots of old farm implements stored in the barn and outhouses so they are all being cleaned and painted and being put out on display as it has been a working farm for many years and the machinery tells the history of the place.

Her blog is called Organic Growing Pains. Thanks Peggy....

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3 comments:

Daphne said...

You're very welcome in my garden any day Kate, but you are being too kind when you say a "few" black aphids on my borage. It is quite inundated with them. Never fear however. Those lacewing eggs are popping up all over the garden. Not only that, but the lady bugs made an appearance yesterday. Hopefully I'll be seeing some pretty orange eggs soon too.

Unknown said...

You garden as I do Daphne, with nature, not against it. Next time I come by I will bring a thermos of tea and sit a while longer and watch the ladybirds at work.

Christina said...

Thank you for sharing these wonderful gardens. I can never learn enough from my veg-gardening peers!