Darker nights

Hello Everyone,

The nights are starting to get darker. A double edge…..less time to work outside but also early finishes outside. Which one do I prefer? You can decide that one.

As you can see above, we have Globe Artichokes available this week. To be honest, we have had them for a week or so – but we have been eating them ourselves…sorry. We sowed the seeds and transplanted them out earlier in the year. We are amazed at the crop. We had been reliably informed that we would be lucky to achieve one, and maybe two, globes the first year. We have been very lucky as quite a few plants are producing four, five and even six artichokes! Is this our new ‘no dig’ approach or have we just been lucky…who knows. Anyways, they taste delicious, they are a bit of a “faff” to prepare, but worth it.

On Monday afternoon we had a visit from one of the top experts from the Soil Association. We are very lucky (more luck!) that Paul actually lives in Prudoe. He popped along for a look and a chat. Paul is a good guy and good company. But more than anything Bob and I are always soooo impressed as to the knowledge he has to share. The science behind growing anything is absolutely amazing and Paul has all the knowledge. Soil. Plants. Growing Conditions. Chemistry. Biology. Good Pests. Bad Pests. Topography. Geography. Wow! He can say why things grow, but more importantly why they don’t grow. He is then able to establish a plan of action to correct the issue(s) and the plan actually can work. For instance, Bob and I had always been fairly poor at growing cauliflowers. Paul came along told us the minerals missing in our soil, explained how to put the missing mineral into the soil and well we had some cracking cauliflowers earlier in the year.
This visit was all about seeing the progress we have made since earlier in the year. (Thankfully he was impressed!) We also discussed establishing a network of Organic Growers in the North. This can only benefit everyone, including customers. We all need ‘Top Tips’.

Take care,
Ann