General Chat

Merlin, you don't think I planted ground elder do you? Nature did that for me but I was very pleased to see that I could eat it.

I do mean that site Gwen.

I have two of Alys Fowler's books.

This is a link to Alys Fowler's film on the project
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/video/2010/oct/19/incredible-edible-todmorden

SHARRON IS THIS WHAT YOU MEAN

http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/

Sharron, beware of Ground Elder,It spreads like a rash and is hard to get rid of once establisahed. :-D

Sharron, can I please copy your post onto the gardening thread on the hobbies board? A few of the people who go on there might well be interested. :-)

I did try sweetcorn once but it was just scraggy so I didn't try again.

I caught a bit of the program as well and love the idea. I see they grow plants in graveyards as well

We swear by perpetual spinach and swiss chard as well. This year Russian Kale has been added to our must grow list and we are still picking it. There is a Sea Holly called Miss Willmott's Ghost after Ellen Wilmott, who liked to secretly scatter seeds of the plant in other people's garden's. Maybe someone will name a perpetual spinach after you :-D

Do you have a bit of space for sweetcorn? Cooked within 10 mins of picking it is my favorite veg

I have just been watching Alyss Fowler on the television.

She was talking about kitchen gardening which means you have a supply of food throughout most of the year, all of it if you are talented.

This is what I am trying to get from our garden.

There were many reasons I didn't get interested in the garden before, not the least being that it was Fred's little empire where nobody was welcomed unless specifically invited. Another was that it was full of straight lines.

The bit behind the shed is Fred's mates now and he can have as many straight lines round there as he likes. I buy the seeds and we share what is grown.

Between the shed and the house is my bit. He will do the hard bits for me but it is mine. Love him, he grubbed out the privet hedge and removed the camellia for me and now I have an edible hedge which is showing beautiful blossom with the promise of some fruit later.

Last year I had runner beans up two obelisks, there are strawberries galloping about all over the place and I have a few broad beans dotted about the front garden because they are beautiful.

Swiss chard is beautiful too and I have a little patch that I managed to grow last year which is really handy. I will certainly be trying to grow plenty more this year, and some perpetual spinach as I have four packets of seed.

There is also a number of very large pots I bought for Fred to use to grow things because they were of a height he could reach from his wheelchair. Of course, he would have nothing to do with them. They are all ready for planting.

Looking for things for Fred to do to get him out of my way I looked into foraging and, to my delight, found that ground elder was introduced as a vegetable by the Romans. I can grow that alright!

What I want is a big tangled mass of different things to eat I think.

Alyss Fowler seems to have a similar idea. She mentioned the town of Todmorden which looks like it is aiming for the same thing. I don't entirely understand how that works but have been secretly wondering how it would work in our village too. I am considering putting a few strawberry runners on the verge across the road to see what happens. Maybe I could stick a bit of perpetual spinach in different places too.