Garden Square

Just as I thought winter had passed, we get a blast of cold weather coming in. It’s been such a mild winter that I even started getting my early potatoes ready for planting. Here in Cornwall we can literally see the sea from our garden, which means we don’t always get that extreme weather that other parts of the country suffer from. It also means I can plant the early potatoes as early as February – but not at this precise moment. Frosty Weather There is always a silver lining in my world. So in one sense I don’t mind a nice bit of frosty weather. You see a nice hard frost kills any pests and diseases that might be lurking around. It also kills of slugs and snails that are hiding in crooks and crannies. We have a trick whereby we lay a large piece of hardboard on our lawn near the vegetable garden – it’s nice hiding place for those very small little slugs every morning there are loads of slugs hiding there, then we take the board to the chickens and the have breakfast! Seeds ...

Growing garden peas – peas are part of the legume family, and are one of the most popular vegetables to be grown by gardeners. Peas very nutritious and enjoyable to eat, many people love to eat them straight from the plant. There is nothing more delicious then your own fresh peas from your garden as they will taste so much better than any peas that can be bought, either fresh or frozen from the shops. You’ll find that the taste of home growning peas have a much sweeter fuller flavour. The pea is a mostly green in colour, though you will find other colours as well such as: yellow and purple – pea pods are either straight or curved and inside you’ll find the green peas. Depending in the variety of pea you are growing there can be between 5 and 12 peas in a pod. Try and grow your own peas and you can see for yourself! Prepare the soil Dig the soil in December so that you can allow it to settle. Dig it deeply to a fork or spade depth and dig in as much organic materi...