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M is for Manual

By on April 14, 2014 in Photography

We have spent ages going through all our old images recently, in preparation for our new web site and have realized how instructive it is to see what was grown where and when, year on year.

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A snap from our front garden in 2008

 

It’s also a comfort in the midst of winter to see that things will grow again in your patch, despite all the cold, wet and wind. This is what we were looking at in February….

 

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So, we  have started to take the entire photography thing a bit more seriously, with a new camera, ‘Lightroom’ and even a diffuser (that requires physical sudoku to get it back in the bag). Rachel has now got the hang of the whole aperture/shutter speed/depth of field process, thanks to an online course, Eyes Open by Erin Wallace. (thanks Erin, we’ve been arguing about that one for years…) I was lucky enough to learn about taking pictures from a neighbour when I was a teenager and developed prints on a suitcase enlarger in our shed.

 

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Back in 2008, we were lucky to have Suzie Gibbons come along to take pictures for an article when everything was just starting to really get going. She is an experienced horticultural photographer and took many really great images that we have used ever since.

 

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Another stand out local photographer we have worked with is Shannon Robinson of SLR photography. As well getting inspired in our cutting patch, she did the amazing Rapunzel photo shoot last year.

 

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And at the moment, we are also fortunate to be collobarating with Clare West, who came and did a course with us last year. She is going to come and take pictures every month this season – what a treat. She might even manage to get a few of me….

 

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Ashley Pearson

A Year in British Cut Flowers

By on March 6, 2014 in Anemones, Cut flowers, Photography, Pruning

I had great fun last week with Clare West, a photographer who I met last year when she came on one of my growing courses. She had a rather good idea – to visit the farm once a month through the year and photograph all the seasonal jobs….

 

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Take some stunning plant portraits….

 

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And teach me a thing or two on how to use my camera.

 

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‘A Year in Flowers’ had it’s first installment on her blog this week.

 

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We are also planning to do some styled shoots this year, a very exciting prospect. I am planning the first one in the orchard, when it is in full blossom I hope. In the meantime it’s all about pruning hundreds of roses, pricking out thousands of seedlings and picking the odd Anemone.

 

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Like this beautiful white Anemone with a green eye called an ‘Albino’. I pick early in the morning, next they are whisked off to the flower studio for trimming and bunching.

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Next it’s into the greenhouse for some pricking out of Icelandic Poppies, talking to customers on the phone and stroking my dogs as much as possible, who always enjoy the heat mat meant for seedlings!

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Finally we have to get back to the Rose pruning, as we have over 500 to get through at this time of year. This rounds off the day and I have some rather glorious red Anemones to take back into the house.

Rachel

 

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Sweet Pea Grow Along – Part 3

By on February 28, 2014 in Sweet Peas

Your carefully sown seeds should be showing some signs of life by now. Remember to keep them cool and bright as they start to grow.

The next job is preparing the ground outside, probably not terribly appealing right now unless you are outside the UK!  If your ground is too wet to dig, a mulch of compost would be better than nothing at the moment. Sweet peas like a rich, moisture-retentive soil.

They prefer an open, sunny position,  so avoid anywhere that is in shade for more than a couple of hours a day.

I plant in long 25m rows so I can have an overwhelming quantity to harvest. If you are planning on something smaller, a teepee/wigmam is attractive (made from hazel or older bamboo canes). Sweet peas must be picked or dead headed to keep flowering. I find it hard to reach the flowers in the centre of a teepee, which can make this task a bit of a chore.

I also do not enjoy tying in, as it is far too labour intensive. I find bean netting offers enough support for sweet peas to do most of this bit themselves. It is cheap, quick to erect and creates a veritable wall of scent once the netting is clothed with Sweet Peas. Here is a picture of our indoor sweet peas at this time last year. Note the sunshine….

 

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Here’s how we prepare our rows. Ground is dug over (ideally in the autumn) with plenty of well rotted FYM. Stout 2.4m posts are banged in at intervals, approx. 3-4m apart. A hole is drilled through the top of each post, wire (electric fence wire) is threaded through and at the same time woven through the top of the netting and tied as taut as you can . Think of it like hanging a simple curtain,  with the bean netting secured to the post using a staple gun to stop any wafting about. Depending on the length of your rows, your end rows may need bracing with a post section notched in and dug into the ground.

 

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This picture was taken by Shannon Robinson last year, when we let the public pick their own. Our next installment will cover hardening off and planting.

Rachel Siegfried

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