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Icelandic Poppies

By on May 27, 2013 in conditioning, Cut flowers, Poppies

I cannot let May come to an end without
a blog about my favourite flower of the month, the enigmatic
Icelandic Poppy. A flower that looks so delicate and ethereal that
any kind of vase life seems a far-fetched notion. Unlike other
members of its family, they can give you 5 -7 days of breathtaking
beauty in a vase.

 
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They also have a good 6 week flowering
period if you keep on top of the picking.

 

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 Once they have finished flowering, collect the seed and sow it fresh, sometime next month is ideal. This
will give you much better germination rates than buying it in, which
of course you will have to do initially.

I recommend Chiltern Seeds for a good
range of varieties of Papaver nudicaule. My favourites are 'Meadow
Pastels' for soft, muted shades of apricot, coral, cream and lemon –
great for weddings.

 

 
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If you want a bit more punch then
'Champagne Bubbles' fits the bill, with the most beautiful shade of
orange, salmon pink, daffodil yellow and white.

 

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 Pick the flowers just as they are
opening and sear the ends in boiling water for 20 seconds.

 

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I will be saving the seed off these next month and selling it fresh at our Saturday shop.

Rachel 

 

 

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To swoe or to hoe?

By on May 10, 2013 in Hoes

Ever since working on a large market
garden, I have been a staunch fan of the swoe, that golf club of
precision and surgical application. I used to do all my veg with it,
leaving it standing up and proud at the end of the row, marking where
you had got to. The stainless steel and the shape of the blade
(thanks to Wilkinson Sword) means that you can use it in wet
conditions, when you have no other choice but to tackle those pesky
weeds.

 

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But a few years ago, neighbours were
moving and were dumping a skip full of useful stuff, including a
Cultiweeder made by Wolf tools. This has a 3-pronged cultivator part
and a small sharp hoe combined into one tool, depending on which end
is up. I thought it would be more of a hobbyist tool, but it has
survived true field punishment and has proved to be really useful and
was a constant companion last summer. You can cut off topgrowth with
the hoe and then swivel round and have a go at the roots with the
blade. The cultiweeder is useful for ground preparation too and the
hoe is good for compacted paths baked hard in the summer.

 

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Of course, if you really want to motor
then a wheel hoe can work wonders, as long as the soil is not too
compacted, with the added benefit of an amazing workout for your
pecs. Great for taking out those flushes of annuals that we'll be
getting right now….  

 

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Ashley Pearson

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Anemone crush

By on April 23, 2013 in Anemones, Cut flowers

I have always been a fan of the
anemone, partly because it is one of the first flowers to break the
drudgery of our winters. It's jewel-like colours and velvety centre
are both a welcome relief and a signal that it is time to step up the pace .

 

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They are also extremely productive,
unlike the tulip with it's solitary bloom per bulb, the anemone
generously produces up to ten flowers over a few weeks from it's
strange little corm.

We plant ours in the polytunnel during
late September/early October. It helps to soak them overnight and the
soil they are going into must be fertile, moist and weed free. They
are very hardy, especially the Jerusalem variety which can be planted
outside. If so, mulch well and look out for the voles, which love
eating the corms.

 

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This year their timeliness and
productivity has been even more appreciated with a new variety for us
called 'Galilee Pastels'. I have been trying to get my hands on these
for a few seasons as their soft, muted tones are perfect for our
wedding work. Well, they were well worth waiting for: ivory, creamy-green,
smokey lilac and pink…exquisite.

 

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The warm weather over the past few days
has them coming thick and fast so now is the time to experience them,
have a look at our 'Best of the Bunch'. They have an excellent vase
life, giving a good ten days.

 

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