Barefoot Grower

2011-12-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

Lemon Mint Marigold (Tagetes lemmonii) growing at the Ranch. It is native to Mexico and flowers prolifically for much of the year here in LA. It also smells incredible - it's one of my favourite herbs that we grow and the bees love it! I took this picture in late afternoon when a beautiful golden light comes over the Ranch.

2011-12-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

Garfield Park in the aftermath of the Santa Ana winds.

2011-12-01T14:16:00.000-08:00

A very sad sight indeed. The Chinese Elm in the middle of our apartment complex came down in the Santa Ana winds last night. This beautiful tree must have been at least 50ft tall. Gusts up to 97 mph, hit the city causing widespread devastation. A Jacaranda fell onto our roof and the Elm toppled, but luckily I don't think anyone was hurt. All around Pasadena, South Pas and San Marino trees were down and roads were blocked. People I spoke to who have lived here all their lives, said they have never seen anything like it. A reminder of the mighty power of mother nature. The Huntington was closed today...thus all the blog posts!

2011-12-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

Seeing Orange...Above Top: Persimmons with Helichrysums. Bottom: African Horned Cucumber or Jelly Melon.

Persimmons are another new discovery for me. They just weren't on my radar back in England. I know Mark from Otter Farm (check out his blog by the way...think he just won best horticulture blog of the year 2011) is growing them, and I think Martin Crawford is too in his forest garden on the Dartington estate. I'd be really interested to hear from anyone in the UK who has them. There are two kinds Fuyu and Hachiya. The former you can eat like apples, skin and all. They are crunchy, subtly sweet and delicious. Sorry if I am preaching to the converted, but they are new to me and I can't get enough of them. The Hachiya are bigger, more oval shaped and should be left to ripen until soft and mushy. The pulp can be used for baking with - tarts, cakes, cookies - you name it. I made the mistake of biting into a Hachiya thinking it was a Fuyu and won't make the same mistake twice! Unless they are fully ripe they are horribly astringent and drain your mouth of all moisture. We have a bunch of both kinds growing at the Huntington and they look magical suspended on the branches - like little orange lanterns. They blend beautifully with the turning colours of the trees this time of year, and feel like the embodiment of fall to me.
I grew Helichrysums (common name Straw Flowers) at the Ranch this summer. They performed well in the scorching temperatures. I first learned about them at the Lost Gardens of Heligan where they were harvested (without stems), dried and then strung into garlands to adorn the Christmas tree. I have done the same this season and have them in a little wooden bowl in my living room.
The weird looking orange thing is an African Horned Cucumber or Jelly Melon! We grew it on a trellis at the Ranch, more for novelty than anything else. It took a lot longer to ripen than all our other melons and cucumbers and gradually turns from green to deep orange on the plant. The flesh is green, full of seeds and very gelatinous! It tasted like unripe bananas to me, but I guess it was kind of refreshing in its own way! My boyfriend wasn't a fan of the texture at all. Too slimy. I don't know that we'll be growing it again, but it was fun to try. Also known as Kiwano, it is native to the Kalahari desert. Apparently it is considered to be the ancestor of other cultivated melons so I suppose we have a lot to thank this rather funny looking plant for!

2011-12-01T10:56:00.000-08:00

Above top: Roselle, Bottom: Burgundy Okra.

I want to share with you a couple of plants that were new discoveries for me this season. They were also the most talked about things on the Ranch at our open house events this summer! Both in the hibiscus family, they display beautiful foliage and mallow-like flowers. Roselle has various uses - fiber can be extracted from the stem as a substitute for jute, in some cultures the spinach-like leaves are eaten (although I haven't tried this!), it has a list of medicinal properties as long as your arm and the calyces are used as food colouring. It also makes a delicious, brilliant red tea popular in the tropics. This was so easy to make - I harvested about 20 calyces - they should be easy to snap off the plant, otherwise they are not ready. Remove the stem and then peel the outer skin away from the seed inside discarding the seed, boil the skins in a pint of water for about 3 minutes, allow them to steep for a few minutes, strain out the calyces, and you're left with the most vibrant red coloured liquid I have ever seen! I've never come across a natural colour so bright! I then added sugar to taste (I needed a fair bit to sweeten and bring out the flavour), and poured over ice filled glasses. It made a wonderfully refreshing and fragrant summer drink (about 2 full glasses). This plant is native to the old world tropics so I'm not sure how it would fare in the UK, but I am keen to try it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Burgundy Okra is equally attractive, producing prolific slender pods with great flavour. It was hard to keep on top of the harvesting as they were coming thick and fast. You don't want to let the pods get too big or they are tough and stringy. I hadn't come across okra until I came to California, and some folk I've talked to aren't too keen as it can be rather gelatinous! I like to cut the pods in half length ways and fry them in breadcrumbs, herbs and spices (dipped in egg first) and lets face it, everything tastes good fried like this!
Both plants are easy to propagate from seed, and seed is easy to save for the following in season.

2011-09-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

Huntington creepy crawlies...

2011-08-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

Bringing in the harvest.

2011-08-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

The Huntington Ranch where I spend most of my days.

2011-07-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Plants in flower at the Huntington Ranch this month. From top to bottom: Bergamot, California native fushia Epilobium sp. with Lavender, Oregano, Chicory and Yarrow.

2011-05-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

A native bouquet made by my boyfriend who works at the Theodore Payne Foundation, here in L.A. "Founded in 1960, Theodore Payne Foundation promotes the understanding and preservation of California native flora". Check out their nursery or go to the website: www.theodorepayne.org. This bouquet includes Coral Bells, Sunflowers, Penstemon and Salvia.

2011-05-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

I am truly working in a Southern California garden. The California poppy Eschscholzia californica grows alongside Opuntia - the edible nopales cactus - at the Huntington Ranch.

2011-04-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

The chalet in the Alan Chadwick Garden at UCSC. We would prepare lunches here with produce straight from the earth. Hansel and Gretel Eggplant (aubergine to us Brits!) went down a treat.

I'm back to blogging after a long spell away from my computer. I spent most of last year in California studying Ecological Horticulture at the University of Santa Cruz. For any aspiring farmers or gardeners I would highly recommend this 6 month programme. Check out some of the photos below...plus more to come. Students live in tent cabins on a picturesque farm at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. It's a pretty communal experience - living, working, eating alongside 40 other people may be a bit too much for more reclusive types, but it is possible to find quiet time away from the throng of the farm centre (a timber framed building which is the hub of the farm where meals are eaten on a terrace overlooking the ocean..not a bad life!) There are 3 sites in which all apprentices spend a number of weeks to gain different farming experiences. A 6 acre farm growing produce for a CSA, a urban style garden and the Alan Chadwick Garden with more apple trees than you can shake a stick at! This site is run by a wonderful, inspiring teacher and man - Orin Martin. He was one of Chadwick's apprentices back in the early 1970s when the idea for a garden was first born. Chadwick was a totally eccentric Englishman with a background in theatre and an innate understanding of the patterns and ways of organic gardening. He wound up in California and created a place of great beauty on a steep and barren hillside at the UCSC campus. It is strange to me that he is not a more celebrated gardener in the UK. His creation of the UCSC garden, and subsequent development of the apprenticeship programme really paved the way for the beginning of the organic farming movement in California. Perhaps it was because he made his life in America and was a proponent of biodynamic growing, which at the time in England would have perhaps been considered too whacky for people to take him seriously. How times change! But there will be more on Chadwick in the months to come. Orin Martin took up the reins when Chadwick left UCSC, and shaped the garden into a magical mix of hundreds of varieties of apples, and vegetables a plenty. Anyone with an interest in fruit trees should listen to Orin speak on the subject. His passion knows no bounds and he is a fantastic speaker sharing his knowledge of just about anything and everything, so that sometimes you forget that you were talking about apples altogether and are transfixed as he digresses to chatting about the Jazz greats! Check out the CASFS website for any work shops or talks he has coming up.

So, after a brief spell in England over the winter, I am back in California doing an internship at the Huntington Ranch near L.A. Check out their website and blog. I will be posting more about my farming and growing experiences in California in the months to come. I was keen to return here due to the diversity of plants that this climate has to offer. As well as the variety of fruit and produce that California boasts, there is also a plethora of native species that make this region of the world hugely important horticulturally. Over and out for now and thanks for bearing with me while I disappeared to farm in Santa Cruz!

2011-01-28T13:22:00.000-08:00

Orin Martin - a true inspiration. The driving force behind the Alan Chadwick Garden at UC Santa Cruz.

2011-01-28T13:15:00.000-08:00

2010-02-17T13:44:00.000-08:00

Check out my latest photobook!

2010-02-07T08:38:00.000-08:00

Galanthus amid the gloom. All over the place snowdrops are raising their delicate nodding heads - a cheerful reminder that spring is not too far away. Check out Dan Pearson's article in The Observer; he seems to know a thing or two about snowdrops:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/feb/07/snowdrops-galanthus-dan-pearson-gardens

2010-01-13T07:58:00.000-08:00

It's marmalade time....When the ground is frozen solid and it's just too bloody cold for gardening why not have a stab at making your own marmalade. The Seville oranges have arrived in the shops and markets and should be around for about a month or so. My mum used an old-fashioned recipe from the Ballymaloe book:

Old - Fashioned Seville Orange Marmalade

I can vouch for the fact it's really tasty.
I also love Ginger Marmalade - you can follow the Ballymaloe recipe and add 175-225g (6-8oz) of peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger. Demerara sugar gives a fuller flavour and darker colour. Delicious.

2010-01-08T06:02:00.000-08:00

Wintry scenes from Saffron Walden allotments this morning.

2010-01-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

With temperatures dropping and more snow expected this week, it may seem strange to be posting pictures of summer flowers. However, with the ground frozen solid there is not an awful lot that can be done in my garden at present. This cold snap provides the perfect opportunity to start ordering seeds (if you haven't already) for the year ahead. If you are thinking of growing cut flowers this year, I would really recommend some of the varieties pictured above for their ease of growing and stunning results:

Ami Majus (the cow parsley type plant) looks beautiful mixed with the softer colours of sweet peas and cornflowers. It gives a delicate lacy effect to simple arrangements. Thin to 45cm apart. They will need netting for support - I didn't do this last year and paid the price when they all fell over! They have quite fragile stems.
Salvia horminum (bottom bouquet, far left). I grew a variety called Blue Denim, which surprisingly also threw up some lovely pale pinks, in amongst the blue. The flowers themselves are barely noticeable but the flower bracts are striking with a pretty vein like pattern. Thin to 25-30cm.
Dahlia - I love this old-fashioned allotment flower, but prefer the really dark varieties for more impact. Try 'Arabian Night' or 'Black Fire'. I enjoy putting lots of bold clashing colours together in bunches - I'm sure professional florists would balk at the thought, but I think a real assortment of reds, oranges and pinks thrown together looks great. Dahlias like lots of organic matter and should be staked for support. Space tubers 2-3ft apart in a hole 1ft wide and deep.
Zinnia (Dahlia mixed). Again I love this variety of Zinnia for its wonderful clashing blooms. Sow a little later than most half-hardy annuals.
Rudbekia Rustic - this is one of the easiest half-hardies to grow and has vibrant sunflower like blooms. It looks great mixed with helianthus or deep red dahlias.

If there is one bit of advice I can offer when growing cut flowers, it is to provide adequate support. I have been lazy in the past and kicked myself after painstakingly having to pick up every plant after the slightest amount of wind. Also, using a polytunnel means plants tend to grow more vigorously and taller than they would outside, so support is really essential to avoid total collapse. Stretching a pea netting with a wide gauge tightly over bamboo canes is a tip from Sarah Raven, and it works a treat. The stems grow up through the netting and foliage obscures the unsightly plastic.

2009-12-29T03:28:00.000-08:00

Organic Nation covered the Barefoot Grower! Check out what they are doing in America.

2009-12-04T04:15:00.000-08:00

Ekosense wrote a little feature about me... check out their clothes!

2009-11-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Tuberous nasturtiums and Oca de Peru tubers harvested this weekend. Both are eaten much like potatoes in South America. Tuberous Nasturtium is a cousin to the widely grown garden nasturtium and has been cultivated for its tubers since 5500 B.C. Indeed, both remain a staple crop of the Andean people today. Nasturtium tubers have a peppery flavour and should be boiled for about 10minutes before serving. Young shoots and flowers are also edible. Oca can be boiled, fried or baked and is even eaten raw in Mexico. In the Andes it is used in soups and stews.

2009-11-12T13:06:00.000-08:00

A final gathering before the tunnel is cleared. A handful of sunflowers, marigolds, heartsease and the last of the tomatoes.

2009-11-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

I have begun the task of clearing the tunnel. Plants have dried with some beautiful effects. Above sunflower, marigold and orach. One of the useful things about having a tunnel is being able to save seed. It is possible to keep plants dry and sheltered, ensuring a healthy amount of seed to collect for next season.

2009-11-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

Diggory our Heligan scarecrow amid the brassicas.

2009-11-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

Anna Greenland - Barefoot Grower from Anna Greenland on Vimeo.

Introducing the Barefoot Grower!

2009-10-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

Apples galore! The one in the middle was our biggest apple - Howgate Wonder - weighing in at 1kg. We were determined that it would make the harvest display. Sadly it's just starting to brown but we didn't want to leave it out!

2009-10-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

Heligan harvest display this morning - taken at about 8am before all the visitors came in. We added a few more bits of greenery after this but it is pretty much done at this stage. It's so rewarding to see it all laid out like this, particularly after such a wet summer. Pumpkins and squashes have got to be up there in my top 5 vegetables. I love them and I love how different they all are in appearance and flavour. I can't wait to dust off my pumpkin pie recipe for Halloween...Will upload some more harvest images over the weekend. The display will be up until the 1st November so check it out!

2009-10-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

We made the finishing touches to the harvest display at Heligan today. It's always a great time of year, when all the staff pull together to create the spectacular array garden produce. We've been harvesting, scrubbing veg and barrowing around heavy crates all week, so it's extremely satisfying to see the fruits of our labour displayed in all their glory! I particularly like this little chap above!

2009-10-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

On a cold, dreary day like today, it's good to be reminded of summer colour. Above are a selection of blooms that I grew this season (this shot was taken in early August). As we come into the third week of October, dahlias and marigolds are still flowering and cosmos are only just coming to an end in the tunnel.

2009-10-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

A batch of seeds sprouting during my first year of serious growing, at Buttervilla Farm in South Cornwall. To read more about my time at Buttervilla please visit this link...

Everything is winding down with the polytunnel now, check back soon for a video introduction to who I am, and some photographs of our very small frogs!

2009-07-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight: Sweet peas 'Grandiflora'. These were spring sown but you can sow them in the autumn to over-winter for earlier blooms. Mine are grown on a tepee using 8 canes. Sweet peas have the potential to grow up to 10ft tall depending on how they are trained. These are going great guns and swiftly heading towards the roof of the tunnel!

2009-06-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

Today's sunday lunch! Peas, courgettes and spinach with edible flowers borage, marigolds and nasturtiums.

2009-06-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

Just saw this little chap with crazy cow skin wings on my sweet peas. Any ideas what he is?

2009-06-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Tunnel this evening. So far in flower are sweet williams, shizanthus, marigolds and cosmos. A few cornflowers and sweet peas are just starting too...I've been harvesting courgettes, peas, beetroot leaves, salad, coriander, potatoes broad beans and radish so far this season.

2009-06-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

Shots of Shizanthus 'Dr Badger' which is flowering beautifully in the tunnel. These seeds were easy to germinate in early spring and are the some of the first plants to flower in my garden. They seem to last almost a week in a vase and have numerous flowers per stem. Now I've discovered them, they'll become a firm favourite. In the middle picture above, Orach grows alongside spinach.

2009-06-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Thyme in flower in beds outside tunnel. Once flowered I will trim this back to promote new growth. This is a drought loving plant and does well in its current position as the bed tends to dry out quickly.

2009-06-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

'Early Rose' potatoes just out of the ground. I have now cleared this potoato bed and am storing the spuds in a sack in the garage. I really needed the room for more summer plantings of beetroot and fennel. Potatoes need to be stored somewhere cool, otherwise they fester and you'll find yourself pulling out blighty tubers which are mushy and stink and the whole experience is generally unpleasant!

2009-06-06T06:40:00.000-07:00

Red Flowered Broad Beans. I was lucky enough to be able to take some of the Heligan saved seed home with me this year and the plants are looking really healthy. Judging by the amount of flowers, I'd say it was going to be a fairly prolific cropper. Plants are slightly shorter than other varieties, reaching about 3 feet tall. I sowed these seeds on March 16th, in order that they follow on from the autumn sown Aquadulce Claudia.

2009-06-06T06:35:00.000-07:00

First 'Aquadule Claudia' broad beans with Mizuna. This photo was taken a about a month ago now in early May. They were overwintered in the tunnel, giving us an early crop. In fact, I tasted my first bean on 23rd April which is definitely pretty early! I think it's a bit too warm for them really, as they have become rather leggy, but this doesn't seem to have halted their productivity or flavour.

2009-06-06T06:25:00.000-07:00

Shizanthus 'Dr Badger' is one of my first annuals to flower this year. It has delicate pink, purple and white flowers with a specked yellow centre. Seeds were quick to germinate in late March and plants should flower for 3 months. They have a vase life of about 7 days. I picked my first little posy of the year last night, with the very first cosmos stem, shizanthus, marigolds, cow parsley and mizuna flowers.

2009-06-06T06:18:00.000-07:00

Forget-me-nots. These plants prefer shade so we have planted them alongside the cottage. They should hopefully self-set and form a border of blue in late spring next year.

2009-06-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

Polytunnel pond very early one morning. The tadpoles have been hiding away at the bottom of the pond in all this hot weather. It gets so warm in the tunnel that I do worry about them a bit. I top the water level up regularly, and as soon as I remove the hose they all come swimming to the surface and wriggle around. They look pretty lively so I reckon they're alright...

2009-06-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

Feltham First and Sugarsnap peas are climbing high and starting to flower. Today is the first day we've had rain in weeks, here in Cornwall. I have resisted from watering any of my outside beds, taking a leaf out of Heligan's book where we don't water unless in extremely dry conditions. The idea is that if the soil is very well cultivated, plants learn to look after themselves and the more you water and interfere with them, the more they rely on that water source. It's hard to ignore plants when the ground seems so parched, but if left to their own devices they generally become stronger and you have to water less. Obviously if something is looking like it's about to die, this theory isn't working and you need to give if a drink -I don't want to be responsible for people killing off their plants! It's very dependent on each garden and soil structure, but it's worth observing how plants are coping and not simply watering for the sake of it.

2009-06-06T05:46:00.000-07:00

Red Orach growing alongside Aquadulce Claudia Broad Beans and Mizuna. This plant is as tall as me now (5'10) and still growing! It makes an attractive contrast to the green vegetables, and young leaves can be used in salads. I have also read that larger leaves can be used as a spinach substitute and seen a recipe for Orach soup, although I've never tried these. It is easy to grow and self-sets everywhere if you're not careful!

2009-06-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

The first Nasturtiums are coming into flower alongside Sage. Both flowers and leaves of nasturtiums can be used in salads and have a peppery flavour. They are also known as 'Poor Man's Capers' as buds can be picked and pickled in vinegar. They are easy to grow and will climb up wigwams creating srtiking colour in the garden. Once introduced, they tend to self-set year on year and are good companion plants for attracting pests such as blackfly away from broad beans.

2009-05-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

Cow Parsley growing in the entrance to my plot. I'm trying to keep as many wild flowers as possible to encourage the bees. I have a grass area out the back of the tunnel that I am leaving wild. There are lots of buttercups and campions and I have sown a wild flower mix just inside the tunnel door.

2009-05-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

Feltham First and Sugar Snap Peas in evening sunlight. They are protected by thorny pea sticks to ward off the pigeons. This is one of the first images I have taken on my old pentax 35mm camera. My friend Giulietta was very patient in helping me buy this camera on ebay for which I am extremely grateful! She takes beautiful photographs - check out her work... http://www.giuliettaverdon-roe.com/

2009-05-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

I've recently set up a blog for The Lost Gardens of Heligan. http://www.lostgardensofheligan.blogspot.com/
Check it out every Thursday for a run down of what we've been up to in the Productive Gardens each week.

2009-05-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture I took last month of a butterfly in the polytunnel. It looks like

it may be a Fritillary of some sort. Any ideas? http://www.britishbutterflies.co.uk/asp/families.asp is a really helpful site that helps you identify British butterflies, but I'm still not a hundred per cent sure what it is! Sadly, butterflies are on the decline (like our honey bees) due to the destruction of habitats and pollution, so it's a rare treat to see one up close like this in the garden.

2009-04-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Bee on blossom at the farm last spring. Our honey bees are dying in their millions. Check out "Who killed the honey bee?" on BBC 4 tomorrow night. This promises to be a facinating documentary on the major decline of what the bbc describes as "the number one insect pollinator on the planet, responsible for the production of over 90 crops".http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jzjys

2009-04-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

I had to smile to myself the other day when I went into the tunnel and saw dozens of little tomato seedlings poking through the dry earth. They have obviously self-set from last summer. When I think how I have nurtured the seed that I sowed this year - sowing in individual plugs of organic compost, juggling them indoors and out to the greenhouse depending on the weather...And the tomatoes that have self-set are growing in hard, stoney ground amidst the weeds and are way ahead and way healthier than my greenhouse batch. If I'd have know that would happen I would have saved myself all the bother, as I have now gone round pricking them all out and transferring them into individual pots. They will all be heritage varieties and could be any of the following: Red Zebra, Gardeners Delight, Brandywine, Chadwick, Yellow Pear, Galina, Gold Medal and Purple Ukraine...but it'll be a bit of a lottery in terms of which plant is which. I'm rather happy about this unexpected collection of plants as I lost most of last years to blight. For this reason, I don't really want to risk growing them in the tunnel again this season, and i won't have much room for them in the greenhouse. Still, I guess I can give them away - it would feel wrong hoeing them all out somehow!

The beauty of growing heritage varieties (as opposed to hybrids) is that you can save the seed and grow it sucessfully the next year. Over time the plant adapts to the conditions in its particular surroundings and seed can be passed on and shared for years to come. More soon about heritage varieties and how to save seed...

2009-04-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

Above: Cosmos and Cornflower grow alongside tomatoes in the tunnel last summer. The presence of flowers encouraged the bees which aided in pollination. Sowing of the annuals is now complete and Cosmos and Cornflower have been some of the quickest flower seed to germinate, taking about a week.

2009-04-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

Above: Blackthorn and Gorse grow side by side at the farm. There are masses of these white blossoms all over the Cornish hedgerows at the moment. In the autumn here at the farm the prickly branches become laden with sloes. At this time of year it's often tricky to tell the difference between blackthorn and hawthorn, but the blossom usually comes before the leaves on blackthorn. That's one way to identify the plant and then you'll know if you can look forward to sloes later in the year!

2009-04-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

Above: Feverfew (also known as Featherfew) is a hardy herbaceous perennial with yellow and white daisy-like flowers. The 17th Century Culpepper's Complete Herbal (above) advises, "It is very effectual for all pains in the head coming of a cold cause, the herb being bruised and applied to the crown of the head...". In recent times, it has been found to be effective in the treatment of migraines. I have just sown some more seed as migraine runs in my family and I would like to provide all the sufferers with a plant each! The seed is absolutely tiny so patience is required. I have sowed it in individual plugs with a thin covering of standard compost, although some books state not to cover seed at all.

2009-03-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

Dan and Dan puzzle over the elusive tadpoles in the polytunnel pond. We have spotted two newts in there now, but there still seem to be a fair few tadpoles around so they haven't all been gobbled! They tend to go into hiding a lot of the time which makes us panic that they have met some awful end, and then they pop merrily up to the surface again and we breathe a sigh of relief. They are getting bigger, but show no sign of frog metamorphosis just yet. Apparently the whole process takes 4-5 months, so it is not generally until August time in Britain that tadpoles make the transition to tiny frog.

2009-03-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

It's been super warm here in Cornwall today and I thought it would be a good time to start sowing some of the hardy annuals. I sold cut flowers to Jamie Oliver's restaurant 'Fifteen Cornwall' last summer (above) and due to a sucessful season, I've decided to experiment with lots of new varieties. I sowed Cornflower 'Black Ball' today which forms deep red flower heads (seed above), as well as the traditional blue type. Also sowed were California Poppy, Nigella 'Love-in-a-Mist', Ammi Majus (delicate lace-like flowers similar to cow parsley), Papaver Somniferum (opium poppy!) and Euphorbia Oblongata which is a good foliage plant with lime green leaves.

2009-03-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

Beware - a word of warning re Orach (as mentioned below)...make sure you take the plant out before it goes to seed (which I didn't manage to do) as I now have hundreds of them pushing through the soil (above). Luckily their colour makes them easy to spot, and it is a good sign that conditions are now right to start sowing. By the way, it's worth noting that the vibrancy of the red varies between seed batches, so if you get a good coloured plant then it's worth holding onto by saving your seed.

2009-03-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

Following on from the post below, here are a few other suggestions for a hint of red in salads...

Above: The far red plant is Red Orach, an impressive annual that can grow up to 6ft high! Use young leaves for salads. They have a spinach-like flavour and silky texture.

The near red plant above is Perilla. An annual herb that is part of the mint family. I grow a variety called Shiso and the leaves look a little like stinging nettles. The flavour could be compared to mint or fennel.

I can also recommend the fiery purpled-leafed mustards such as Red Giant. They add a bit of a kick and vibrance to salads. Pick the leaves young, as the peppery flavour intensifies as the plant begins to run to seed and can make your eyes water! They are slower growing than the other oriental brassicas but I also use them as a cut-and-come-again crop.

2009-03-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

Seeing Red

Above: Ruby Chard. When cropped small this adds a rich red colour to green salads. It is part of the Leaf Beet family and leaves can either be used small and raw in salads, or left to grow larger and then cooked and used like spinach.

2009-03-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

Above: My January sown Mizuna growing at Buttervilla in 2007. This Japanese brassica is a good staple salad leaf and makes an excellent winter crop in the tunnel. It is very easy to grow all year round and seed germinates quickly - I sowed some on 11th of March and seeds had germinated in a week. Leaves are glossy, green and serrated with a mild, peppery flavour. I use it as a cut-and-come-again crop and it will keep on producing for several months. If left to go to seed it throws up dainty yellow flowers, also edible with a subtle mustard flavour.

2009-03-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

Evening sunlight in the tunnel

2009-03-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

I sowed some Borage (above) seed today undercover in the greenhouse. It's a good companion plant as the flowers attract bees which aid in pollination. This is particularly said to be the case with strawberries and runner beans. Like marigolds, borage also attracts blackfly, thus hopefully drawing it away from other plants. You can also buy White Borage (I got mine from CN Seeds) which is a bit more unusual. Both flowers and leaves can be eaten and are a good addition to salads or drinks like Pimms. I like using it medicinally for summer colds or flu. It is a diaphoretic so lowers fever when taken hot. For borage tea, add a small handful of fresh leaves to aprox 500ml of boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes. You could also add honey and lemon.

2009-03-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

Above: A trusty Cornish shovel. I had never used one of these until I started at Heligan and I have never looked back! I found the technique quite hard to master at first but once I got the hang of it, digging became incredibly satisfying - you can cover ground far more quickly with less effort. They key is to keep your back straight and take the strain in your arms and stomach muscles. Some people also turn the shovel over their upper leg. I dug over the whole tunnel with one this winter and it really saved my back!

2009-03-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

Creatures from around the tunnel. Frogspawn ready to go into the polytunnel pond. Cluster of snails behind a plant pot.

2009-03-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

I decided to invest in some porous piping this year, as I spent many an evening last summer still watering with a hose as it was getting dark. Time just seemed to run out after returning from work and tending to the tunnel. The last thing I felt like after a long day at Heligan was coming home and watering for what felt like hours! I did try a sprinker device that was supposed to throw the water a long distance, but my water pressure is pretty low and it wasn't very effective. I therefore ordered 50m of porous piping from LBS Horticulture and have cut it to size so that four beds in the tunnel have piping running down the centre. It seems to be very effective, giving the ground a deep soaking, without battering leaves and foliage.

2009-03-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

My autumn sown Broad Beans have been flowering for well over a week now. I over-wintered them in the tunnel, hoping for an early crop, but they now look rather leggy. I thought I should sow some more now as back up because they are a firm favourite in our house. I would be devastated if this current crop didn't come to much. Luckily, Heligan let me take home some heritage Red Flowered Broad Bean seed, which we saved in 2008. I shall await these with eager anticipation as they look so pretty when flowering and taste great. Hopefully I'll be able to save some of my own seed from them for next year and for green-fingered friends.

2009-03-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Above: Spreading our well-rotted kitchen compost in the tunnel. Careful soil preparation is the key to a healthy plot.

Below: The tunnel at the height of last summer with edible flowers in the foreground of the picture.

2009-03-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

Nicola (my boss at Heligan) and I went to talk to the people of Portscatho yesterday evening, at one of their Transition Roseland meetings. We did a question and answer session about growing your own veg. "Transition Towns" are an interesting concept. Rob Hopkins's Transition

Handbook considers the issue of Peak Oil and proposes steps communities can take in order to function effectively if/when cheap oil runs out.

Check out http://transitionculture.org and www.transitiontowns.org/Totnes if you're interested. This book is published by Green Books, another site well worth a visit.

An alternative perspective is offered up by Maverick environmentalist and originator of Gaia Theory, James Lovelock. He gives us twenty years.

2009-03-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

A newt (somewhat like this little eft we found in one of the cupboards last year, possibly even the very same) seemed to have eaten all the tadpoles in the polytunnel pond which caused much sadness yesterday. I poked my finger into the water as I couldn't see them swimming happily around like they usually do, and something rather huge stirred in the murky depths. It seems there are a good number back wriggling today, so hopefully newt and frogs will unite to form an awesome slug decimation team.

2009-03-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

Cornflower for Fifteen Cornwall 08

2009-03-06T02:58:00.000-08:00

One year at Buttervilla - Record of a growing season - By Anna Greenland

2009-02-28T15:20:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Barefoot Grower! Please check back for regular polytunnel updates, growing ideas and things that inspire me...

In the meantime, check out Michael Pollan on TED for a refreshing view on our interaction with plants: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/214

****Barefoot Grower****

Barefoot Grower