Meet Holly our new little Springer

As you might have previously read, we lost our little Springer Bramble just before Christmas, she was such  great company in the garden and would follow me everywhere.

We still miss Bramble daily but decided to get another Springer a few months ago when we heard about a new litter that had just been born. Six week ago we went to pick out 'Holly' and today we went to collect her.

Mrs TK has been buying toys every week in anticipation of Holly arriving at her new home, but we never knew that she already had a newspaper named after her. While shopping in our local Super-U we found the perfect little toy 'Holly News'. 

As you can see she is well settled in after a few hours in her new home and is already enjoying her new toys.  She had a total of nine brothers and sisters, so she might miss them for a few days, but she will have lots of cuddles from Mrs TK who also can't seem to stop taking pictures of her.

 I am sure Bramble is watching over her from above and would approve of our new little Holly.

 

Snow Tomatoes

I have delayed sowing any tomato seeds as the weather has been very unpredictable so far this year. However, last weekend the sun was shinning and I bought some potting compost in anticipation that spring was on it's way. While at the garden centre I could not resist a few nice healthy young tomato plants, as they have been raised in a heated greenhouse with plenty of light they are a worthwhile investment for an early cropping season. My own sown plants will crop later of course, but will give me a nice extended crop. 

Little did I realise that only two days later that I would have to dig my way into the poly-tunnel because of the snow, so my precious tomato plants will be staying in the conservatory for now. As long as they are re-potted and spaced out then they will stay healthy with enough light and warmth. Last year I sowed some tomato seeds quite early, these plants were soon overtaken by some later sown ones, so do not always be in a hurry to sow too early unless you have a nice heated propagator and somewhere light and frost free to raise your plants before they go out into the greenhouse. 

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A couple of girlie's who have been enjoying the snow are Dill and Anna, after a day in the stables yesterday the first thing they did this morning when we let them out was to have a good roll in the hay.

  

As you might have seen in a previous post, we lost our dear springer spaniel Bramble just before Christmas and she has been dearly missed. We knew that we would never be able to replace Bramble but we have chosen a little puppy from a litter of ten Springers that were born just over a week ago. We have to wait another 5 weeks before we get her, but she looks a little angel and we have called her 'Holly' 

It has been a very wet winter here in Brittany and I am sure I have been suffering from the 'SAD' syndrome like most people, through lack of sunshine in the winter months. I have battled the cold felling trees and chopping them into logs, which is a winter chore for many people in France. The garden has remained virtually untouched, although strangely enough the lawns do need a mowing despite the harsh weather. As I wrote earlier we did have a lovely few days last weekend, so I was out in the garden having a tidy up in a t-shirt. This week I need my long john's under my jeans just to keep warm, but I an sure this is just a blip and I will soon be attacking all the spring jobs in the garden and even have something to blog about!

Equestrian property wanted of for sale in Brittany and the rest of France 

2013 Meme time!

Bloggers are always coming up with new ideas to promote each others blog's and the latest is Meme time.

I have been tagged by Millymollymandy or Mandy for short, over at Chateau Moorhen. If you want to see a stunning garden and property  in France, then pop over to Chateau Moorhen you will not be disappointed.  

 The rules of meme are really simple:
- Post five random facts about yourself.
- Choose five deserving blogs with less than 200 followers to nominate and link into your post.
- Tell your nominees that they have been chosen by leaving a comment on their blog.
- Answer the five questions the tagger has asked.
- Ask five questions of your chosen nominees.
- Now tag-backs.

OK lets start with five random facts;
1. I have worked in Switzerland, Holland, Portugal, UK, France and of course Guernsey where I was born.
2. I ran a marathon in Zimbabwe to help save the Rhino's for my 40th birthday. 
3. I was top salesman for Suzuki and won weeks holiday on Richard Bransons Necker Island.
4. I left school at 14 as I was 15 in the summer holidays, yes it shows in my spelling! 
5.My favourite meal is a surf and turf, oysters for starters of course.

The five questions from Mandy

 1. When did you first get interested in gardening? (or for Kim, bugs)
At school, but being born on Guernsey, my first part-time job was working in the greenhouses growing tomatoes. 

 
2. If money was no object and you could travel to any ONE place in the world, where would you go, and why? 
The Maldives as I have promised to take my better half their one day.

3. Do you have any plans for 2013 that involve something that you didn't do in 2012?
Grow some Litchi tomatoes in the poly-tunnel, I have the seeds ready.

 
4. What is your favourite comfort food?
It's not food, it's red wine.

5. Which book are you reading at the moment?
The primrose door by Lorna Cooke. She was the first person to review by novel Vantastic France and we became friends. With a little persuasion I got her to finish and publish a novel that she had started years ago.

My five blog's are 

1.Permaculture in Brittany If you want to learn about permaculture then this is the blog to visit.

2. Dusty River Gardens - Take trip to the states to see how they do it.

3.Piglet in Portugal - As I lived there I love to hear Piglets wonderful  tales of life in Portugal. 

4. Living life in Saint-Aignan - I follow this blog via my French Classified blog, always some interesting posts from down in the Loire valley

5.A gardener in France - An English garden designer in the Loire Valley, some great tips on garden design from the experts.

Even if they do not have the time to join in the fun, please browse thought their interesting blogs.

The questions to them are;

1. Can you recommend a great bottle of wine.
2. What is the scariest thing that you have ever done.
3. Who is your hero.
4.Why do you live where you do.
5. If you could create a new fruit or vegetable, what would it look like and how would it taste.

Rest in Peace Bramble

Readers of this blog might have noticed our loving dog Bramble featuring in many photo's on my posts. She was constantly by my side in the garden and poly-tunnel, she was so loyal, loving and good natured. Sadly she had not been her normal self this past few months, mainly because of her age. Up until  then she was so active, running around like a young puppy. She started to lose weight, lost her appetite and kept falling over and also had a few infections. She was 13 and did also have a sight heart problem. 

It was with very heavy hearts that we decided to have her put down yesterday, our vet felt that her quality of life was suffering and that she was probably in pain, as she didn't leave her bed that much and was not eating a lot. It was a very hard decision to make just before Christmas, but we all felt it was the best decision for Bramble's sake. 

We both miss her so much, I keep walking around the garden expecting her to follow me, she was always by our sides, a better companion you could never ever find. 

She has now been laid to rest in the corner by the strawberry plants, her favourite garden snack. This is the first post I have written with tears in my eyes, rest in peace Bramble, you were a very special dog and loving friend. 

 

Leaf curling on tomatoes

Is leaf curling on tomatoes the biggest concern for people growing tomatoes?

Well going by my post hits it must be, my post here about Leaf Curl on Tomato's has had 12626 views and  it is the top post on my blog.

Personally leaf curl on tomato's is the least of my worries, blight is my biggest. I would guess that the main problem when people tend to worry is when leaves look like this;

It can look a little scary for new growers of tomato's but if you read my post it is just a simple case of the plants protection themselves when they are trying to create less leaf area to cool themselves down. I never ever worry about this, but do try to make sure my plants are getting enough water at the correct rate when it is very hot. Remember the secret of watering tomato's is a little but often and you will not go far wrong. Tomato leaf curl or roll is not a disease, it is a physiological response of the plant to environmental stress.

Here are a couple of more photo's taken from Garden web forum  

This plant looks pretty poorly, but I bet it was fine once the sun went down. I would say a little more watering would help. Tomato's do not have a large root system, so the soil should be fairly moist in really hot weather.

This plant is often how mine look when full of fruit, If you feel your plants are getting enough water, then try to shade your plants a little with some netting to cool them down slightly.

Of course there are other types of leaf curl which can be more worrying, like contaminated compost or even too much feed, you can see pictures of this on my post.

If in doubt please email me a photo, I will do my best to help with any problems relating to tomato growing, but sometimes it's a little like have a doctors appointment by email.

Litchi Tomatoes -Morelle de Balbis

It's great to find new unusual tomato's to grow and I came across Litchi Tomato's or Morelle De Balbis on Tomato Addicts blog today, they look amazing, I will have to try and get some seeds.

The photo above was taken by Sebastien Prunet

I googled a few suppliers
Annapolis Seeds Canada 

 Greta's Organic Seeds, but this was posted on 2010.
Baker Creek Heirloom seeds.

update on seeds 13. 12 .12
I have managed to find a US seed company that ships to France or the UK which is Bonanza.com 
 the site is a little like ebay and the seller was sanpedro. The seeds were £2.48 and 98p postage and apparently I will get 20 seeds and a chutney recipe, so good value.

This is their description
A highly decorative plant with formidable defenses, the Litchi tomato or Morelle De Balbis is rarely grown outside of South America, but thrives anywhere tomatoes can be grown. It is the same genus, but a different species. The calyx opens to reveal a seed-filled cherry red fruit which is very sweet when ripe. I have a recipe for a litchi chutney that is delicious and last year I made jelly from the fruit. The five foot plants are quite striking and the large white flowers are gorgeous. 75 days.

I have tracked down the seller which is J&L gardens in New Mexico and here is a direct link to their own on-line shop with hundreds of other seeds and a little about them.

 '& L Gardens is home to over 350 varieties of  tomatoes and rare vegetables from our rich heritage of heirloom and open pollinated types. Our farm is in the fertile upper Rio Grande river valley near Espanola, New Mexico. In addition to tomatoes, we take melons and cucumbers, apples and other fruits , along with specialty potatoes and garlic to farmer's markets in Santa Fe and Los Alamos. All our garden vegetables and fruit are raised using traditional, natural methods.'

Other Articles 

In praise of the Litchi Tomato

Love Apple Farm  They also sell the seeds.

A few more pictures from Garden Web

 It looks like they are a bush style plant, so they will not need de-shooting, and growing tips are most welcome. The thorns look pretty scary so I would wear gloves when tending these tomato plants.

This one is trained using the support system that is popular in the states, which seems a good idea and safer!.

 

 

Apparently The flavour is hard to describe, and varies, depending upon the weather at time of harvest. The berries taste like a mix of cherry & gooseberry. The skin is very thin & tender. They are fairly seedy though.

So what a great challange for Mr TK for 2013, I just hope Father Christmas brings me some seeds.  

Any comments about growing them or where to find seeds, would be most welcome.

Rain, rain and more rain

Like most people in northern Europe and the UK, we have had our fair share of rain this past couple of months. After the soil turning to dust in the summer it is now totally saturated, so there is not a lot you can do with it. I have added some compost and peat to my soil for enrichment and drainage, the only problem being is that nitrogen is easily washed out of the soil with all this rain, so it is a good idea to cover small sections and raised beds with plastic, which also helps keep the weeds down before you plant. 

Another problem is the wind and I am adding some small hedges around my individual plots, these are all cutting so they will take a time to grow, but at least they were free and just might add a little protection. 

Despite all this damp weather we have had a few dry days, so I have been slowly tidying up the garden ready for next spring. Last year I left it a bit late and had to much to do all at once when the weather improved. Also a day of fresh air in the garden will do me good, plus it is far better than sitting in front of the PC all day working on my business websites.

We received a  letter the other week from the local 'Marie', they informed us that we had a lot of trees overhanging a small lane that runs along the bottom of our fields. As this is about 300 metres long there are a fair number of tree to remove or cut off the over hanging branches. They are also surrounded by brambles, so it is not an easy task. On the plus side I will have a few years supply of logs, so as the French say I will get heat 3 times from the trees. Firstly when I chop them down, secondly when I transport them and stack them, thirdly when I eventually burn them.

The poly-tunnel is surviving yet another winter, I have over wintered some peppers which I planted quite late from some seedlings that had gone stagnant in the spring. I eventually got them to grow after re-potting a few times, but this was near the end of the summer. They are now loaded with peppers and if we do not get any severe frost for a while, they should last till well after Christmas. I have dug out the old soil from the tomato beds and added some fresh soil and manure, so the worms will be doing their job over the winter. 

 Bramble is now thirteen, so she is getting on in dog years. A while ago she could not get out of her bed and kept falling over. We took her to the vets and they said she had a back problem and an infection, she has been on pain killers and the infection is now clear, but she is not as sprightly as she once was and her back problem is to do with her age.She is still wonderful company and is always by my side, I think she will deserve a special present this Christmas, knowing her it will of course be something edible.

Hypo and Hyperthyroidism: Supporting Treatment through Healthy Living

Being diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic a few years ago I have had to learn how healthy living can affect our health. Despite orders from my Doctor I refused medication as I wanted to try diet and exercise, a year later but cutting down on carbs and having exercise three times a week I kept my blood sugars to an acceptable level without the need for drugs. 

Gardeners are blamed for spreading blight

 An interesting article that I found via Brittany - Normandy Forum  about the spread of Potato Blight, it shows that we can all do our bit to help stop the spread of this serious disease. As advised burn all effected leaves and plants, I also tend to grow potatoes well away from tomatoes, as it usually starts on your potato crop first.

I also have a section with posts about Blight HERE

'Allotment holders who fail to deal with blight-ridden potato plants have been blamed for spreading the fungal infection to farmers' fields.

If it is not detected, blight can destroy crops and the spores can quickly spread 30 miles or more in the wind.
Tackle it the right way and it can be controlled, but the Potato Council says some home and allotment growers are failing to spot the signs in time.'

Read more on Yahoo/ Sky News 

Sorry about the lack of posts

I am sure there is enough information on this site to help with your tomato growing, but I do still like to keep you up to date with my own crops.

I managed to keep the blight at bay for quite a few months with my two sprays of Bordeaux mix and constantly removing any newly effected leaves. Fortunately I did not get too much blight on the stems, so most of my plants kept producing fruit.I am now left with just half a dozen plants, which are no looking pretty frail, but I have not done too badly seeing I had blight months ago.