Potager Pickings

And thems are rich pickings, very much so. This extraordinary weather we've been having since late March has been a great help in making the pickings extra rich. It's not every year that Summer starts in April, it mostly starts end of June and also not unheard of, it sometimes never starts at all and from Spring we go straight to Autumn. This year we have managed to miss Spring altogether.

Courgettes ready for picking in early May, usually not to be harvested before half June

Weird when the calender says April, your diary says the same and dito for your inner time table, you then step outside into the garden where it's June. Every time I go outside one small step for woman equals a giant 2 months leap in time. How very time warp-y.

Pretty in Purple;  fat marrow peas and Blaue Purple Congo spuds

But Summer in Spring is not the only reason the potager pickings are so rich this year. During late March & early April I got rid, at looooooong last, of that ugly big bruiser of a Leylandii hedge. And that made quite a difference to my potager, about 45 m2 of difference. So not only has my potager fastfowarded in time, it's become bigger as well without me adding any bit of land whatsoever. Sounds positively Tardis-y.

Whopping Leylandii, at its widest 2.5 meter wide and 3 m high

Removing such a big whopper of an hedge made the potager production much larger. In fact I've been stuffing my widdle face for months now with a plethora of tasty potager grown food. Never before did I have such a glut and so early too.

This space behind the Victorian greenhouse used to be all hedge

Harvesting courgettes in May is unheard of, dito for new potatoes and so many other vegs and fruits. Normally June would be the  time for picking strawberries, not May. Now that it's June my pumpkins are already setting fruit. Madness!

Courgette & lemon salad and courgette flower fritters stuffed with goat's cheese

So I've been eating a lot of food stuff for weeks now which I would normally eat much much later. It's not only the stepping outside that gives me a jolt every time, the food on my plate does the same. Unheimisch!

Already my neighbours are hiding behind their hedges when they see me coming: oh noooooooooooooo, it's the dreaded courgette lady! It's early June and I'm almost sick to death of courgettes. And broad beans, new potatoes, fat marrow peas, lettuce, cavolo nero, sorrel, assorted salad leaves, chard, radishes, elderflower, dandelions, rhubarb, woodland strawberries, strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries and much, much more. What is the world coming to? Sure, I'm overdoing it a bit, the only food  stuff that is becoming a bit of a snorefest to me are the courgettes, the rest I love.

Broad beans, savory, new purple spuds and a dollop of tzatziki. Yum!

I'm leaving you with some pics of my new weather improved and much enlarged potager in full throttle. Enjoy!

On the left my 3 sisters bed, on the right spuds, cavolo nero, sorrel & poppies.

Sugar snaps growing up against the new fence.

Mix and match; lettuce, ruby chard, sorrel and tomatoes with the odd poppy here and there

Potager in early June 2011

Potager with chooks in the background

copyright 20111 Y.E.W. Heuzen