Deborama's Kitchen Garden

I'm back after some computer problems curtailed my blog for a while. Well, there's really not much kitchen gardening going on "around ours". This is not the way I want it to be, but I am working full time at a job 45 miles away, and my husband is having health problems and doing very well just to keep the lawn mowed. (And don't hate me for not doing the lawn; I am allergic to cut grass and really can't do it. Anyway, I am politically opposed to lawns but that's another subject.)
So, I got really angry at the organic food available in our local supermarket. They do have organic produce but a lot of it is either from another country or over-packaged or both. So we have joined an organic box scheme. We have had three boxes in the past three weeks, and it is great. Lots of local (well, at least British) seasonal veg, minimal packaging, excellent value. I recommend it either to replace or supplement your own growings.

Posted by Debra at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The British daily newspaper, The Independent, today carried a two-page spread about seed saving. This is something I have been quite interested in since first visiting Ryton Organic Gardens near my home, which is also the HQ of the Heritage Seed Library. The Independent article is wonderful, packed with new information - I had no idea there were so many seed repositories around the world.
There are a variety of approaches to this seed saving thing. For a keen gardener, it can just be a way to return to the good crop of last year and save a little money. To the environmental activist, it can involve searching for, cultivating and preserving vanishing varieties and ensuring bio-diversity. For farmers in a traditional agricultural setting, it is a simple matter of survival. And that was why I was so alarmed by what I found next.
I always like to jazz up my postings with lots of extra links, so I did some web searches. Now honestly, I had no intention to get political, but right there on the first page of results, was a story that made my blood boil. You won't believe what went down in the corporate takeover of Iraq, back in 2004, long before the electricity and water supply was sorted out - only a law against any seed savings, supposedly in the name of "protecting species". I could go on about this, but this blog is meant to be a rant-free zone, so I won't.
I have yet to actually do any seed saving myself, except for the self-seeding of my rocket and chard which came back for two years running. Have any of my fellow Kitchen Gardeners any good seed-saving stories?

Posted by Debra at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think I mentioned in my first (and last) blog post that we had had our back garden "landscaped" as part of the aesthetic upgrade in preparation of trying to sell our house. And the gardeners thought they had got rid of my rhubarb. But ha! Nature triumphs, and the rhubarb is back. It came up too late (probably for harvesting. But I am not going to let it be cut down again, or if it is, I will at least know that the crowns are still there, waiting for me to rescue them to a new home where they will be properly cherished and not treated like a weed.

Posted by Debra at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)