It has been extreemly windy here on the Viking Way. For those who do not know, the Viking Way is a very long footpath that stretches from the banks of the Humber river, taking in Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, skirting picture postcard villages and delightful pubs. It is well worth planing a visit. Where I am in Lincolnshire we are very exposed. My garden can take a real beating when nature has her tail up. My son and I learned from experience that any structures had to be extreemly secure. We wanted some polytunnes and took time thinking about how best to secure them. I am sure we have done the very best we can. Of course no structure is indestructable. If you would like to see how we did it please take a look here.

Putting up a pollytunel so it will not budge.

I have been doing a lot of rubbish removal lately and also digging. I had heard good reports of this spade. So I sent away for one and was not dissapointed. It has a long handle and a firm grip. The long handle means there is not so much bending, and the half serrated edge cuts through packed up soil with ease. It is a bit heavy but a good piece of kit none the less. From Screwfix around £26.00.

Reduced bending with this long handled spade.

I was supprised to see the onion variety Tipika in a major supermarket last week. Thy were not grown in the UK and were not cheap by any means. I suspect the taste will suffer with the amount of traveling they must have done. We have stocked this variety for two seasons now, and I must say they are exellent. I call them a giant spring onion. It produces good crops for spring and autumn sowings. When left you get a pure white bulb with a crisp strong taste. Ideal for salads or stir fries. It is very good for storing. We have these in stock priced at £2.30 for 200 seeds. Please visit the seed shop here.

Spring onion Tipika. A lovely tasty variety.

Some years ago my granddaughters came to me and said as one, ‘‘ Can we please grow some sunflowers’’. So I sent off for a sunflower growing kit. I was extreemly underwhelmed with what I recieved. A flashy picture on the box, but not much content. I thought, I can do better than this. And I did. We now sell three types of sunflower growing kits. Our standard kit has three varieties of sunflower to grow, including the Giant Yellow that can grow to nine feet tall. But that is not all. We also include some runner bean seeds that can be trained to grow up the sunflower. So your are growing some food as well. How cool is that? The second in our range is the sunflower party kit. Each box contains three mini kits. Growing sunflowers makes a really fun party activity. Our third kit is our sunflower growing kit for schools and groups. Each kit is made up for a group of thirty children and like all the other kits has all the equipment needed to get growing. Plus full instructions. Growing sunflowers is a perfect classroom project. We are very proud of these kits and have had great reviews on them. See them here.

Gardeners are a great bunch for giving and recieving usefull information. There is always something new to learn. We all have the same goal, to grow our fammilies tasty fresh food to enjoy. Why not join my Facebook Gardening Group, Lincolnshire and UK Friendly Gardening Group. We have some very knowledgable members who are more than willing to share their knowledge with likeminded people. To join please use this link.

Join our friendly Facebook Gardening Group now.

Sow pumpkin seeds April, May. Plant out May and June. Harvest September, October. The most popular variety is the Jack-0’ lantern. It is estimated that the UK send 13 million pumpkins to landfill each year. Which when you think of it, is a real shame. As well as being carved into Halloween lanterns, pumpkins can be used in a wide range of savoury and sweet dishes, or roasted. Here is a simple, spicy recipe. Add as much curry powder as you like. I enjoy it on the hot side. It is delicous.

John’s Spicy Pumpkin Soup.Serves 4-5.

Ingredients.

Pumpkin. (size of a football). 1 large onion. 250ml water. 1 vegetable stock cube. 150ml milk. 1 tsp tumeric. Tsp Curry powder to taste. Tsp ginger. 125ml creme fraiche. Salt and black pepper to taste. Sprinkling of mature cheddar cheese. Sliced French bread.

Method.

Skin and de-seed pumpkin. Dice into cubes. Very finely chop the onions. Mix the water with the stock cube. Simmer pumpkin and onions in the water, gradually add the milk and continue simmering until soft. Add curry powder, ginger, tumeric and salt and pepper. Lastly stir in the creme fraiche. Pour into bowls, and sprinkle with cheese. Dip in french bread.

I hope you will try this and enjoy!