Meet the Glasshouse

We put the glasshouse in about September 2016. Lest that sound like a one-off event, it took about a month; fetching it from the original site was a job in itself. 

Mr B put a wood foundation down first to attach the aluminium structure to, and it gives it a little extra height as well. 

Available talent was seized for service holding up the skeletal roof spine. That look suits you boys. The look of industry.

We cleaned the glass panes. Fitting them was the hardest part because the structure had slightly skewed in transit, sigh, the perils of a second-hand glasshouse. 

It was about October before I got plants in, and my own plants went in even later so a late season. I grew small varieties of tomato to get them all ripened in time, and plenty of cucumbers. 

The best tomato was a little black heirloom from Kings Seeds, something like Blackjack. 

I mulched everything with pine needles and dug them in when I cleared the glasshouse out. The chickens have had a good scratch around since and now I have begun to bury the bokashi in there; looking good for this season. 

I think this year I will grow good old Money Maker, and Black Jack. The Lebanese cucumber is superb but the plants aren't as reliable as a telegraph in the glasshouse so will plant both again. 

How wonderful to be anticipating Spring in the middle of Winter. 

Reporting in on the tomato stakes

There are a few garden stars that laugh at the dry weather and perform magnificently yet again. This sedum, for example, which was originally from a cutting from K & M's first flat in Invercargill, the one where  funghi grew on the couch; lack of moisture was clearly never a problem in that location.
Behind it the Japanese Anemone, some call it a weed. It flowers over a long period of time and has lovely foliage; survives neglect. You'll do, and I paid money for this particular plant from a local gardener's stall.

Now the reason for this post was to show you the tomatoes Mum. I've mixed the names over until I've forgotton who is which, but Galina and Siberia above and below: or 'big red' and 'little yellow'. Big red wins on flavour and colour. Yellow is good in a salad mix, not so useful for pasta sauce.

The White Cherry below has the best flavour of all,  along with Black Jack which you will just have to imagine. It  fruits prolifically so it has been deemed the winner and I will plant it again next year.
Three cherry tomato plants to every Big Red was the wrong ratio. Well, everything has been a bit topsy turvy this year.

And everything else has been late. That's my maincrop beetroot and carrots  to the right of the flowering yams.
I plan to plant broad beans, peas, and garlic very soon and get the jump on next season for a change.
This will necessitate extending the garden a little...

B came in and saw the courgettes/marrows and said 'Please, please, don't cook them for tea.'
With only two fussy eaters left at home to feed the other two of us would be stuck eating these monsters all week. Like 'filboid studge'  they would reappear at every mealtime until they were eaten. Aaaagh.

The happy ending to this story was courgette loaf (a lot like carrot cake) with cream cheese icing. I love a happy ending.