#25 - 613 seeds of hope

Why that title?  

Well, the Pomegranate has 613 seeds.

Even though I have not been hunting Unicorns, I have finally got around to planting the one we bought months ago from Thorpe Nursery in Horam.  I am pretty sure they had one or two left when I was in there last weekend.

Punica granatum ‘Dente di Cavallo’ is her Latin name, and she has been planted  in one of a pair of blue glazed pots that the darling one won in a raffle shot he year we married , so they have lasted a longtime and look as good as new.Apart from a small white label that I cannot get off, and had never noticed until today.

Self-pollinating edible super fruit, and delicious to boot in August/September, and pruned in March/April.  It can be planted in full sun or partial shade and should be reasonably hardy in Winter, although we will move her to a sheltered position and wrap in fleece just in case I think.

This variety is a container one, and I do not think it is fast growing.  There is no height or spread on the label, but Pomegranates in the Mediterranean grow into fabulous and attractive trees.

They are a truly blessed thing that we are incredibly lucky to have picked.

Hugs

Kay xx

#22 - Two heavy days in the garden

 

For a long time we’ve been keen to have Blueberries in the garden, especially as we spend a small fortune buying frozen ones each week for porridge.

So this week the darling one built me a new two board high raised bed whilst I popped out to pick up the compost.  I stuck lucky too, as Thorepe’s had some decent looking  Blueberries in.

Whilst there I picked up some meterage of pest netting, and we knocked this up to house up from a re-purposed temporary greenhouse frame.

It’s difficult to see, but the mesh is in place and secured at each side, and we have to go back in tomorrow and close off the end nearest the fence, and devise an opening at the front that can be rolled up for weeding etc.

Cauliflower on either side of it is maximising the growing space ... hopefully, as we are not that sure how they will cope with the acidity of the bed ... so, its wait and see how fussy they are.

The battening will be painted once the mesh is in place.

I did make a bit of an error, and accidentally purchased two of the same variety, which has just meant that more will have to follow to maximise pollination.  Ideally, three varieties are ideal.

This one is Vaccinium Cor. ‘Brigitte Blue’.  Flowers in spring and crops in Summer/Autumn.  Grows to circa 200 cm height and spread. Pruning should take place November to February.  Full sun or part shad in a sheltered position.  If growing in a container protection over winter would be a good idea.  

We also have a small temporary greenhouse, which the darling one has started to build a frame for, as it tends to topple over, do more on that soon.

I’ve been painting the old bird bath, and am currently waiting for the clear sealer in the bowl to dry ready for a second coat, which is fine as I still have to fill in the fence posts holds and dig over the bed by the side gate bed before it can go in place.  So far this weekend, we’ve spent about seven hours each day working on projects.  Oh, and I finished emptying the Big Boy Hotbin, and Guy gave me a hand to re-site it.  Although, it has only moved about five feet.  The nice thing about its new position is that is is mostly screened by the apple tree and willow, and is now much higher up so that I can easily drain off the liquid without have to fiddle around with a garden scoop each time.

Last night we were too tired to eat dinner, but stopped today just short of exhaustion to have a rest before cooking dinner.

Now to make plans for jobs tomorrow ...

Hugs

Kay xx