Green Houses, green manure, green tomatoes...

I'm a bit like the BBC.I like a good link. And "green" is the link for today.

Now isn't that a sight for sore eyes? A tidy greenhouse! perhaps I should have done a "before" and "after".. but I was a bit ashamed at the state it had got into. The glass needed cleaning, old plants removed, dead flies hoovered up, weeds weeded. So it's all been done, ready for it's winter warmer of bubble wrap.

As you can see the chooks were in close attendance ...

At all times...
Two of them are moulting at the moment. They look a bit scraggy and don't give us any eggs until Feruary. The other one was supposed to be a Rhode Island Red. She should have stopped laying and gone into moult but she hasn't. I suspect we were sold a Rhode Island/Isa Brown cross. it's a shame for her that she never gets a break.

Putting bubble wrap up is not difficult as all the pieces are labelled.... well nearly all..and cut to fit the spaces.  Now it's ready for overwintering some of the pot plants such as the agaves and succulents.

It hardly seems any time since we were taking it down in the spring but then the summer has flown by.

The season in Scotland is quite short. Certainly not long enough for successive crops often advocated by gardening programmes, books and magazines unless they're quick growing salad crops and oriental greens. Even then they'll probably do better with a bit of cloche protection.

So there have been a few bare patches for a while.

We have very light sandy soil that looses a lot of nutrients when battered by rain, so it makes sense to cover it either by putting some old compost on top or by sowing a green manure.
So far I have not been very successful with green manure...

From experience choice of green manure and timing are important. And so is the ability to broadcast sow evenly!  Mine always looks decidedly patchy.... Like this rye grass. I could swear that I spread it better than that.

 But hold on a minute, here's one of the girls getting her share of greens. I let the hens out in the autumn to tidy up the beasties and this is what they get up to...

They've also been at the clover. Here's a nice patch that I planted earlier.

Here's another not-so-nice patch that the hens have cleared....

 I think it's back to covering the ground with a bit of compost over winter.

Last but not least the green tomatoes. We've had a great crop of "Cyril's Choice" an old variety from the Heritage Seed Library. And very tasty they are too. Cyril certainly knew a thing or two about tasty tomatoes. I'm saving the seed for next year.

They ripened well in the green house. The few green ones that were left were put in a warm cupboard with some banana skins. Nearly always works like a charm. And then there's always Spohie Grigson's Green Tomato tart recipe to fall back on.