HOME GARDEN
By Bob Bayes
http://www.qualitygardens.biz/
qualitygardens2004@yahoo.co.uk
I am sitting writing this article during January and waiting for my soil to dry after recent, heavy rains. My landlord has finished pruning his olives and I am ‘itching; to get on the land.
At last I have a plot of garden big enough to allow me to grow some vegetables. Since leaving the U.K this is something that I haven’t been able to do. As I was brought up gardening in the North of England, I am probably going to make some pretty basic mistakes as I live and learn about the different growing seasons, not withstanding the ‘exotic’ varieties available.
Before Christmas I managed to sow some snowball turnips, peas and lettuce. I also planted some sprouting garlic cloves that I found in the vegetable rack. Fingers crossed, I now have my first rows of vegetables in Crete.
I now want to get more lettuce and some onion, potatoes, carrots, spinach and beet in the ground (as they become available). I may even try to start some early tomatoes and peppers in a cold frame that I have constructed.
If any of you readers have experience of vegetable gardening here on Crete, and would like to pass on tips to other readers, please contact me through the E-mail address at the top of this page. Or you could post a comment on http://www.quality-gardens-crete.blogspot.com/ where both this article and all my previous articles are posted.
As they say: You are never too old to learn.
THE CAPE VINE (Dilinos)
Senecio mikanoides
A much maligned and pretty indestructible plant caught my eye the other day. Many people will not plant it because it can get out of hand and be invasive, but it has few equals for covering those little used, unsightly corners of the garden.
Winter flowering and evergreen have got to be bonuses too.
By Bob Bayes
http://www.qualitygardens.biz/
qualitygardens2004@yahoo.co.uk
I am sitting writing this article during January and waiting for my soil to dry after recent, heavy rains. My landlord has finished pruning his olives and I am ‘itching; to get on the land.
At last I have a plot of garden big enough to allow me to grow some vegetables. Since leaving the U.K this is something that I haven’t been able to do. As I was brought up gardening in the North of England, I am probably going to make some pretty basic mistakes as I live and learn about the different growing seasons, not withstanding the ‘exotic’ varieties available.
Before Christmas I managed to sow some snowball turnips, peas and lettuce. I also planted some sprouting garlic cloves that I found in the vegetable rack. Fingers crossed, I now have my first rows of vegetables in Crete.
I now want to get more lettuce and some onion, potatoes, carrots, spinach and beet in the ground (as they become available). I may even try to start some early tomatoes and peppers in a cold frame that I have constructed.
If any of you readers have experience of vegetable gardening here on Crete, and would like to pass on tips to other readers, please contact me through the E-mail address at the top of this page. Or you could post a comment on http://www.quality-gardens-crete.blogspot.com/ where both this article and all my previous articles are posted.
As they say: You are never too old to learn.
THE CAPE VINE (Dilinos)
Senecio mikanoides
A much maligned and pretty indestructible plant caught my eye the other day. Many people will not plant it because it can get out of hand and be invasive, but it has few equals for covering those little used, unsightly corners of the garden.
Winter flowering and evergreen have got to be bonuses too.
A native of South Africa this climbing /scrambling plant can soon reach a height of 6m and will soon overgrow any adjacent favourites, especially if you are providing lots of tender loving care in the form of water and feed. Planting them too close to windows is also not such a good idea, although you soon won’t have too many panes to wash.
My favourite location for this plant would be scrambling over a boundary fence or even allowed to trail over a large, difficult to manage, plot as a groundcover. Here it can be left to its own devices requiring little more than an infrequent prune to keep it within bounds and to ensure it stays thick and dense.
With so little to do in your garden you would then have the time to ponder how it got its other common name – German ivy!?
WILDPLANT OF THE MONTH
Once again I am indebted to ‘FloraCretica’ for providing the picture used in this section. A local, non profit making organisation, who are dedicated to the preservation of the wild flora of Crete. Please visit their website at http://www.floracretica.gr/. Here you can learn more about their activities, which include fieldtrips open to non members at a nominal charge to cover costs.
My favourite location for this plant would be scrambling over a boundary fence or even allowed to trail over a large, difficult to manage, plot as a groundcover. Here it can be left to its own devices requiring little more than an infrequent prune to keep it within bounds and to ensure it stays thick and dense.
With so little to do in your garden you would then have the time to ponder how it got its other common name – German ivy!?
WILDPLANT OF THE MONTH
Once again I am indebted to ‘FloraCretica’ for providing the picture used in this section. A local, non profit making organisation, who are dedicated to the preservation of the wild flora of Crete. Please visit their website at http://www.floracretica.gr/. Here you can learn more about their activities, which include fieldtrips open to non members at a nominal charge to cover costs.
ALMOND (Amygdalia)
Prunus dulcis
Not a native to Crete but long established in the wild. A native of North Africa and Southwest Asia it has become naturalised throughout the Mediterranean.
The blossom is borne on bare branches and is the first of the deciduous trees to flower (perhaps as early as January). A real harbinger of spring.
Cultivated for their edible nuts, they can sometimes be found planted amongst Olives, where their taller ungainly habit makes them stand out.
As well as the obvious uses of the nuts, the sweet cordial called Soumada is also produced from them.
Almonds can be self sterile so at least two trees are required to ensure pollination and, therefore, nuts.
