edible produce | Granny's ramblings

I wanted to use part of the garden for edible plants. I thought first of mixing them into the borders, but,as we have a “free range” tortoise it would not be practical. I learned this to my cost when I planted out two decorative brassicas which Jennie kindly donated and he found them a very tasty snack:)

We freed up space by having the conifers taken out which clothed the side wall and replaced them with a tayberry and a thornless blackberry. The gardener who removed the conifers sucked his teeth and told me that nothing would grow there, but my berries are doing their best to cover the wall and have already provided several desserts with more to come!

On the other side we are trying to keep up with the rampant vine. It has been pruned several times already and I have been fairly ruthless in thinning the bunches in the hopes of larger grapes than last year, soon I will be out thinning the grapes in the bunches.

Mini grapes!

The next step was to remove the decorative box hedge on the edge of the lawn and replace it with raspberries, currants and Jostaberries.

Fall gold raspberry

This little fellow doesn’t seem to understand that he is Autumn fruiting and has beaten his relatives who are summer fruiting!

blackcurrant

The red and white currants have yet to fruit, but the black currant has produced a small crop this year.

There is no room for fruit trees in the garden so I am trying a mini orchard in pots, two apples, a pear, a peach and a fig. The fig is one I brought with me from the last house. Until recently it sulked at being pruned and then left outside instead of living in a poly tunnel, but it is beginning to recover and put forth leaves, although no fruits yet!

I am also making use of the window boxes which I have carted around since our first house and have planted herbs, lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes and pepper which all seem to be thriving so far!