'The Edible Garden' starts at 8pm on BBC 2 on April the 7th

[southeast-isher]

A Catalan girlfriend thought nothing of pulling her knickers down and squatting to go for a wee. I don't see anything wrong in it. But of course you have to respect those around you.

[theabsinthefairy]

I have become quite accustomed to the one handed wave from the old men in their gardens as I drive through our local villages - (no need to explain what the other hand is doing I am sure).

But the crown of indecent peeing in public must go to the neighbour of some friends of ours, whose bedroom windows faced each other. She (English) would get up in the morning, draw back the curtains to come face to ....... errrrr bit lower than face - while he had his morning pee out of his bedroom window. Grinning and smiling and calling 'ca va' at her.

[Millymollymandy]

Just for a change I'm going to go back ON topic and ask if anyone watched Alys' 2nd programme and what did you think? I didn't see all of it but at the beginning she was still saying she was hoping to grow nearly all their fruit and veg for the year in her garden, then mentioned a few tubs for spuds!

I might try the cut and come again lettuce though for those periods when you are in between glut - which is usually the hottest time of the year. So I guess if one put a big tub in the shade it might work better. Do you need to buy special lettuce for that or can I just mix all my various different lettuce seeds (I've got about 7 varieties!) and sow them all together? Will cos types work like that?

[yvette]

I've seen both shows so far. I've shared some of the reservations aired here - a bit twee perhaps, rather lacking in information - but then I've found myself having another look on i-player for some bit of info or other (for example, was I the only one who didn't realise that you could eat pea shoots as a salad vegetable? Major embarrassment if I was !!). I did sneak a look at the book in the shop recently and on first glance it did seem to provide more detail than the programmes do.

I've grown cut and come again lettuce - I've always grown packets of seeds labelled as 'cut and come again' or 'salad bowl'.... but I have noticed that if the seedlings are left uncut they do turn in to great big grown-up lettuces, so I guess it would be okay with any 'loose leaf' lettuce variety - just grow till they are about 10cms tall then harvest leaves. Can't see it working with a tightly-packed little gem-type, but then I have never tried.

I am looking forward to the next programme. I suppose Alys Fowler does seem to be offering something readily achievable - the idea of putting clumps of veg among the flowers is attractive, and has inspired me to plant more veg this year than I have done before. I certainly won't be able to supply all of our needs this way, but if I succeed and enjoy the experience I plan to extend the veg plot next year. (Up until now I have had most of my garden as lawn for my son to play in but now he has turned into a great loafing teenager he doesn't want to play with his spacehopper any more and I can pinch a bit more ground for veg!)
Will be interested to see the feedback from programme 3.

[southeast-isher]

For anyone interested Alys is doing a talk at the Charleston near Lewes in East Sussex on the 1st of July, and you get a free mug of tea and a courgette cupcake :-)

[Odsox]

was I the only one who didn't realise that you could eat pea shoots as a salad vegetable? Major embarrassment if I was

Yep .... just you in the whole wide world.

You may like to know you can eat broad bean shoots as well.
If you pinch the tops out when bean pods start forming, not only does it deter blackfly it also provides a free meal.

[citizentwiglet]

I missed last week's, as my parents were up visiting from Wales and we were all getting happily sloshed on my dad's homebrew, and it seemed churlish to ask them to shut up whilst I watched the Dirt-Faerie skip around the garden in her dishcloth frock (though it may well have rekindled my father's interest in gardening); but I'm pretty good at growing salad. Chuck it in a tub, surround it with marigolds that the slugs prefer, and scoff it before it bolts..

Tonight's was a bit weird. Seemed odd putting root veg and brassicas together - each deserve a programme of their own, I would have thought; especially as the brassicas could have highlighted what is available throughout the hungry months. As it was, you got a nod towards PSB and kale and that was Winter covered.

No carrots?? Certainly, her soil doesn't look the greatest for growing carrots (although my grandad grew carrots in a heavy clay soil for years and, although looking as though they should have been on 'That's Life' they were perfectly edible - delicious, in fact); but could she not have grown some smaller varieties in tubs? After all, carrots are one of the most popular vegetables in the supermarkets - it seemed a rather odd omission.

I have a mate who has a very similar garden along very similar ideas and goals, and her comment was that the beasties not finding her crops was more luck than judgement. She reckons there wouldn't have been a thing left come February, the birds would have had the lot. She apparently also cringed about the neighbours' grass cuttings - she reckons Alys' next show will be called 'How I survived a year on dandelions and bindweed'. I assume she must have known her neighbours quite well to risk using their grass cuttings as a mulch?

[yvette]

Oh dear, something else I didn't know - well, I did come here to learn...!!
Thanks Odsox, I will definitely try this with broad beans too - I eat salad for lunch at work most days, and it is lovely to find new things to put in it ! Today I had my first salad made entirely from homegrown salad bowl lettuce and baby spinach leaves, and it was really good. I also enjoyed wafting around the garden picking it, in a kind of earth-motherish kind of way (it was 6.30 in the morning, the neighbours must have thought I was bonkers)!

[citizentwiglet]

Hope you were wearing an obscenely short hippy-frock and national health specs at the time, Yvette!

[southeast-isher]

I didn't learn much in last nights show but i must admit i love her friend George down the allotment! I've wanted to make that Polish beetroot soup for ages it's delicious and now i think i have a rough idea how to do it.

[jim]

Dear Citizen twiglet,

Hope you were wearing an obscenely short hippy-frock and national health specs at the time, Yvette!

THANKS!!!!! You've just sent an elderly gent to a very happy place!

(See my earlier posting)

Love and Peace
Jim

[chadspad]

I was interested to see how much shes crammed into small spaces - kinda goes against having to space everything out so much.

M3 - the black & white bits get on my nerves and shes a little bit over sweet for me. Also wondering how many times shes going to ponce stuff off poor George but worth a watch for any new tips.

[yvette]

Citizentwiglet, love the suggestion for gardening attire a la Alys Fowler as I pick my early morning salad - believe me, if I had the legs I just might... Sadly, Jim, if you saw me in that gettup you might do yourself an injury laughing! Stick with Alys as your fantasy gardener....
(I do put the washing out wearing my dressing gown - but that doesn't quite have the same allure ).

I felt the third programme in the Edible Garden series was oddly unsatisfactory and a bit disjointed - as has been pointed out already, no carrots although she is shown harvesting some. Funny grouping of veg. And nothing much about combatting pests - does she not have any slugs?
I also love George, and think he should be offered his own programme, possibly with his dancing allotment neighbour. I'm sure I read in a book on allotments (by Colin Ward, I think) that one of the utopian aspects of allotments might be the way in which gardeners of all cultures and backgrounds could share gardening techniques (for example, that people who are used to gardening in dry climates can help us in this country with choice of crops and methods when we have periods of drought), so advancing mutual understanding and respect. There's a programme there, surely?

[Nomada]

I also love George, and think he should be offered his own programme, possibly with his dancing allotment neighbour.

I'd watch it. Wish dancing man was on my allotment site

[jim]

Dear Yvette,

Oh well....... However, I have read the Colin Ward allotment book and agree with you on that point. Have you read his one on "plotland" building about the land squatters in the 20s and 30s? It ought to appeal to the ishyness of most people here,

Love and Peace
Jim