The development of a new garden. A garden makeover from yew hedges flowers veg sowing growing planting and a new orchard. The extending of Springdale and improvements. The development of our new business: the scone station
FRUIT AND VEG
Loganberries 2020
The loganberries are early this year
They love sunshine and we’ve had plenty of that during May.
Each flower develops one berry, which has a juicier and sharper flavour than a raspberry. So we’ve been picking them as quickly as they ripen and making delicious jam.
The berries don’t all ripen at the same time so keep going back for more!
June 2020
Strawberry crop at Springdale this year is amazing. Already picked 128lbs and it’s only the middle of June. Strawberries are on the menu every morning for breakfast.
Freshly made jam is delicious! A real taste of summer.
In the fieldOn the boil – jam makingBreakfasts strawberries mixed with blueberries August 10th 2018The Rosette Apple – A beautiful early season apple
Rosette is a bright red early season apple, with an amazing rosette-like pattern of marbled pink or red flesh that is revealed when you cut the apple open!
The flesh does not brown (oxidise) that quickly either so it can be used to add an interesting colour to savoury or fruit salads. It was a good choice of apple tree and although only in its third year has a good crop in 2018.
Loganberries
Planted last year, 2017, this is the first year (2018) for picking our loganberries.
They look like raspberries but the fruit is a little longer and firmer. The loganberry is a raspberry x blackberry hybrid with quite a tart flavour which is ideal for cooking or jam.
The fruit is a sharper than a raspberry but makes delicious jam which sets in minutes.
A jug full of loganberries can be turned into three of these lovely jars of jam!
Springdale French Beans
July 2018
French bean seeds were planted towards the end of May, and potted on, planting into well manured ground on 8th June 2018, In 6 weeks these were ready to start picking.
Three varieties of French Beans are ready for picking.
Purple Queen at the top, Saxa on the right, and Kinghorn Wax on the left.
Saxa variety – 10lbs picked so far (21.7.18), 5lbs now blanched and frozen, the rest have been eaten! The Dwarf French bean ‘Saxa’ (Phaseolus vulgaris) is a strong variety that seems to give a good crop and can be harvested early. The Kinghorn Wax (Phaseolus vulgaris) is also an early to late, stringless, dwarf French bean, but a lovely yellow in colour. 2lbs of these so far (21.7.18). The Purple Queen, dark purple in colour, turns green on boiling. However this seems to be a later variety and the pods are still developing.
Springdale Blackcurrants
July 2018
The weather this summer, 2018 has been so hot. Our crop of blackcurrants has been good but the older blackcurrant bushes have produced currants of a much smaller size. All of the bushes have been grown from cuttings from our bush in Eaglesham, Scotland where we previously lived.
6lbs of blackcurrants picked
Springdale Blackcurrant Jam
Broad beans were planted late this year, April 16th 2018. The ground was very wet.
Aqua dulce is the variety.
A lot of slug pellets were needed around the emerging plants. Also to try and keep the black fly off they were covered in fleece.
Date of photo of beans covered in fleece.- 28th May 2018 – Hoops and garden canes were used to hold the fleece above the plants and pegged down along the edges.
Broad beans ready for picking and podding
July 14th 2018
Ready for the pot! And some to be blanched and frozen. 10lbs in total of podded beans.
Strawberry Bumper Crop
100lbs of strawberries picked this year, June 2018, from the strawberry patches. What an amazing crop. These new season strawberries have already been made into two types of jam, Strawberry and Gooseberry, and Strawberry.
Grown and picked at Springdale, our strawberries have been made into fruity jam
Fresh strawberries from the field
220g jars
350g jars
Springdale Strawberry Jam
First potatoes of the year
Planted in April 2018 in raised beds in the polytunnel.
May 10th – growing well
Time for digging up
June 10th 2018
Jazzy Potatoes
Washed potatoes ready for the pot
Cooked and ready to eat
A delicious potato – one to remember – Jazzy
This is a new trial for Springdale. It has grown really well in the Polytunnel and is a tasty and strong growing potato which produces lots of evenly sized small waxy potatoes.
The cream coloured skin is very thin and needs no peeling, in fact it can be rubbed off with fingers.
This potato is a second early and has an absolutely delicious ‘melt in the mouth’ flavour.
17th June 2018
Beautiful crop of Redcurrants this year, all ready for picking! Cover in netting to keep the Blackbirds away!
Rosette is a bright red early season apple, with an amazing rosette-like pattern of marbled pink or red flesh that is revealed when you cut the apple open!
The flesh does not brown (oxidise) that quickly either so it can be used to add an interesting colour to savoury or fruit salads. It was a good choice of apple tree and although only in its third year has a good crop in 2018.
They look like raspberries but the fruit is a little longer and firmer. The loganberry is a raspberry x blackberry hybrid with quite a tart flavour which is ideal for cooking or jam.
The fruit is a sharper than a raspberry but makes delicious jam which sets in minutes.
A jug full of loganberries can be turned into three of these lovely jars of jam!
French bean seeds were planted towards the end of May, and potted on, planting into well manured ground on 8th June 2018, In 6 weeks these were ready to start picking.
Three varieties of French Beans are ready for picking.
Purple Queen at the top, Saxa on the right, and Kinghorn Wax on the left.
Saxa variety – 10lbs picked so far (21.7.18), 5lbs now blanched and frozen, the rest have been eaten! The Dwarf French bean ‘Saxa’ (Phaseolus vulgaris) is a strong variety that seems to give a good crop and can be harvested early. The Kinghorn Wax (Phaseolus vulgaris) is also an early to late, stringless, dwarf French bean, but a lovely yellow in colour. 2lbs of these so far (21.7.18). The Purple Queen, dark purple in colour, turns green on boiling. However this seems to be a later variety and the pods are still developing.
6lbs of blackcurrants picked
Springdale Blackcurrant Jam
Aqua dulce is the variety.
A lot of slug pellets were needed around the emerging plants. Also to try and keep the black fly off they were covered in fleece.
Date of photo of beans covered in fleece.- 28th May 2018 – Hoops and garden canes were used to hold the fleece above the plants and pegged down along the edges.
Broad beans ready for picking and podding
July 14th 2018
Ready for the pot! And some to be blanched and frozen. 10lbs in total of podded beans.
Fresh strawberries from the field
220g jars
350g jars
Springdale Strawberry Jam
Time for digging up
Washed potatoes ready for the pot
Cooked and ready to eat
A delicious potato – one to remember – Jazzy
This is a new trial for Springdale. It has grown really well in the Polytunnel and is a tasty and strong growing potato which produces lots of evenly sized small waxy potatoes.
The cream coloured skin is very thin and needs no peeling, in fact it can be rubbed off with fingers.
This potato is a second early and has an absolutely delicious ‘melt in the mouth’ flavour.
springdalegarden 