Good Life Archives - Page 2 of 5 - The Smallest Smallholding

Growing Chick Peas

April 15, 2016 by Lucy

I would say that chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) are one of my staple food groups. Yes, it’s almost like a food in itself because I could eat chickpeas every which way quite happily. Whether it’s chana masala (one of my all-time favourite Indian dishes), falafel, that vegan God-send hummus, lemon chickpea cake or just chickpeas thrown into a shepherdess pie, chilli or one-pot meal, I just love them. And they’re so very good for me (and the baby). Win-win.

Although I can buy chickpeas fairly cheaply from the tinned basic range at my local supermarkets, or even cheaper dried (now they only take 40 mins or so from dried in my Instant Pot), I fancied doing something a little different this year and giving chickpeas a go in my mini kitchen garden.

They’re ideally suited to our sandy soil here in Bedfordshire, one of the driest regions of England, as they’re not hugely fussy about nutrient-rich soil and are relatively drought tolerant. And as they’re a legume, they also fix nitrogen into the soil, so another win-win for me. I’ve got some space left in the big plot, but I need to get my skates on and get the next no-dig plot (and polytunnel) ready for more crops!

A little space left for some chickpeas and interplanted ‘catch crops’

They like to be planted where they’re going to grow, so I’ll be sowing directly very soon now that the temperatures have risen and the soil is warmer. Once established, they’ll grow a canopy and help to suppress weeds underneath them… so less work for me, and a great addition to my no-dig methods.

But with our temperature climate, I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to harvest anything that I can dry and keep… we shall see. Chickpeas apparently like hot climates, so I may be left with immature, green but perfectly edible peas that need to be eaten like mange tout or petits pois instead. These can be blanched and frozen for later, but I’d prefer to be able to dry them and store them.

However, my biggest battle will be keeping our feathered and small furry friends at bay. Chickpeas, like any kind of bean or legume, will be an attractive prospect for little nibblers, so I’ll have to keep them under a small fortress to start with. Wish me luck!

Filed Under: foodie, plans, seeds, sowing, vegan Tagged With: chick peas, chickpeas, drought tolerant, garbanzo beans, Good Life, growing, gyo

Golden Days, Good Life

September 28, 2015 by Lucy

Pudding and me under the arch

There is a certain feeling in September and October that you need to “get square” before the winter settles. This past month I’ve been focusing on not only keeping on top of all the millions of tasks to keep The Smallest Smallholding ticking over before the growing season comes to an end – harvesting, mulching, pulling up perennials, pruning – but also just simply enjoying it, while the sun is still warming the earth. These golden days are getting fewer and far between, so it’s imperative to get out there and experience every last possible second.

Gryffindor gardener!

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you’ll know what I mean when I say that my garden is a bit like a horcrux for me; it’s a place where I can store a little bit of my soul and when I get overwhelmed or the anxiety builds, there’s a part of me contained within it that’s protected and nurtured. Growing, harvesting, and tending to The Smallest Smallholding is remedial work. No, scrub that, it’s not work. It’s just a part of life that’s shaped me and kept me at times from falling apart at the seams but also brings me a sense of achievement, satisfaction and peace like nothing else can.

I just love Autumn and I could write for hours and hours about all the reasons why. Here are a just a few…

Morning light

Spanish flag enveloping the arch

Bertha my knucklehead pumpkin

Polka raspberry bush

I wish I could have eight days a week to work full-time on my little slice of England, but for now I’ll just have to cram in as much as possible as the daylight hours shorten and the nights draw in.

Filed Under: flowers, garden, veg Tagged With: Allotment Chat, autumn, garden, Garden Chat, Good Life, growing, health, september

Growing squashes for Autumn

September 18, 2015 by Lucy

Knucklehead pumpkin

This year I was given a selection of squashes to grow by Marshalls Seeds, and whilst I’m still trying to find a way to use up all the courgettes, the other cucurbits are also romping away. The happiest of all is my Knucklehead Pumpkin plant, which has now grown to about 7 or 8 metres long and is producing two large fruits. Well, that’s two fruits that I can see as the vine has scrambled its way across the scrubby area by the compost bins. There could be more lurking.

The knucklehead pumpkin is yet to start going orange or knobbly… but I’m hoping that by mid to late October we’ll have a lovely pumpkin to harvest for pies, soup and all sorts of autumnal foodie treats.

Munchkin pumpkins growing up the arch

And on the arch – my biggest, bestest bargain of this year – nestling amongst the flowering Spanish Flag, my munchkin pumpkins from Sarah Raven are also starting to fruit. Although it’s fairly late in the year for the vines to be producing flowers, I’m hopeful that they’ve got a lot of growing left in them and we’ll have more than just a small handful of the impossibly cute and pretty mini pumpkins for harvesting this year. I’ve counted about ten flowers and buds so it’s a game of wait and see… not sure the persistent damp conditions and lack of warm autumn sunshine will help my cause though…

Funnily enough, the sunniest side of the arch has been swamped by the Spanish Flag climbing vines, so the munchkin pumpkin plants have struggled to compete. On the less sunny side that faces to the east, the munchkin pumpkins are thriving. Something to bear in mind next year as I’ll most definitely be going for a Spanish Flag-munchkin pumpkin combo again. It’s been my little crowning glory this year.