When we arrived at Yealand at the end of March, the spring had barely begun yet we knew we were behind with our growing plans. The Old School was being renovated so we couldn’t busy ourselves in there for a while. The obvious place to be was the gardens. The orchard, in addition to mature apple and pear trees, has clearly defined veg beds. We were quickly able to clear these ready for sowing and have been experimenting with mostly direct sown seed while we work on longer term plans (espaliers? greenhouse?)
The apples are ripening and we have had success with broad beans, mange tout, shallots and soft fruits, with runner beans, potatoes, leeks and courgettes to come. The climate is cooler here than coastal mid Wales and the soil is radically different being on limestone and alkali and seemingly more fertile. The abundance of bees, butterflies and other insects has been astonishing. I am hopeful there is a balanced ecosystem as nothing has proved devastating to the veg. Wildflowers and comfrey abound and the orchard is just a small part of the grounds here at Yealand so we are not asking the earth to provide miraculous crops!
The first courgette
The first runner bean
Discovery apples; plenty to share
Dreaming of Glamorgan sausages (perhaps to be made with Lancashire cheese now rather than Caerphilly!)
