Perennials

Inspired by Mark Diacono - I have his book A Taste of the Unexpected and he was on the Food Programme a couple of weeks ago - I have put in more perennial crops.  This week it is globe artichokes; three baby plants have gone in at the end of a bed.  I hope they make it.  Other plots around me have healthy artichoke plants, so I'm hoping they will settle and produce.  Of my existing perennials, only the gooseberry is showing a crop at the moment - eight tiny gooseberries.  It is only about a foot high. I am investigating other perennials to minimise labour and help fill the hungry gap.  The stony bed which currently houses the first early potatoes is probably a good place to put in some more fruit bushes; I could sieve it until the end of time and still it would be full of lumps of chalk.

I've harvested most of the Aquadulce Claudia beans now, and will be able to lift the garlic soon, I think.  The jerusalem artichokes are definitely up, and some of the leaves and herbs are showing signs of life.  Some of the first early potatoes are in flower and should yield a crop soon.  I picked a lot of mint, which rampages around the compost boxes, and am enjoying a cup of mint tea while I write this.