Potato Order, Garlic Order and Reviewing French Garden Centre

Travelling About

Having done the potato order and postponed the garlic order, we went off to celebrate 25 years of marriage with a meal in France. A little shopping was undertaken as well!

We bought a hand axe for 2.80 euro (about 2 pounds) in Leroy Merlin. Amazing displays of various wellington boots – bet the French don’t call them that – gardening tools etc. I spent a happy half hour drooling over the rotovators. I’m glad to say that none looked quite as well built as my Merry Tiller.

I had intended to take some pictures of French allotments. The site visible from the A16 Calais to Boulogne has purpose built semi-detached brick sheds! Really quite posh. I spotted another site, which looked more English as well.

I could show you the photographs if I had not left the camera on the kitchen table when we left!

One thing I noticed in the French supermarkets was the fresh vegetables. Far more seasonal than our displays. I think we have become too dependent on imports and frozen in the UK. You can buy anything at anytime. Beans imported from Africa for instance.

Choice is good, but the loss of awareness of seasons is a loss.

Garlic sorted

I bought my seed garlic – 3 bulbs of Marco and 6 bulbs of Thermidrome. Price ?1.99 for 3, which seems to be the standard retail price.

I really can not understand why the online suppliers demand more money than the garden centres. After all, the cost of running an online shop is far less than running a bricks and mortar operation. You could, therefore, sell for less and make more profit. The reverse seems to be true.

I don’t mind paying postage charges but I really object to paying higher than the actual cost. Our UK postal charges are pretty low so how a supplier can have the cheek to try to charge a fiver to send something that will cost about 50p, I don’t know.

Weather and jobs to do

The weather continues unseasonally warm but now the rain is keeping me off the plot. I have loads to do but the ground is very wet. The critical list consists of:

• Empty leafmould bin on plot 5 and spread around


• Fill leafmould bins with leaves


• Spread wood chippings on the paths before the chippings are all gone


• Dig over quite a bit of plot 5 and a plot 29


• PH test and lime as required (except where the potatoes are going for next year)


• Sort out the strawberry bed


• Build the greenhouse


• Plant the garlic

Oh no – I’m too far behind and we’re in November!