Preserving your produce for winter use

It is that time of year when there is more produce in the vegetable garden than you can possibly eat fresh.

It dose not matter how well you plan your garden you always end up with lots of one crop at certain times of the year. Mine at the moment is courgettes and runner beans I just cannot keep up with them and you end up being a bit fed up of eating them. So my new preserving bible is Keep it Fresh which came free from DT Brown seeds it is written by Rachel Cole. I keep this book in the kitchen now as I use it so much at this time of the year when I have so much produce coming in from the garden. I am not sure if it is still in print any more I can not find it on there website but it may be worth contacting them to see if it is still in print as it is such a good guide. I want to preserve as much as possible for use through the winter when there is limited fresh vegetables in the garden. I would not normally recommend frozen veg but the veg you freeze your self is so much better than any you can get from the supermarket.

 

 



Selfsufficient update

At the beginning of the year I set my self the challenge of going self sufficient and producing at least one piece of food every day of the year. Well how has it been going, very well especially now we are producing more than we can eat so there is lots of freezing and jamming taking place. Usually late into the night don't no why but Jam making always seems to start at about 9 o'clock at night. Probably because it is dark outside so no gardening and the girls are in bed so peace and quiet. We spent the spring building raised beds and levelling up the slope in the garden to make it much easier for us to garden. We filled them up with lots of compost, manure and soil from the levelling of the slope which has made a great growing medium for our vegetables to grow in.

One of the problem crops this year has been onions they have not performed well at all lots have gone to seed or not reached a very good size. Which is a shame as last year not one went to seed and it was the best crop I have had for a long time they also lasted until late June which is great. The other problem I have had is the peppers and aubergines just have not wanted to grow as the nights have been so cold. The other night it dropped as low as 4oC which is ridiculous for the end of July and no surprise that the more tender crops are struggling to grow.

 

But forgetting all the problems as it would be very boring if everything went well every year and gardeners do like something to moan about other than the weather. When growing your own it is always difficult to get the right balance of quantity's of each crop not having too much all at once. Yet again I have far too many courgettes than I know what to do with. The problem is I always end up with lots of good plants at the beginning of the year and never want to put them on the compost heap. But there are always lots of friends and family who are always happy to take a bag home with them.



So the challenge is going very well but to carry on the challenge on in to the autumn, winter and beyond. So we have been constantly sowing every time we clear an area a new crop is sown in that space so there is never any bare soil. which also means a constant supply of vegetables I have learnt that it is better to have lots of different vegetables in small quantity's rather than large quantity's of a few vegetables. Except vegetables that can store well such as onions, garlic, shallots etc. also there are some crops that stand well in the ground such as leeks, celery, parsnips and carrots etc. You can harvest them as you need them especially through the winter if they have a bit of protection. All in all it is has been a success and we will defiantly be carrying on with the experiment it next year.



Making the most of your hedge clippings

It's that time again when we have to get the hedge cutters out again and trim up our hedges depending on the type of hedge you have. You may have to cut it more than once during the year and each time it produces piles of woody clippings. Most folk reach for the council's green bin to dispose of them in but that way you are wasting so much great composting material. Your main problem is that it is bulky and woody not easy to compost as it is so I spread it out over the lawn. Get my mower out and mow it all up as it goes through the mower it all gets chopped up in to tiny pieces and dumped into the collection box.

Now you have some great woody material that will rot down well especially when mixed up with all your grass clippings and kitchen scraps. It's always best to try and compost as mush as possible from your garden as good garden compost is one of the gardens best friends. It is also a great method to use when cutting down your perennials and any shrubs you are giving a prune.

Church stowe early flower show

Yesterday I had the honour to judge Church Stowe early flower show which is a small village show that takes place in the old school rooms.

There was some lovely flowers unfortunately there was only two soft fruit entry's as a lot of soft fruit is still not ripe. But the roses where out in force and you could smell them as soon as you stepped into the room.

 There was some lovely blooms on show but it is not just about the roses there was some lovely sweet peas as well as Delphinium's, foxgloves and mixed perennial's.

It was a lovely little village show I am already looking forward to judging there show in September.



The Elder flower season has arrived

June means the start of the elder flower season it has to be one of the most useful flowers there is I would not want to miss out on them.

Hedge rows and waste land up and down the country have burst into frothy white bushes even the dullest bit of waste land is brightened up by them. They have such a wonderful sweet delicate scent That seems to be intensified by the heat of the sun. It is this wonderful scent that you are wanting to capture when making elder flower cordial and that is what we did today.

 Best to pick your flowers when they are full open ideally within 24-48hrs of them opening fully and on a dry day. You will need 12 large or 24 small flower heads after picking give them a good shake so any insects fall off. Best not to wash the flowers as you will wash all the pollen off them place them in a large pan cut three lemons and one orange in half squeeze the juice out. Then add 4.5 litres of cold water cover and leave for 24hrs after 24hrs take the flowers and fruit out of the pan and strain through a muslin cloth to remove any bits. Add 1.5kg of sugar stir in and bring to the boil then simmer for a few minutes keep on stirring.

Have your sterilised wine bottles ready to pore the cordial in using a funnel be careful as it is all very hot ask for help when filling the bottles if you don't have a steady hand. Screw the top on tightly and leave to cool over night the bottles may need a wipe as they can get sticky when filling and store in a cool dark cupboard.

 The cordial will last for many months if stored well or you could always use plastic bottle and freeze so you can have cordial all year round. Dilute to your own personal taste with cold water or lemonade and enjoy on a hot summers day.

Wordless Wednesday

Church Yards are great places for wildlife

From ruff to smooth

Being a man's man I would not normally publicly admit to the use of hand cream but when I was contacted by Gordon Castle in Scotland. They started to explain to me how the cream is made using ingredient's grown in there own walled garden in Fochabers up in North East Scotland.

 The walled garden is over 8 acres big and is one of the biggest in Scotland they are currently restoring the walled garden back into full production. Garden designer Arne Maynard has drawn up a contemporary design for it's restoration which is on going at the moment.
Gordon Castle have launched a range of products inspired by the produce produced in the walled garden. It's a great project the products are produced from the garden and the funds raised from it's sales go back in to help restore the gardens for the future.

 I have used many hand creams over the years but never found any that really do a good job i.e. get my ruff old hands soft I may have found a cream that dose the job. The Hand cream contains Comfrey, Geranium and lavender grown in the walled garden at Gordon Castle. I first put it on of an evening just before I got into bed it soaked in over night when I got up in the morning my hands where lovely and soft. I now use it regularly and don't suffer with ruff hands that where more like sand paper at times.

The hand cream is available either direct from www.gordoncastlescotland.co.uk or through www.notonthehighstreet.com and costs £6.85 which is a bargain as it dose the job if it can get my hands soft if will get any ones hands soft.