Ma got handed three large courgettes in 24 hours. Plus we have a few green tomatoes. So with the home made garlic it serves that they can be used up.
The recipe is for garlicky Mediterranean chutney. But this is a modified version. Especially with the green tomatoes. Have also added fennel, aniseed, mustard seeds and paprika. Not sure about the red wine vinegar though. We shall how well this is road tested.
Have lifted the garlic from the largest bed. Have to say, that I’m not convinced by this years crops. Purple wight was this years go to, in previous years it has been brilliant. Yielding big fat juicy cloves. This years crop is smaller in bulb and Clove size. The vayo and sultop does appear to have done better. There is further evidence for putting it in raised beds.
Now left to dry out and use as and when.
Last year, I made a version of Pam the jam’s courgette chutney. The fact that it is very Bollywood was a key point. Today, I have attempted another version, but varied still in adding red sweet pepper.
Home grown onions and garlic as well as a patty pan were used in this. The courgette was salted before hand.
Was simple enough to follow through. Does look a bit untidy though. I did note, that Thane Princes tip; of parting with a spoon and parting the sea to form a channel was a very good indicator to have in mind.
There is garlic in there some place and lots of it. Planted through cardboard, which has sort of quashed the weeds. So it could be alot worse. Yes, I could have mulched, and I could have hoed it all down. You simply don’t, when you are trying to organise things. To be honest, I leave my allieums pretty much alone and let them do as as they wish. These were planted later than anticipated, and therefore yet to keel over all raffia like. It is starting to happen. In direct comparison, there is also garlic and onions in raised beds. Not so yellow, smaller bulbed, and starting to bolt. I have been snapping off seed heads. I plan to leave the garlic a little longer, so that it can start to go yellow and keel over.
Over the last two weeks, it has been rather difficult to walk down to the plot. Mainly as the weather has been atrocious, but also as I start a new post. The sum of any visits has been to wander down there in the red wellingtons and see if the puddles have got any deeper. One takes one’s life into one’s hands just getting down the path. Sadly, there is no money in the site budget to fix it. I grumbled about that a fair bit at the plot meeting. It is turning into a health and safety hazard. The plot itself, is a maze of puddles; as you will see from the videos. Which is why there are so many raised beds. The benefit of the rain, is that I can see where I need to build things up. The plot is actually lower than the path that runs alongside.
The plot cuts something of a post-apocalyptic scene in the desolate dire winter. A stark contrast to the flourishing flowering scene in the summer gone. I must remember to sow the sunflowers for the Sunflower project 2014. I encourage to think about that, a good cause and it makes the plot look oh so pretty!
I know that the for the last few weeks, all the updates have been somewhat miserable. Sadly, I cannot control the weather! The growing season is still in it’s infancy.
Took a walk down to plot 2 today. Wanted to update you all on just what was happening. Very cold, but very bright. Just not very playable though.
Bit of sunshine, lots of puddles. So much to clear up.
I have battled with the topography of the plot. It is lower in the middle, than everywhere else. Water forms puddles, that then just stand and stay there stagnating. The key has been raised beds. I can safely say, that they have been very useful. Allowed me to get growing, and be successful with it. last year, three beds were full of potatoes. The spuds worked reasonably well, I got potatoes, that was good enough for me. However, there was a lot slug damage to them. The beds were filled with assorted organic matter. Grass cuttings, horse poop, and leaf mold. This year, the beds have sunk; as they do. So will need to have more material added to them.
There are onions, shallots and garlic in there somewhere. These were all planted through cardboard. I would have expected to see a bit more top growth by now, but these were planted a whole month later than expected. In addition, there has been a lot of rain. I can only hypothesis that the roots are being set down, at least by those sets that have survived the wet and inclement weather.
Leaf mold! This was all collected last year, and is cooking in the cold. There are two aims for this stuff. To first use in the raised beds, and there are quite a few raised beds. Then to put what remains where I can, to improve the soil and help raise the open ground areas. Last year, one entire builders bag was used to fill a 1mx2m bed. This bed was then used to cultivate two courgettes and marrows. I can safely say, that the decaying matter did them wonders. Prolific anyway, the squashes somewhat thrived with all that leaf mold.
It’s nice to see the over wintering garlic coming through. The onions have yet to start coming through; but the garlic is all on track.
It is that time of year again; where over wintering alliums get sunk.
And this year we have a few Varieties
Shallots:
Yellow moon
Griselle
Garlic:
Early purple wight
Purple wight
Solent wight
Sultop
Valyo
Onions:
Electric
Senshyu
Radar
All of the garlic has been planted yesterday. Checking my notes, that is a year to the exact day that I planted it last year. One batch of yellow moon and griselle have also been planted. There is still quite a few left to plant.all being well, this will be done in the next week or so.
Solent wight was planted in raised beds. This year, carrying out a bit of an experiment.
The garlic has even sank through cardboard on project othello. Hoping that this will stop the rain eating it all. In addition the cardboard will reduce the weeds that might crop up.
One cobnut butternut 3.5 lbs
Lots of small sweet peppers
Purple rainbow chillies Nigel and frauzauber
Garlic
Onions
Cumin seeds
Chilli flakes
Fennel seeds
Ginger
Stock
Garam masala
Salt and pepper to taste
Have chopped up all the veg. Roast in the oven-happening right now-45mins on has mark 7ish.
Heat roasting dish with olive oil. Adds cumin fennel and chilli seeds when hot enough. Add veg and put in oven.
Then fry off onions and garlic in dash of oil. Add roaster veg with salt, pepper and garam masala with stock. Simmer till soft and then blitz with hand blender. That’s the plan at least!
I am yet to be convinced about the b*ng for buck, when it comes to shallots. I must have sunk dozens over both the autumn period for over wintering, and then quite a few in the spring. This is my third, fourth year of growing them; and I am erring towards the not sure, should I really bother?
The tray of shallots has been sat in the Wendy house since they were lifted and drying therefore for a while. Waiting, as I tried to work out what to do with them. Did a bit of research as to how they could be preserved and pickled. Traditionalists would have brined the shallots first, so as to retain the crunchiness. That’s fine, I just didn’t, in this case. I was wary, that whilst I had two jars. There wouldn’t be enough shallots to fill them both. The jars were sterilised-kept damp and then stuck into the microwave for a minute or so-and then shallots put into one of them. On the outside, shallots are not particularly attractive. Look like diminutive, wrinkly, tan coloured onions. Only when you remove the peel, do you get this fleshy pink creature beneath. I sat there for a good half a hour-tears streaming, no one had informed me of their eye watering nature-before Mama H took pity on me and sat down next to me. Decided that she could help, and peeled the baby onions.
Onions. That’s another thing. I have never known such a small sized harvest. Again, I despair. Hundreds and hundreds were planted. In the gallery, they do seem to be the same sized as shop bought pickled onions. These were put into both of the jars. The jars were still not looking full.
Next came the garlic. A bit of a last minute idea. I rather like pickled garlic, one of those things you get in a certain Portuguese restaurant with olives, so why not have a go. Raided the four tier blowaway, where the garlic has been drying. Retrieved about five large fleshy white bulbs. Again, Mama H took the lead, and peeled them as I was going far too slow for her liking. The garlic will most likely take some time to become pickled. The combination of these was probably not a good idea. Alas, we shall see what happens.
The next thing that may well be pickled will be the jalapenos and chillies that are in the Wendy. But that is a another story; the things have to grow first!
Yours in anticipation,
Horticultural Hobbit
The last month or so, has meant that a suspension of major play. Whilst an eye has been kept on the plot, and things watered; there has no been the windows of opportunity to have some major undertakings. This week, however, was a turning point. With the weather here in Blighty becoming brighter and more summery; the plot has seen a bloom of bounty occurring. There are of course weeds, that is to be expected. In some places though, the weeds are as thick as they are high. So this will form the basis of the much of the work done over the summer. I would not want to be in the same position as I was this time last year when the whole plot was carpeted top to bottom with weeds.
What we have seen, is a bounty and a booming one. The warmth and the light as caused something of a surge.
Potatoes and Cauliflowers makes for Aloo gobi. The cauliflowers were from Aunty tish, white excel. I believe. To date, we have had two healthy shaped and sized specimens. Mother was excited enough harvest and text me a picture. I was at a concert at the time! That was the first. The second, was harvested for Aunty Indra. But it was not alone. No, it came with orla new potatos. We had already harvested a dozen or so, that Ma curried with some snowball turnips and ruby swedes. These were beautiful potatos, really very creamy and I found them to have a distinct salted flavour. As though they were ready salted crisps. There are kestral potatoes to take up, in the next stage of harvesting. All the potatoes in the raised beds are currently flowering. Well behind, are cara and sante potatoes. These are however, in open ground. Must harvest the third, and also have broccoli to come home too.
Garlic and Shallots
Been a busy day today, trying to get the various garlic and shallots up. Most of one bed has been cleared, but there is still a harvest remaining. There is quite a variance in the size of the different crops. The shallots are really quite small in their clumps, but a vast improvement on the crop from last year. Half a dozen clumps compared to three or for last year. The garlic, is the most interesting. Some of the beautiful pink bulbs are huge! Easily as big as my fist. There are also those that are tiny, no bigger than say a onion set. These are also the ones more difficult to dig out. I daresay, that this is weather variable, and a dependent on when they were sown. I have yet dig up any onions. A disappointment, as hundreds were sown. Garlic is now sat drying with the dry weather; the foliage will be chopped shortly.
Beans and peas are a sticky point. There are broadbeans, with their flowers following you around the plot as though they were eyes. But no beans and peas, in that there is one runner bean plant, and one pea. My fault, as I haven’t paid as close attention to them as I could have.
Courgettes and marrows are getting altogether exciting.
Really must get around to harvesting them. The foliage is ever expanding, with leaves now being as big as dinner plates. The summer squashes are certainly doing well, though the like so patty pan and yellow scallop are somewhat behind. Have yet to see any sweet dumpling, or cobnut and any of the pumpkins.
Roses
Chillies and peppers
That would be Nigel, he is on a roll.
With Moolis and radishes, I have established, that I don’t like them. Dad likes radishes, so he had a few of those. The moolis, however, have been a challenger. And have bolted faster than a prized horse. Rather than chopping them down, have kept them for the seed pods. These can be curried or eaten as a snack.
Swedes and Turnips have been going well. Lots of foliage, and small half tennis ball sized fruits that Ma curried. Tasted quite nice these.
There are loads of weeds, and cabbages to be sunk at some point. I am rather sick of lobbing caterpillars too. One of the broccoli plants was completely obliterated by the little critters. I will be constructing further raised beds. The level of success, is in my mind, a product of raised beds. A good part of today was spent collecting bags of grass to fill them with.
Things are most definitely looking up!
Yours in anticipation.
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