The Garden Larder

At this time of year, finding something to eat from the garden, is not easy.  So in the gloom of early morning I had a good look around to see how many edibles were left.  As well as a dozen cabbages I found a small patch or two of self-seeded leeks,  the leeks that I planted proper haven't done too well - they are still quite small and one or two have already gone to seed.  Instead of pulling them up I have been slicing them off at the base, and there is a fair amount of re-growth, which I am hoping will mature into proper leeks.



Self-sown Leeks



Curly Kale

There is still a fair amount of curly kale, both scarlet and the ordinary green type, and although they stand well in the winter, I find it surprisingly tasteless - but, it does provide a bit of vibrant green on the plate once cooked.  I rip it into small pieces, steam lightly, then stir fry it in butter and nutmeg for a couple of minutes, to try and inject a bit of flavour.
 

Carrots

I still have a few carrots in the ground, leftover from a late sowing, I doubt whether they will amount to much when I pull them, but I still have some in store in dry earth - not enough to see us through till the next harvest though.  This September I will make sure I sow enough to last the winter.

Sage Parsley Thyme



Rosemary Oregano Thyme Chocolate Mint and Spearmint

I have herbs in  several locations in the garden, some in containers which are in the greenhouse for safekeeping.  Thyme, Oregano, Curly Parsley, Chocolate Mint and Spearmint as it turns out I needn't have bothered, with this mild winter.  The mints are just pushing through new shoots, but there isn't enough left on the old plants for a picking.  There is also a large container outdoors containing several varieties of thyme, sadly one or two are now very woody, regardless of my chopping them well back, so they will be dug out and replaced this year.  Further up the garden I have a sunken sink full of herbs as well and sage cuttings in the raised bed plus a pot of flat-leaf parsley that has rooted through the pot and is firmly anchored into the soil on which it sits.

Only one of the Purple Sprouting Broc  plants is producing florets at the moment which means that there isn't really enough for a serving, so I pick them and mix them in with whatever else I can find.

Rainbow chard is still doing its thing but it very tough and motheaten and not really worth eating, it still provides a nice splash of colour though. 





Finally there is the Garlic growing well in amongst the spring onions and self-seeded California Poppies.  I have been using the same method with the spring onions as I have with the leeks, slicing them off at ground level, so that they keep on growing.

I am pleased with the amount of winter crops that I have managed to grow - all the above plus the parsnips below ground, should last us for another month or so - then will come the notorious 'hungry-gap' when I will have to rely on the supermarket once more.  Maybe this year I will be able to rectify this shortfall with a bit of careful planning.

Finally, the first signs of buds on the blackcurrant  bush - there's hope yet!  Do you have much left in your winter garden larder?

Versatile Blogger Award

Bridget at Arigna Gardener has passed on the Versatile Blogger Award to me and I am delighted to accept.

It is very gratifying to think that someone enjoys your blog enough to give you an award.  The rules are that you should pass it on to 15 recently discovered blogs and let the bloggers know they have been nominated.  Then you have to share 7 things about yourself.  Finally thank the award giver and link back to them.

The dictionary definition of  'versatile' is turning easily from one subject to another - so I have chosen recently discovered blogs that cover a variety of subjects.

1. house-chickens-eggs-cakes
2. circle of the year
3. going gently
4. the summer porch
5. mrs minivers daughter
6. corners of my mind
7. life through reflections
8. heart shaped
9. bright star
10. a place for everything
11. acorn moon
12. living on the edge
13. resistant but persistent
14. miss whistle
15. useful or beautiful

Seven things about myself - FAVOURITES

1. Favourite food - Cake (any shape, size or flavour)
2. Favourite colour - Fuschia
3. Favourite book - (the one I have re-read the most) Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris
4. Favourite movie - (so many to choose from)  The Notebook
5. Favourite record - (again, so many to choose from) Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley
6. Favourite television adaptation - Jane Austens' Persuasion
7. Favourite TV Chef (cook) Nigel Slater

Phew!  That has taken an age to compile both lists - I would quite understand if any of those bloggers I have chosen refused to accept the Award - it is very time consuming fulfilling all the obligations that come with it.
Now all I have to do is inform them.

An Edible Hedge

The home garden backs on to open fields and the wind rushes through the garden at an alarming rate with nothing to stop it.  The gales, a couple of weeks ago,  have finally prompted me to take action.  I don't want to block out the view completely, but I think an edible hedgerow might be the answer.

As winter is the best time to plant bare-rooted fruit and berry trees I have decided to place an order for 3 Hazel , 1 Crab apple, 5 Sloes and 1 Cherry plum this should be enough for a 4 metre hedge.


Cherry Plum

A deciduous hedging plant which blooms in February and forms fruits from late summer onwards.  This should be a nectar source for bees and attract other beneficial insects.

Sloe

A British native form of wild plum which bears blue-black fruits and white blossom in late winter

crab apple

White, pink-tinged blossom in spring and small, sharp-tasting fruits in late summer.



hazel

A fast-growing deciduous hedging plant, covered in yellow catkins from January to March and producing nuts which ripen in September and October.

My hedging plants arrived today, I am not sure what I was expecting, but they do seem rather spindly.  I think they are called 'whips'.  They should be planted in a double staggered row which should produce a thick hedge than can be easily maintained

This is my hedge - doesn't look much does it.  The crab apple will take approx. 5 years to produce fruit, the others a little less - so this is really a long-term venture, but with a little luck and a following wind, I should have a viable windbreak - eventually!

What a Difference a Day Makes

Friday - January King Cabbage

The weather over the last few days has been glorious giving me an opportunity to get outside and do a bit of tidying, pulling dead leaves off the cabbages, cutting back dead stems and a little bit of weeding.  The cabbages with the lovely colours, are ready to eat, but they look far too nice to harvest.  Sadly one will be picked on Sunday for lunch, but that is what they are there for, how can I get sentimental about a cabbage?

The difference in the weather is a shock to the system - mild and reasonably warm for most of the week - then the temperature dropped rapidly and heavy frosts prevail.


Brussel Sprout Tops

This picture was taken on Friday morning - the picture below taken this morning.



Green Kale



Spring isn't as near as we thought - it is still winter and who knows what is yet to come?



Winter Wonders

At the end of last season I sowed two pots of carrots with the last of the seeds in the packets.  Amsterdam Forcing and Autumn King.  I brought them into the greenhouse when it got too cold and more or less forgot about them.  Here are the results.  As you can see from the pictures, the Amsterdam Forcing produced better carrots, nevertheless, I was pleased with the results.  I will definitely grow end of season carrots again to provide little sweet treats throughout the winter.

My four containers of salad leaves are still going strong, enough for one or two salads a week, but soon I will start sowing new batches, a little at a time, for continuous crops right through the spring and summer.  These have overwintered well - I haven't watered them too much, as those that I planted in the grow bags started to go mouldy.  It's hard to get the ventilation in the greenhouse right over winter, I don't think the mildish weather helped.

These onions in a container in the greenhouse have sprouted beautifully.  I won't be using them as onions, as such, just using the greentops as you would chives.  The theory is that they will just keep growing and producing tops for cutting, and live permanently in the pot.

Just had to show you again the beautiful scarlet Kale, as it has matured the colour has got better and better.  Most of it is lying flat after the heavy winds but the colour certainly livens up the garden.

The picture top right is the purple sprouting broc which managed to stay upright.  One of the plants is producing spears, and  I have just harvested a second meal from it.  It is one of my favourite greens and even though it takes room up for several months - I believe it is worth it and gives you something to harvest when there is little else in the veg plot.

The Cavolo Nero, bottom right,  is a bit pathetic this year due to insect infestation earlier in the year, it never really recovered, but it  is showing new leaves so I may well get a few meals from it yet.

Finally, you know I keep banging on about the Calabrese that has been shooting non-stop since March - well, I checked the plants over this morning, and managed to pull another few tenderstems from it.  Will these plants ever stop producing - hope not!

New Beginnings

Well, that's it then.  The Christmas season is over.  The tree has been taken down and the fragile ornaments carefully packed away for another year.  Cards that were suitable have been made into present tags for next year.  The foliage brought it to decorate the house has dried up and berries fall to the floor, they too will be removed shortly.  The house is back to normal, another Christmas season swept away leaving only a few uneaten chocolates behind.

Now it is time to start planning for the next highlight of the year - the beginning of the new gardening season.  Seed catalogues to be pondered over, choosing what we will be eating from the veg garden over the next year - wondering how we are going to fit everything in - wishing for more space - until, that is, weeding needs to be done -- then feeling a smaller garden would be better.

Preparing the soil, mulching, manuring, fertilising - making it ready to take the vulnerable seedlings and plants that will be soon filling every available space. 

Flower pots and seed trays washed and waiting , new packets of labels standing by, waiting to be written with the new varieties we will be trying this year.

There are still a few weeks to go before the soil warms up enough to be able to plant anything, but there should still be enough veg left  to pick for the odd meal. 

There were a few florets on one of the Purple Sprouting Broc plants at the weekend, that I picked for Sunday lunch, together with a Savoy Cabbage.  I still have a few Leeks and Parsnips still in the ground, and of course, the inevitable cabbages.

Will this year be more successful that last - will mistakes made last year be rectified in this.  Who knows?  For me, personally, the end result isn't always important - it is all that goes before that I enjoy, the sowing and pricking out - the transplanting and potting-on.  Watching the seedlings come through and the anticipation of whether or not they will all survive, is all part of the gardening pleasure.  And being able to blog about it.  BRING IT ON!

Wishing you a successful gardening New Year

Potato Chitting

The Charlotte potatoes that I ordered arrived just before Christmas, a little earlier than I would have expected.  The first thing I did was to take them out of their delivery box and stand them upright in a tray, with the sprouting end upwards.  Egg cartons are a good  container for chitting potatoes, but I didn't have any to hand, but this tray will do just as well.  Some people cut the potatoes wherever there is an eye (this is where the sprouts form) , this way you can get possibly three times as many plants from just one potato.  Also if you cover the chitting potatoes with a little compost, roots will begin to form , making the plants stronger before they are planted out.

Charlotte

Chitting is a way of encouraging the potato to sprout before planting - they produce small dark sprouts.  It is said that chitted potatoes grow faster and you benefit from an earlier crop.  Start chitting your potatoes 4-6 weeks before you need them, probably the beginning of February as the soil begins to warm up - and keep them in a light, frost-free place till they are ready for planting out.

This year I am going to try a different method of planting, with a bulb planter, rather than digging a trench out, in line with my new policy of not disturbing the soil too much.  As the plants grow, instead of earthing them up I intend covering them with straw, grass clippings etc. to keep the light out.  This is purely an experiment to see if it is possible to get a good crop this way.  If not, I will go back to the old method.

I have noticed that when there has been a potato left in the ground after harvesting I have had a really good crop from it.  Possibly because it had grown deeper and that was why I didn't find it the first time round.  These odd potatoes seem to do very well on their own without me fussing over them.  So when my potatoes are ready this year I will try not to be as thorough as I would normally be in trying to find every one, then it should turn into a perennial crop, without my having to buy seed potatoes every year.

End of the Year Review

Plums - Victoria, Damsons and Greengages

As the year is coming to an end, I thought I would look back and refresh my memory as to what has been successful this year.  2011, for me, should be called 'The Year of the Soft Fruits'.

Redcurrant bush

Redcurrants





Raspberries



  


Blackcurrant

  Without exception, this year has been the best ever, for all the soft fruits - everything performed very well  and I had more fruit than I knew what to do with - I think the previous hard winter helped, and although most of the year was very dry, it doesn't seem to have affected the output of the plants.



James Grieve



The eating apple trees were overladen with fruit, most of which were undersized, they ripened before they had a chance to mature into a decent size, but there were hundreds of them, and the plum trees were dripping, to the point of breaking the branches.

On the vegetable side, my two disappointments were the potatoes and squashes, yields were low, due in part to the low rainfall and colder temperatures than we would normally have.   But the carrots and onions made up for the shortfall.

In the greenhouse I had successes and failures too.  The tomatoes romped away, ripened quickly and kept on coming right through to October.

But the cucumbers and peppers were dismal.  So my summary of the year  - on the whole crops didn't do too bad considering the weather conditions. 

It has been great looking back at the photographs throughout the year and has me fired up ready to begin all over again next year.  I have my tomato seed at the ready to sow in January and I can't wait to get cracking.

As this will be my last post for the year on A Woman of the Soil - I will take this opportunity of thanking everyone who has visited and commented and I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a Successful Gardening New Year.

Three grumpy Christmas dogs via Pinterest

Liebster Award

I have just received a Liebster Award from  Jo at The Good Life and would like to thank her, it has boosted my morale no end.  In the spirit of the award you have to pass it on to five of your favourite blogs.  I have quite a few favourites (not just gardening blogs) and it has been hard to choose.  The ones I have chosen are just as much for liking the people as well as the blogs.

Colin @ The Recycled Gardener  who describes himself as a creaky old veg grower, and produces amazing amounts of veg under difficult weather conditions in Cumbria, he writes with wit and a dry sense of humour.
David @ The Anxious Gardener who is a gardener of six acres at The Priory on the Sussex Weald.  He has a great sense of humour and never fails to make me chuckle with his quirky blog.
Janet @ Plantaliscious  is passionate about plants, both ornamental and edible, and bread, her brilliant blogging narrative draws you into her gardening world.
Janet @ Planticru Notes - the same goes for this Janet too, she has a lovely garden in Montrose and includes some beautiful photography.
Last but not least Mike (or Flighty as we all know him) @ Flighty's Plot -  for his plot adventures and wide knowledge of birds and wildlife which he writes about in such an engaging way.

Once more, thanks to Jo for enabling me to highlight some wonderful blogs and bloggers.

Just copy and paste the award on to your own blog and let your five choices know by leaving a comment on their blog.  It should be given to bloggers with less than 200 followers.

The Veggie Garden in December

Except for the empty pumpkin patch at the bottom of the allotment garden the rest is still pretty much full of produce.  I have started harvesting sprouts even though they are still small, I doubt they are going to get any bigger now, let's just call them sweet bites, mini sprouts, if you like.

I also harvested another handful of tenderstems from the Calabrese on Sunday, shown with the sprouts, these plants just keep on giving - I expect they will eventually exhaust themselves, but when?

The January King cabbages are hearting up nicely, and will probably be ready to eat, in January!

But, in the bottom left hand corner of the allotment, all is not well.  This is my soft fruit area - raspberries underplanted with strawberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, rhubarb and redcurrants.

The pictures aren't very good as I took them this morning at 7.30 and it was only just getting light, but it will give you an idea of the area.  Everything needs pruning back and all the bushes are starting to intermingle and overcrowd one another.  Plus, right in the middle of the blackcurrant, an elder has decided to seed itself.

The bottom right picture shows a self-seeded perpetual spinach plant that has gone to seed and takes up a huge area.  This part of the garden has gone a little wild with nettles, long grass and mint that has escaped and now grows in profusion.  It looks a little unsightly, but I don't mind too much as my philosophy is that, as long as there is a some control so that it doesn't get too out of hand, a wild area can be beneficial to the rest of the garden.  I think the abundance of this area is because it was once my compost heap.  Along the fence at the back of the garden is a mound where I threw my weeds, which have now rotted down, so I will make use of this next year for planting a courgette and squash.  I intend laying a big branch along the top for the squash plant to grow along, giving the tendrils something to attach too, and hopefully keep the fruit off the soil.  That is the plan anyway.

Finally, the above pictures show the making of cherry chocolate, these cherries are the end result of the cherry vodka that was started earlier in the year.  The beloved decided to use the vodka-soaked cherries instead of throwing them away.  Once it had set, we both has a taste - I quite liked it but he didn't, so I have a feeling it is going to sit in the fridge until we find some willing victim to take it off our hands.