My Father's Inheritance

We all inherit certain facial features, quirks and mannerisms from our parents; some welcome, some less so...I've heard it said that men should take a good look at their wife or girlfriend's Mother to obtain a glimpse into the future and see how their beloved is going to look when they get older...heaven help my other half! I know that I have my late Father's smile, his thick hair and hopefully his easy manner and sense of humour; but my greatest inheritance from him was without a doubt his love of nature, his constant sense of wonderment the natural world and his passion for gardening.

When he and my Mother first moved to our family home he was quick to dig over two thirds of the back garden in order to grow enough veg to feed his growing family. Like his Dad before him he grew regimented rows of potatoes, leeks and carrots. My Mum sowed lettuces and other salad crops and they planted fruit canes and strawberry plants. By the time I was born the vegetable garden was supplying the majority of the fruit and veg that my parents needed.

Dad in his vegetable garden in the1970's 

As I got older I helped my Dad in the garden and planted a little garden of my own growing sunflowers and radishes. I may have resented the lack of space in the garden to ride my bike but I loved eating the spoils of my Fathers hard work!

Many a Sunday was spent watching my Father digging up the vegetables that accompanied our Sunday roast, it all seemed quite magical to me that such a small seed could grow into a leafy cabbage or an abundant tomato plant. That feeling of magic still remains each time I watch a plant grow, each time I pick something from my garden and turn it into supper. 

Dad's garden in the 1980's

Years later when we my partner and I bought this place it was Dad who helped build beds, erect greenhouses and put together the polytunnel. He taught me about companion planting, gave advice about what to plant and where and poured over seed catalogues with me, both dreaming of spring in the depths of winter. We were gardening partners in crime...

My Dad is no longer here, but his passion for gardening and nature lives on. Many of the tools I use in the garden were his, some belonged to his Father before him. The fruit canes he planted continue to crop each summer and I still refer to the gardening books he bought me when we first started out here. I miss my Dad tremendously but it's in the garden I feel closest to him, his passion for gardening was one of his greatest gifts to me and for that I'll always be grateful.

January Harvest

It's a fresh crisp January morning, but the sun fools me into believing it's much later in the year. It's my first trip to the plot since New Years Day...

The weeds are plentiful, testament to the mild winter we've enjoyed so far this year and the paths around my plots could do with mowing. It's peaceful, only one other hardy soul & his dog on the entire site, we exchange pleasantries & he returns to cutting his red cabbages.

I dig up some leeks, pull a couple of fennel bulbs and weed around the rows of Kale and Chard.

Then I see them...two beautiful milky white cauliflower heads amongst a sea of green. They're not all that big but they are perfect; possibly the best I've ever grown, the florets are tightly uniform, blemish free and the most beautiful creamy white.

What they taste like remains to be seen but moments like these make this gardener a very happy girl

Beetroot Pickle

One of my garden staples is always Beetroot. It may not be a particularly fashionable vegetable but I adore it's earthy sweetness and wouldn't be without it in my kitchen.
This year I've grown three varieties of the red root; Perfect 3, Cylindra & the candy stripped Chioggia. I sow in modules and then plant out when the beets have outgrown the module. Most seasons I plant a very early crop in the polytunnel too...see, I told you, I love the stuff!
Three of my favourite ways to cook with Beetroot are to use it in a fabulous bright pink Hummus along with Walnuts and Tahini ( There's a great recipe in the River Cottage Veg book), to make a traditional Borscht or to pickle it. This is my recipe for Beetroot pickle.
This pickle is great with strong cheddar & crusty bread

3lbs Beetroot
1lb   Eating apples
1      Large red onion
1lb   Soft brown sugar
1pt   Pickling vinegar
2tsp Maldon Salt
Spice bag containing Bay leaf, mustard seeds,allspice berries, peppercorns

It couldn't be easier...
Peel the beet, apples & onion & finely chop so they're all a similar size. Add to a large preserving pan and add the sugar, salt & vinegar. Place spices to your personal taste in a muslin bag and hang in the pan.
Slowly bring it all to the boil & then allow to simmer for approximately an hour or until most of the liquid has gone. Remove the spice bag and bottle in sterilised jars. Try to leave the pickle for a month before eating to allow the flavours to develop.
Happy pickling x

And the award for the laziest blogger goes to...

When I started my blog late last year I was full of optimism that I would blog weekly ( well, maybe fortnightly ) and really embrace the format.
It's now eight months later and I've written the sum total of six posts...
I could use the age old excuse of too  much to do and too little time to do it but to be honest the truth is far less complicated...
There are sooooo many blogs about gardening, smallholding & Urban Homesteading ( as they call it in the US ) out there that I'm not really sure where I fit in or if I've anything worth adding...in short I've suffered a crisis of confidence. 
Lack of confidence already stops me doing so much in life from not leaving a job I hate ( I worry that people will think I'm a quitter ) to not wearing what I want for fear of what other people might think...hell, I only jog after dark incase someone laughs at my bum! 
I'm not alone though; lots of fabulous women I know are their own worst critics. Madness! 
Having been quite poorly for a while now I've had a lot more time on my hands to think about my confidence issues and how to address them. I don't have a magic wand; ( if I did I'd be writing a self help blog and not tweeting about Broad Beans ) but I do know that the best way to beat your demons is to face them head on...so watch this space I'm going to give it another go. Please be gentle with me x

A little taste of Spring

I'm not a lazy person; I have too many animals and am juggling too many 'balls' to be allowed that luxury. I am however someone who is far more sloth like in the long days of winter; I need the extra nudge to get me out of bed, the additional cup of tea before venturing outside...
Today, for the first time in what seems like an age the sun is shining, and suddenly (albeit briefly) I'm kick started back into action. This morning I've noticed things in the garden that have no doubt been there for days but which I've only spotted when the suns rays have touched them. The first signs of florets on the Purple Sprouting Broccoli, new feather growth on the poultry and the first glimpse of tulip bulbs pushing through the soil.
I know that it won't last, I know that snow could return tomorrow or that my garden could be awash after heavy rainfall but for today I'm going to enjoy the sun on my back and pretend that Spring is here

Potatoes...

Potatoes

Even if you are short on growing space it's easy to grow the humble spud at home and to enjoy the taste of freshly harvested, home grown potatoes. Potatoes can easily be grown in pots and planters, recycled waterbutts and dustbins, purpose made potato growing bags and even inside old car tyres...in fact they can pretty much be grown in anything you can find as long as there's enough room for a good root system to thrive and enough space to mound up earth as the plants grow.

There are a huge variety of seed potatoes available to the home grower, usually marketed as First Earlies, Second Earlies and Maincrop; you'll also find varieties marketed specifically as Salad potatoes and wide selection of traditional Heirloom potatoes. 

First and Second Earlies are ideal potatoes to grow if space is a premium; they spend less time in the ground leaving the ground clear by mid summer for other vegetables to take their place. Maincrop potatoes remain in the ground for approximately 20 weeks after planting and are the best to grow if you're looking for a crop to store for future eating however they do take up more space and will take up ground space for longer than earlier varieties. They can still be grown in pots but need more space than their early cropping cousins,

This season I've decided to grow he following varieties;

Rocket and Swift, both First Earlies. Rocket has a waxy skin and is great in summer salads

Pink Fir Apple, a traditional Heirloom Main Crop variety,  lovely knobbly tubers, pink skins full of flavour

Desiree, red skinned Main Crop. An old favourite of mine, a heavy cropper with great flavour. Stores well too

Before planting I chit my spuds.

By chitting your seed potatoes you are simply giving them maximum opportunity to sprout before you plant them. I place my seed potatoes in egg trays and stand on a warm dry windowsill so that they can benefit from the winter sunshine, but anywhere with plenty of natural light is ideal. When the shoots are between 1/2 an inch and an inch long I then plant out.

Last season I made a very early planting in February in old waterbutts inside my poly tunnel.

Planted into warm soil and kept undercover until the temperatures outside improved we feasted on new potatoes in early May. The remainder were planted outside in pots and raised beds in March, Main Crop followed in late April. I also thoroughly recommend growing a few spuds inside a stack of car tyres, the rubber keeps the soil warm and protects from frost and it's easy to add another tyre as you mound up soil around your growing plant. Harvesting is super easy too, just remove the tyres and 'dig' for buried treasure with your hands.

Happy growing!

          

New year...same old resolutions

New Years Eve, Old Years Night...call it what you will. Tonight of all nights there's magic in the air. Hidden in amongst the chink of glasses, the chatter of friends wishing each other good health for the year to come and the fireworks that light up the winters sky there is the expectation of a clean slate, a new chapter, a chance to start afresh.

New Years Eve sparkles with excitement and expectation...

Tomorrow is New Years Day; less sparkle and more grim reality. In the cold grey January light of day there are resolutions to be made, diets to start, & budgets to stick to...the party is over and there's a lot of tidying up to do!

My 'tidy up' will start the same this year as it does every year.

The garden planner will be retrieved from its place under the sofa, the seed catalogues spread out on the kitchen table and my trusty shortbread tins full of seed packets will be opened up and their contents exclaimed over like lost treasures.

Making lists, deciding what to plant in the year ahead, and ordering seeds makes Christmas last a little longer but also clearly marks the end of the festivities and the hard graft to come. Winter may be hanging around for some time yet but tonight I can at least dream of spring and ease myself gently into the year ahead.

Happy New Year to you and yours.