Harvesting has been in full swing for some time and I am still busy blanching apple rings and beans to freeze for winter use. Today a dozen jam jars appeared on the doorstep and so I have to decide between making a batch of chutney or another fruit jelly. Rose hips are plentiful as are apples this year so whatever I make will contain those ingredients.
This years experiment growing sweet potatoes in the green house has been a success and next year I intend to grow at least half a dozen plants. The one planted this year has produced a good crop in spite of the neglect it has suffered during the past week or two, we eat lots of these lovely vegetables and it will be good to show off to the boys next time I cook some.
We all love leeks and this year I planted two separate beds, one planted a little later than the other to ensure a good crop right through the winter and those in the first bed are ready to pull now. These will last us until Christmas and by then the second bed will be ready to use. Kale is such a useful veg and I grow some every year, it will withstand the harshest weather and provides us with greens well in to April. Ours is now waist high and is very tender, I picked some to put in to colchannon last week and it was delicious.
This year I have planted Bright Lights Chard in the same bed, it comes in a range of amazing colours from silver white through yellow and orange and in to red and purple. It looks so beautiful that I often plant it on the flower garden where it makes a wonderful show at this time of the year among the Michaelmas Daisies. The one problem I have with these two vegetables is the fact that the must be netted or the pigeons will graze them right down to the ground in a day or two and as the kale grows quite tall this can be a real pain , still it is worth the trouble and by growing the chard in with the kale this year as then I have only to net one bed.
This afternoon I put the mesh cover on the growing tunnel and planted twenty young spring cabbage plants for use next year. I seems a shame to have the space empty during the winter and fresh greens can be so expensive especially if the winter has been a hard one. The netted tunnel will keep off the birds and the worst of the weather while allowing rain and air to get to the plants and with luck we shall have vegetables to harvest right through the winter months and well into spring.
I am often surprised that the people who use the allotment near my home do not seem to grow many winter crops, they tidy up their plot in November and then do not appear there again until the spring. My aim has always been to feed us right through the year with crops in season and by storing , freezing and preserving the summer harvested vegetables.
We still have a fine selection of Autumn salads such as red and white mustard leaves and red sorrel, I shall plant a bed of corn salad (lambs lettuce) in a sheltered spot this week and it all goes well it will be ready in time for Christmas to be eaten with the cold Turkey.
Our Parsley is still going strong as is the mint and the tarragon and some of each of these are now drying in the kitchen along with marjoram and fennel. My bay leaf jar is full again and should last until next year. Bay is one of the few herbs which I prefer to use dried, Tarragon too is dries well, the others I am not so fond off but they still have their uses in the kitchen during the winter months. The correct mix of basil, marjoram, rosemary and thyme make a perfect Italian herb seasoning and as I make lots fa pasta dishes and pizzas I use rather a lot of this mix.
Dressings too can be flavoured with dried herbs and it is so much less expensive to make your own than it is to buy and so easy as long as you remember to add the oil after the other ingredients.
At this time every year I wonder if I shall be fit enough to manage the garden again next year, I admit that it does get a little harder every year as my arthritis worsens . This year as I plant for next spring I wonder if my Lovely garden will still exist next year.
A
We have as yet heard nothing from the planning department although we know that quite a number of people have raised objections top the proposed building.
Today I planted my spring cabbages and sowed marigold seed as an act of faith, I always said that if ever the day came when I could not longer work in the garden I should sow it with meadow flowers for the bees and insects to enjoy, I cannot imagine living without having our lovely garden to sit in and watch my tame Robin and all the other birds raise their young each year, and the very idea of watching the bulldozers dig up the fox earth is harrowing. I know that at the moment it is not the fashion to care about foxes but this pair have raised cubs in my garden for years and are so tame now that they come to me when I call them.
The old song “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot” seems appropriate now but oh how I pray that it will not happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment