Interesting comment in Gardening Which (July/Aug) issue – if you find that you are getting too many boys and not enough girls it’s all down to watering. Courgettes, squashes, etc are thirsty plants and to perform well they need a lot of watering (and feeding too). If the conditions are dry the plant conserves energy and produces more male flowers. Too overcome the problem – mulch and increase the amount of watering during the growing season.
Red Currant & Loganberry Cordial
With an excess of red currants I thought I would try making some cordial. Very easy recipe – I added the Loganberries as I found a Red Currant liqueur (made last year) rather bland. Am sure you could use Raspberries if you prefer.
Recipe:
- 1.5 kgs Red currants
- 0.5 kgs Loganberries
- 1.2 litre Water
- Sugar (600g for every litre of strained juice)
Put the red currants and loganberries in to a pan, add the water. Bring to the boil slowly then simmer gently until the fruit has gone soft and released all the juice. You may need to crush the berries with a potato masher to encourage this.
Strain through a sterile muslin cloth into a large bowl – probably best to secure this so that the berries can strain overnight to ensure you get all the juice.
Return the juice to the pan and add the sugar. Heat, stirring, to allow the sugar to dissolve. Bottle in warm, sterilised bottles.
The cordial will keep for a few months if stored in a cool place.
Celtuce
Apparently it’s also called celery lettuce, stem lettuce, or even Chinese stem lettuce. I hadn’t heard of it but, browsing in the RHS Wisley shop, I came across the seeds and they looked like an interesting trial.
So, how have we got on…
The seeds were planted in situ (i.e. where they were to grow) in the raised bed. The germination rate was good and the plants were successfully thinned out. The remaining plants have thrived, especially since the rain returned to the UK (throughout July). The plants are now about 40cm tall and as we have picked the leaves along the way they are beginning to develop the long (leaf-less) stems.
Both parts of the celtuce can be eaten i.e. leaves and stem. Opinion varies as to the exact eating/cooking requirements:
- Raw leaves – eat the young leaves in a salad. They’re are quite pleasant, mild lettuce taste
- Cooked leaves – haven’t tried them yet but you’re supposed to cook them like spinach. Given how quickly the leaves wilted once the plant was picked I guess you may need quite a few to make a decent serving
- Raw Stem – bitter (if you have ever let lettuce go to seed but hoped you might still get a meal out of it then you’ll know the taste!). Am not sure if I peeled enough of the outer stem away.
- Cooked stem – need relatively young stems, peel before cooking. Seems it can be cooked a couple of ways ie sizzled in butter then braised in a vegetable stock or poached then saute. I tried the first approach and the result was good (very edible), tasted a bit like braised celery. The following recipe cooks celtuce the other way: http://foragerchef.com/celtuce/
Conclusion – for me, this plant offers both the basic salad leaves and a vegetable side dish. It is not knock-out tasty but worth growing, at least for one more year if there’s space, as it was so low maintenance to grow.
(Note: some on-line sites suggest that there maybe different types of celtuce – something to explore next year!)
Getting a Polytunnel
Polytunnel or greenhouse…
…is the first consideration and I found a few useful articles on what to take in to account when deciding which you want. In summary though; size of growing space, site/location, cost and lifespan are probably the key criteria, but other factors such as safety (if you have little ones or animals), type of crops to be grown and access to water/electricity may also influence your decision.
The overview article in Garden Answers was a really good starting point to help make your choice.
Key Considerations
1.Growing Space – not just how much space do you have but also what do you want to grow. If, for example, your interest is propagation from seeds, it may actually be that a lean-to greenhouse on the side of your property is better to suited to your garden and/or growing requirements.
2.Site/location – if you have a north-facing garden you may want to reconsider purchasing either a greenhouse or polytunnel as there’s likely to be limited sunlight in to your plot. After that you need to be mindful of things such as direction of sunlight, slope of the ground, wind direction, access to amenities and maintenance of the polytunnel or greenhouse (e.g. overhanging trees aren’t great for either). A brief explanation of what to be aware of, particularly for polytunnels is given in these two links; http://www.gardentunnels.co.uk/clever-bits/siting-your-haygrove-greenhouse/
and http://www.northernpolytunnels.co.uk/blog/cat/hobby-polytunnels/post/siting-a-polytunnel/
3.Costs – what do you want to afford? Greenhouses tend to be more expensive per metre sq of growing area, but they last longer (therefore the ground a greenhouse is sited on is basically tied up permanently, polytunnels are suggested to last for 10 – 15 years).
Selection
I have decided to get a polytunnel but there are a few more points to consider before buying:
1.Polythene quality for longevity, thickness for insulation and opaqueness. Toby Buckland also mentions a couple of other points: anti-drip coating and insulation tape (to keep the plastic clear of the metal hoops so the heat doesn’t cause the cover to crack)
2.Construction – there seem to be different methods for securing the plastic; ease of and durability to be considered.
Building
Both polytunnels and greenhouses can be self-build but as my 2ft x 4ft lean-to greenhouse took two of us the better part of a weekend to assemble I’m just saying this aspect needs some thought too…
Andy Mckee gives some good overall helpful hints about how to assemble a polytunnel – especially his first comment: ask to see a copy of the instructions before you buy!
General Handy Hints
The best explanation on buying, siting and erecting a polytunnel that I found was Mark Smith’s article – he’s someone who has obviously been through the process from start to finish!
Finally, the following articles also had some useful information if you’re look to research further this buying decision:
http://homefarmer.co.uk/buying-a-polytunnel/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/8293920/Polytunnel-superpower-for-your-veg.html
Strawberry Spinach Trial
Ever enthusiastic to try a new plant I bought some Strawberry Spinach seeds (also known as Strawberry Sticks) to trial this year.
The results:
- There were 25 seeds in the packet (costing £1.99). Germination/growth rates weren’t great which resulted in only five plants. Still those five have survived and thrived (and I am lead to believe will self-seed happily creating plenty more plants now that we’re started).
- Those surviving plants transplanted and grew on well (I think others have had some problems with transplanting), are now about 60 cm tall and look attractive.
- The young leaves of the plant are tasty (slightly strong lettuce flavour) in salads and, true to the name, taste similar to spinach if cooked.
- The berries are a disappointment – they look great; bright red and hinting that they are full of flavour but they’re not. It’s a mild, sweet taste, not unpleasant, but the fruit is very pippy.
The following article gives a great overview of growing and eating the plant with more detail than my little trial http://www.seedaholic.com/strawberry-spinach.html
Conclusion – if I manage to save some seed and I have a spare pot I would grow again, otherwise probably not.
Nasturtium Pesto
Although they are planted as a companion plant, to help keep the runner beans free from black fly, nasturtiums have other uses and its time to try out a new Nasturtium Pesto recipe (before the black fly get settled on the leaves). The recipe I used last year worked well but was a little too garlic’y for my taste, so it was time to try out a variation.
Recipe:
- 50g nasturtium leaves (just picked!)
- garlic clove
- 10 capers
- 50g pine nuts
- 50g parmesan
- 30ml lemon juice
- 120ml olive oil
- pinch of salt
Whizz all the ingredients together, except the salt, in a processor for a couple of minutes until smooth. Add the salt to taste. Use immediately and/or freeze in the serving portion that you want.
Grandma’s Cherry Tree
Grandma grew the tree from a cherry stone at least 30 years ago. It still fruits well but is a little worse for wear from canker, so I thought I would see if I can grow an other tree – sort of succession planning!
Having not grown a tree from seed/stone before I’ve been looking for advice, but that has turned out to be a little limited.
The family view is pop the stones in a pot and see what happens – after all that’s all Grandma would have done! So five stones are in some JI No 1 and have been mostly left to face the elements.
The other five I’m looking after a little more – am following the mix of instructions below which have been gathered from various people/places:
1. Extract the stones, wash off all fruit and let the stones dry for a couple of days.
2. Selected the best stones (ie undamaged, “plump”, etc), seal them in an airtight container and store in a cool place. Continue to store until January (apparently they can be stored for longer ie up to a year).
3. Fill small flower pots (eg 7cm) with seed compost and sow the stones at a depth of twice their size. Keep the pots somewhere very cool ie in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 months.
4. In March remove the pots from the refrigerator; moisten the soil, and then place them on a window sil to germinate.
5. Gradually move the pots to brighter and warmer places as the seedlings emerge. Keep the soil moist.
6. Transplant the seedlings when they have their first true leaves and are robust enough to be handled. Pot on, harden off and move in to a coldframe or outside, etc until the sapling can be planted.
So we will see what happens.
Now all I have to do is try to identify exactly what type of Sweet Cheery the tree is – Grandma forgot to label and of course there’s cross fertilisation to take in to account!
Useful sites if you are looking for information on selecting and growing Cherry Trees:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5320649_grow-cherry-tree-seed-pit.html
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/plant-cherry-trees-seed-35173.html
http://www.orangepippintrees.co.uk/cherry-trees
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/fruit/cherries
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/long-cherry-trees-produce-55503.html
Damping Off
Handy hint from Kitchen Garden magazine – if you see that you are starting to get damping off, lightly spray the young plants and surface of the seed tray with chamomile or garlic tea. They openly admit that there’s no scientific basis for the tip but, I’ve tried it (and so have their other readers) and either tea seems to help.
Let Seed Sowing Commence…
Finally its time to start the seed sowing! Planning complete for the veg garden, seeds purchased (plus a few “impromptu” purchases – it’s impossible not to be tempted) and now it’s time start sowing a few of them indoors.
I love the process and will happily spend hours reviewing the catalogues, but it is time-consuming and you can be faced with lots of information if all you want to grow is a few crops.
So, these are a couple of possible short-cuts which may help you to get you started more quickly:
1. Speak to friends and family or use websites such as the RHS, Gardener’s World and Which (although you need to be a member to access some of their advice) for basic information:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/Advice/Beginners-Guide/Vegetable-basics/Planning-a-vegetable-garden
2. Restrict your selection of veg – time and effort is required to tend to a wide selection of veg successfully, so it may be better to start with only a few varieties. Let the experts make a few suggestions on what to grow:
http://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/features/fruit-veg/easy-care-veg-crops-to-grow/3656.html
3. Sowing and Growing Charts – it can take a while to work through the seed packets to know what has be sown when, but various growing charts are available for a quick look-up, such as:
http://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Home/Gardening-by-Month/Vegetable-Sowing-and-Planting-Guide.html#.VNtbsi7g_Rg
Thompson and Morgan have also added a new section to their monthly gardening information of what to sow and grow each month:
http://www.thompson-morgan.com/in-the-garden-this-month
Finally, be mindful of your ground or growing conditions when selecting your seeds. The seed companies aren’t great at outlining all of the things to consider such as soil type, but it can be important. For example, if your ground is heavy clay and full of stones then some root veg (e.g. carrots) may struggle, or if your growing in containers then a veg e.g. broccoli is probably not the best one to select. If you are unsure them a quick look on the internet with your specific query should hopefully give you a starting point.
Lawn Care Maintenance Calendar
Lawn care maintenance by month – what you need to do and when!
