Tastes of life
We are what we eat and what we do.Archive for vegetables
Beetroot facts and recipes.
For a while now I have been using the beetroot up from the freezer and what a stunning vegetable it is ! You can now grow yellow,stripy pink and the original red although you hardly find any of these in a supermarket. Read the rest of this entry »
Tips for new allotmenteers!
It was a hard year last year and a very late start this year .Usually we would have had a head start at the allotments by now but no chance!
So as I have nothing really to report I thought I would add a few bits of advice due to my expereiences down the years.
We started about 10 years ago after a lady I worked with told me about local ones going begging.I mean begging as they had been left with no organisation for years.
So for a small price we took one on in May of that year which was covered in couche grass…What a struggle! now my advice is one step at a time .
1. Divide your plot into squares so that you start and complete one bit at a time .
2. Don’t be daunted about the size ,if you think it would help cover part of it with membrane until you are ready to dig .
3.decide what is useful to keep like fruit bushes . Prune those if you can at this time of year so you can see what you have .
4. Only plant what you like to eat yourself and try and find varieties you can’t find in super markets..like yellow courgettes ,purple cauliflowers ,purple french beans .
5.Plant loads of potatoes as they break up the ground and cover an area quickly.We grow enough to last us the year .If stored properly in sacks they will.
6.Be aware of neighbours etc that say ” Oh you have your own veg ..Can I have some ? ” Don’t give it away .
7.Don’t be put off by what you think of as failures .We all have them . Enjoy being in the fresh air,exercising and making you and your family healthier by having your own veg which is cheaper and tastes better than aby thing you can buy .
8. Chat to others with a plot especcially the older people they have loads of knowledge and love telling “newbies” how to do it
Retirement ,Chickens & Allotments .
After 50 years it has come the time to hang up my work clothes.. Read the rest of this entry »
Allotment Pickings.
I thought it was about time I updated about the allotments.It has been a really bad year,probably our worst in 10 years , although it has the same for others .There have been good and bad. Read the rest of this entry »
And theres more…
It is a while since I have updated my blog for various reasons ,but feel I am missing out on something special, you see this blog is me and the only written thing I have ever had in print. I know that may sound corny but I feel it is important that I carry on and add to my pride and joy.
Most of my life is enjoyed by sharing it with family and gardening on my allotments which are set in the most beautiful countryside .This time of year I am at my best as it is light enough and warm enough to go to the allotments 10 minutes by bike from my house and water and weed for England! Trotting around are pheasants and partridge with their young ,rabbits (too many) small deer and others.I go around about 6 . 30 – 7 and stay until 8.15 when I have to go to work in my local shop .
The weekends again are spent most mornings weather permitting watering,weeding and planting. It is now mid April and everything is late this year , but nature always has a way of catching up.
I am nearly into my mid 60s and since having the allotments and losing loads of weight I have changed my life for the better.I grow all our vegetables , I don’t eat much meat as I can’t see the point (the occasional sausage or chicken )and eat a lot of wonderful fish which we get delivered from a company in Grimsby .The more vegetables I grow the less meat I eat as believe it or not vegetable cooked properly are wonderful. The less rubbish I can put in my body the better..”You are what you eat” they say and I believe this to be true.
This weekend being Easter weekend and a little more time, we have dug an asparagus patch , I should have done it years ago as not only one of my favourite vegetables but it takes 2 years at least top establish itself,another small challenge.Any advice would be gratefully received.
My next project is to get some chickens…I have been thinking about them for years, I have had a lot of advice on this from a friend who has some, I shall keep you all posted!
Left overs
Having an allotment or growing vegetables in your garden , makes you realise just how important it is to use up every scrap one way or another . A vegetable or fruit has taken so long to grow from seed to full-grown produce , it seems criminal to throw left overs in the bin.The same goes for meat , poultry or fish.If it is caught or killed for eating the least we can do is to do it justice by enjoying the results through cooking. Even if the produce has been brought from a super market the same applies. Read the rest of this entry »
Back again.
Summer seems such a busy time with not only both the allotments but the reaping the rewards and cooking all the produce rather than let any go to waste.
It has been a great year with a shaky start due to the hot dry weather earlier in the year. Rains later revived every thing and it has been a great year in all with about an 80% success rate. The main successes were the bollotti and haricot beans , beetroot , potatoes , savoy cabbages and almost every thing else.The big failure I reckon were the onions which although were fine , were not as big as usual or as juicy but hung in our garage though in onions sacks they look quite impressive. The other Failure was our early purple sprouting broccoli it just fried in the early hot weather and was only a couple of meals … oh well !
This year for the first time we grew late potatoes.Planted in late August the advert said the late Charlotte and Bambino potatoes would be ready to pick in October and you could still be digging them up Christmas day! As we had space to spare we thought we would give them a go….What a great crop! we have new potatoes now and I reckon we could still be digging them at Christmas….Where there are potatoes there are fewer weeds..A result. These were ordered from http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk
The next entry will be … what do I do with it all ?
New allotment year
It is the beginning of the new growing year but like most people we are way behind due to the harsh winter. I always feel so fed up in the winter..itching to get going on the new year.To me the spring and the start is better than the summer.The first signs of life just inspires! One day there is just bare ground the next small signs of life getting going again. At the moment it looks a bare site but give it a few weeks and it will be chock a block with greenery . The other lovely site is that of the new allotment owners just starting out , so excited at the prospect of growing their own vegetables and fruit. Read the rest of this entry »
Using winter vegetables & preserving
Suddenly having loads of winter vegetables from your garden or allotment that are all ready at the same time is a joy , but how do you find enough recipes to use them all to the best advantage.How do you preserve them if you have a glut?This year I have such an abundance of red cabbage , savoy cabbage and leeks. Read the rest of this entry »
Winter warmers
Well here we are again at the time of year when all we want to do is eat warming, comforting food that fills us and makes us feel contented.Years ago that would have meant a lot of stodgy food made with suet and fats.If it was anything like my poor mums cooking it would have been very heavy going.
Things have changed thank goodness and we can eat loads of wonderful food with out feeling like a lead balloon.Take a look at a few of my recipes that will maybe tempt you.These recipes can also be made and left to their own devices at a time of year when we don’t have a lot of time to spare. Read the rest of this entry »
