The Cottage Smallholder

Photo: The Polytunnel Handbook

Oh the power of words. Jackie who writes the inspirational blog Chestnuts Farm  mentioned in a comment on my blog.
“Perhaps Fiona should get a polytunnel for her birthday.”

With a whir and a click I thought YES! Lynn Keddie had also suggested that it would be a good move. Our garden gave us plentiful supplies of Kale last winter but wouldn’t it be good to grow baby carrots and winter peas. The greenhouse is always chock a block with delicate plants. This would give us freedom.

Last Christmas I bought Eliot Coleman’s book Four-season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long. This is packed with planting schemes and plans for making cloches, mobile hoop houses and so much more. It is an American book, written by a man whose garden is on the same latitude as southern France but a lot of the information is relevant to the UK. Incidentally this book is mentioned on the further reading book list at the end of The Polytunnel Handbook.

I discovered that there is an enormous range of poly tunnels for sale in the UK. From budget to Rolls Royce ones. There were so many choices too – hinged or sliding doors or even blinds – type of plastic covers – size and shape. So I decided to splash out on a book – The Polytunnel Handbook by Andy Mckee and Mark Gatter. Andy writes the entertaining blog Hedgewizard’s diary. I sometimes pop in there to marvel at his harvesting list. He writes well too.

This book is a real cracker for a polytunnel virgin like me. It details the importance of location, explains what all these mysterious optional extras are (ground plates?) and recommends the relevant ones. In fact the pros and cons of all types of polytunnels, solar houses and keder houses are explained in detail. The style is light, witty and hugely readable – which gives it gold star rating.

The section of what to grow at different times of the year is compact but a useful
guide. The experience that the authors’ bring to the book is really worthwhile with their tips on how to get the best out of your polytunnel, which includes underplanting ideas, crop rotation plans, thoughtful design of beads, thermal heat traps and a massive section on dealing with pests organically. I loved the walk the plank into the bucket/peanut butter mousetrap.

There are detailed instructions for building your own polytunnel. And a wonderful chapter entitled “Thinking Around The Tunnel” with suggestions for extending the use of a polytunnel such as a dedicating a small area for sitting and sipping a cooling drink on a summer evening and even a hammock slung from the crossbars.

The Polytunnel Handbook is an excellent read and a great introduction to using this method to grow plants throughout the year. My enthusiasm is now mirror polished. I now know exactly what I want in terms of a polytunnel and am rearing to go. Do I go for a cheap and cheerful or save up for a state of the art one?

Any advice on the pros and cons of your particular polytunnel would be much appreciated.

NB I’ve just spotted that the authors have a new book coming out on September 9th - How to Grow Food in Your Polytunnel. On my wish list already!

Photo: Danny's delicious refried potatoes

The potato King always cooks too many spuds. He loves to see a decent sized pan of home grown potatoes – he can have some for supper and then graze – overnight and if he has cooked lots, a pre breakfast snack. I don’t eat loads of spuds so his ears switch into Spud Protective Mode if I want some more – he knows how to cook seriously good spuds so this does happen quite a lot these days. There’s always a little jump of surprise, followed by,
“Help yourself to as much as you want.”
I always leave second helpings for D. Years ago I used to be master of re-cooked spuds. Until D got the bit between his teeth and produced these. They use far less oil than mine and are much tastier. Sometimes I think that they are better than the original spuds. They key point to success is to cook them very slowly on the hob. These potatoes are first cooked with the skins on for extra flavour and nutrients.

Don’t throw away left over potatoes. Cook these and bask in the applause.

Fried leftover potatoes (2 or 3 medium ones – enough to make you feel guilty about tossing them)

Slice the potatoes 1 cm thick, skins and all. Rub a teaspoon of olive oil into them.

Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a heavy bottomed frying pan. Add a level tsp of garlic granules and freshly ground pepper and salt to taste. Fry them very slowly for 40 minutes, turning occasionally at a low heat. Our hob has numbers 1-10. D cooks these on 2.5.

Astoundingly good.

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Photo: Green willow wreaths

I’ve been ogling simple wreaths for weeks now. They are quite expensive but could be good for Christmas – small ones on the tree and a large decorated one on the door. But how were they made?

A few weeks ago I cut some green willow from our tree and fashioned a little circle within minutes. I know that most things made with green willow split and bend in unconventional ways so I buried this little treasure in the spice bowl that is nurturing our pomanders. It is a seasoning and drying mix after all.

Since then I’ve twigged that to retain the round shape it would be easier to find a bottle of the appropriate diameter. Even start with a bottle to get the correct size.

The bits of the willow to choose are the thin, flexible branches that are hanging down and in reach. These will be covered in leaves. Cut your willow including a woodier bit to form the initial circle shape. Strip the branch of leaves.

Photo: Making the willow wreath

Form your circle and then feed the flexible part of the willow through the centre of the circle and over the edge, then up through the centre and over again. This covers the original circle. When you come to the end of your willow branch, guide the tip through the wreath and snip it off.

If you want a chunkier wreath, take a new length of willow and carry on the process of up and over. The willow wreath in the picture below was made with two lengths of flexible green willow.

These little wreaths could be used for all manner of things. A rustic photo frame, the frame for a mirror, to hold a big bunch of flowers or even a circle to hang herbs to dry. In fact the options are only limited by your imagination.

Photo: Finished willow wreath

If you have access to a willow tree you can make these. They are very cute, easy to make and the materials are free!

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