We have got a Solar Tunnel polytunnel!
It’s all Lynn Keddie’s and Jackie’s fault. They both set the “why not get a polytunnel” seed in my brain. Like everyone else we are becoming very concerned about the rising price of food. It just seems to be creeping up and up. If we invested in a polytunnel we could extend the growing season even further and might be able to become 95% self sufficient in vegetables and a lot of fruit. That is with the help of the freezer, the dehydrator and plain old fashioned bottled fruit and tomatoes. The fledgling flower selling business...
read moreWhat is the setting point for jam and jelly?
Earlier this summer I decided to use my jam thermometer to help me find the setting point of jam. To my delight I noticed that it was marked ‘JAM’ at 105°c/220°f. “This is going to be so easy.” I thought. “No more trailing back and forth to the fridge waiting for a tardy batch to set.” Danny had bought me a 9 litre Maslin pan and this was the day it was christened. Up until then I had been using a very large non stick saucepan. So I clipped the thermometer to the side of the pan and feeling like a pro started to boil...
read moreThe Polytunnel conundrum solved by 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...
read moreThe potpourri project: Making my first batch of Cherhez’s Old English Rose Potpourri
“I bet your house smells wonderful.” The lady in Holland and Barrett exclaimed as she put my essential oils in a bag. “I’m making potpourri and our cottage is beginning to smell great.” The Holland and Barrett essential oils are very good quality and the scent lasts well. We use them for making essential oil recipes that I found in The Fragrant Mind by Valerie Ann Worwood. I will be using some of these recipes in my potpourris and scented bags as we have found that they are extremely powerful. It’s taken ages...
read moreHedgerow by John Wright – River Cottage Handbook No.7: review
I recently received a copy of Hedgerow (River Cottage Handbook) by John Wright and I’m delighted with it. I’m a big fan of Richard Mabey’s Food For Free – I have the gem edition which can be carried easily in a pocket. Hedgerow would need a chunkier pocket but it will accompany me on foraging trips as it has photographs -making identification far easier than drawings. This is the book that I’ve been impatiently waiting for and now it’s finally in my hands. The book is called Hedgerow but actually covers plants, flowers...
read moreExperimenting with reseeding the lawn
This lovely hot summer and the pile of rocks that I dug out of the herbaceous borders have connived to wreck the lawn in the herbaceous garden. The grass paths in the kitchen garden aren’t too bad as they have been watered with the overspill from the borders. But when we peek out of the back door we saw a desert of cracked mud and yellowing grass. Even during cooler summers the pounding of tiny Min Pin paws always results in a long grass free dried mud path down the garden. This year I was determined to crack this problem. Sensible...
read moreAlastair Sawday’s Eat Slow Britain: a review
I first discovered Alastair Sawday’s books when I picked up a copy of Special Places to Stay. It was referred to constantly by the travelling consultants in the company where I was working at the time. Up until then I had always felt a bit sorry for them – always being booked into B&Bs. The book introduced me to some of the wonderful B&Bs available throughout the UK. They were indeed very special places to stay and a far cry from the soulless hotel chains. Since then Sawday has steadily increased the reach and depth of his guides...
read moreUpdate on the dog poo/poop wormery
We’ve had our dog poo wormery for a month now. Finally the worms have got up to speed and are digesting all three Min Pin’s daily poo. The trick is to build up slowly – initially just adding small amounts as needed and disposing of the rest of the poo in the usual way. Despite being small dogs our three Min Pins produce a surprisingly large amount of poo – probably the equivalent to one large dog or two medium sized dogs. I was lucky that I discovered a wormery that came with 1500 worms (most are supplied with just 500) so we...
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