Plotting, planning and planting for a future
“You’ve been led astray by Mark Diacono.” “No. He’s just shown me new ways of investing in our future!” There’s no sensible repost to that. If being led astray means that we have harvests of great edibles in the future, count me in. Gilbert agrees. At the moment he’s doing the same, buying trees, fruit canes and shrubs to fill the gaps in their range of fruit. He’s also bought some nut trees as they are a great source of protein. Nuts will have to wait until next year for me as the coffers are not quite as full as I’d...
read moreBelly of pork roasted on a nest of tomatillos recipe. Halogen oven/conventional oven recipe
Tomatillos are extremely easy to grow. They are great for making salsas and sauces and they freeze well. They also do not get blight so it’s always worth growing a couple of plants if you have a greenhouse or conservatory to get some tomatoey tangy flavour if your tomato crops fail. You do need to grow at least two plants to guarantee that the fruit will set but apart from that I’ve always found them very obliging, tolerant to haphazard watering and they always give a good harvest. I tend to freeze tomatillos, but they can be dehydrated...
read moreFoodie treats for under a fiver
Perhaps it’s because I remember happy seaside holidays and those weirdly shaped shrimp nets at Hunstanton as a child. Or the dinkiness of the little tempting pots that hold them in all their buttery glory. All I know is that I’m passionate about potted shrimps. Danny does not share my love for this culinary delight. So generally I buy potted shrimps when he is away. The little pot is something of a Tardis – as the contents will always cover two slices of gently browned toast. And of course this always adds to the enjoyment – going...
read moreFinally the true love affair has begun
Having longed for a Solar Tunnel so much that it almost hurt, I examined every photo of them that I could find on the internet and finally became the proud owner of one back in September. What was holding me back from jumping in? I have been using it since September as a holding station for overwintering plants. But as Andrew, the owner of Solar Tunnels said. “A greenhouse is for propagation and a solar tunnel is for growing things.” I have planted an apricot and a peach tree at one end. I’ve also planted a Black Hamburgh grape at...
read morePlanning, sowing and dreaming about flowers for cutting and selling
I’m busy planning my flower cutting borders for this year. It’s quite a big job – up until now I’ve just carried vague plans in my head. This means that often I don’t get the best out of the herbaceous borders. Last year some borders were stunning but others were a real disappointment. If I’d taken a bit more time at the planning stage they might have been better. Flowers are a great fillip. My mum always reminds me of the old Chinese proverb, “When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with...
read moreDanny’s yummy homemade garlic bread
Spaghetti bolognaise is one of our staples. Our recipe is more like the traditional Italian one with lots of vegetables and not so much meat as the UK version. It tastes delicious, you are not aware of the vegetables and isn’t as sickly and dense as some UK recipes can be. The great thing about our recipe is that it already has loads of veggies in it so there’s no real pressure to serve veg on the side. Although I do like a really fresh green salad. Danny loves it too but insists on garlic bread. Up until last week we always bought...
read moreOverhauling our pond: part three
As The Contessa is diabetic she has daily insulation injections. These are given after a meal. Having devoured the large rotting fish and disposed of the same all over the downstairs of the cottage, she clearly wasn’t up for breakfast. The emergency vet was calm. “Starve her for the day and don’t give the insulin. She’ll be fine to miss it for a day.” The Contessa lay on the sofa, under a thick rug. She slept all day, snored through the rugby, enjoyed lots of attention and the next morning she was fine again. That little dog must...
read moreOverhauling our ponds: part two
I left you last with the poor little pump having died within a few hours. I tried all the normal resuscitation techniques, cleaning and pulling the pump apart, changing the fuse. But like that famous Norwegian Blue parrot it was dead and had passed onto that big pumping station in the sky. When we last used the old pond pump it blew the circuit. We have a special trip-switch fuse board so that if I’m absent minded and mow over the electrical cable I will survive to tell the tale. But there was another possible culprit – the waterproof...
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