And the culprit eating my pea shoots was…
I’ve been busy tackling the mystery of what was eating my pea shoots. These peas were planted in October under fleece. They germinated well and were at the stage where they needed to be supported by twigs. At first I suspected slugs. My open beer traps didn’t attract a single slug. Then Cath gave me the tip that traps need to be covered and I remembered that years ago my mum gave me the ultimate in slug traps. I found it in the greenhouse and set it up with a trill. But even the mighty Slug X beer fest didn’t attract a single...
read moreEasy Seville Orange Marmalade recipe
“I want to make a marmalade that looks pretty. Like this.” I pushed our copy of New British Classics by Gary Rhodes across the table. “It looks stunning but it would take hours to remove the pith and cut the peel that fine.” “Not if I poach the oranges à la Delia. I could probably scoop out the pith with a spoon.” I’d been researching making marmalade in depth. Having been brought up in a dark chunky marmalade household I’ve steadfastly continued with the tradition. Assuming that this is the best marmalade. Until last...
read moreSlug challenge 2010 and seedlings
Our basic electric propagator has been brought into service again as I’m really keen to get my tomatoes and peppers started early this year. Also I wanted to sow the Florian strawberry seeds to get a May/June crop. The propagator hasn’t got a thermostat but it is a real little cracker. Germinating seeds very quickly. This year they seem to have germinated even more rapidly – perhaps using rainwater to water them is helping? I’m also using biodynamic techniques and sowing, planting and tending by the moon this year – which is...
read moreMarmalade Dayzzzz
This past two weeks or so I have been caught up in a fever that hits the UK from mid January to the end of February. The great marmalade making bonanza. I was determined to develop a new range of recipes for the gate side stand – from dark and chunky to light and dainty. I have come up with two new easy recipes. I’ve also made a few discoveries and now feel much more competent when it comes to making marmalade. In fact I think that I was probably up a bit too long each day, falling asleep the instant my head touched the pillow....
read moreHealthy eating appliances
An email flew into my inbox this morning from Amazon. Its title puzzled me – “Healthy Eating Appliances” – what did that mean? Teeny weeny knife, fork and spoon sets so we can’t take big wolfish bites? A rowing machine that powers a small fan for cooling food the healthy way? Or could it be something much more basic such as a spade in these grow your own times. Intrigued I opened the email and discovered that healthy eating appliances are things like slow cookers, juicers and the Coopers Halogen Oven. What on earth is that? I ...
read moreRaspberry vinegar recipe
My friend Teresa introduced me to raspberry vinegar. She had made a dressing for a hot goat’s cheese salad using olive oil, raspberry vinegar and honey. It was out of this world – sweet yet tart. A raspberry lover’s dream dressing. The dressing had me searching the shops for raspberry vinegar the next day. As far as I remember it was quite expensive. And after an extended period of over indulgence in warm soft goat’s cheese salads it fell out of favour and got lost on the shelves in the larder. Following the success of the...
read moreSeville Orange and Quince Marmalade recipe
After discovering that Seville orange marmalade wiped quince marmalade off the map I was intrigued. I love the taste of quince jelly and quince marmalade might be good. I had 700g of quince pulp left over from making jelly. Rather than make Membrillo I thought I’d experiment with combining Seville oranges and quinces in a rich marmalade. As there was no recipe to tell me how to do this I had to invent my own. Quinces are harvested in September and Seville oranges appear in the shops in January in the UK. But with the help of a freezer you...
read moreAnd the winner of Maria Thun’s The Biodynamic Sowing and Planting Calendar 2010 is…
I’m so pleased that we ran this competition as there have been so many helpful hints and tips and I’ve learnt loads! But the flip side is that it has been incredibly difficult to judge. If you didn’t win this time don’t despair – we are going to be running a competition twice a month for the foreseeable future. I’ve been looking for sponsors and have already found two for the month of February. I totally agree with Carole who left the first comment. Don’t but cheap seed. I did this one year and the harvests were poor. I...
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