Tomato growing

It's February! The month of love, and seed planning!! I've already researched parsnips, which I have never grown before, but tomatoes I have grown a number of times, with varying degrees of success. This year, I'm focusing my attention on Thompson and Morgan's 'vegetable of the year'; Tomato Rainbow Blend F1 hybrid.
They are described as "stunning colour mix of baby plum fruits", which sounded good to me. I'm all for a little rainbow in the salad bowl.

Last year I was a little too excited and planted my tomato seeds in trays in early February, but this year I am waiting until early March because the weather just wasn't conducive to putting in the greenhouse so early. The second weekend of March I will sow the seeds in trays of seed compost and vermiculite. Seed compost has very little nutrients in it, because seeds don't need much feeding at this time, but you must repot them in richer soil later or your plants will starve! Vermiculite helps to stop the soil from drying out, and helps the roots to grow strong. Both are available from all good garden centres or DIY shops, and aren't too expensive.

Once seeds have been sown, keep at a temperate of 18-21c to allow for germination. I put mine in the dark in the warm airing cupboard for the first few days, and then move to a warm window sill. Don't let the seedlings grow too tall, you can avoid this by allowing them as much light as possible so they aren't growing trying to search for light. When the seedlings are big enough to handle, thin them out leaving the strongest, and plant in bigger pots of good rich compost. Transfer to the green house when all risk of frost has gone, or put outside a few weeks later than this, in a very sunny position.



I will put mine in the ground bed of the greenhouse eventually, making sure they are tied to tall canes and that the little side shoots are pinched off. More detail to come later...with pictures to help!

Furniture overhaul

Although gardening is a relatively new found interest of mine, interior design and decorating has always been a passion. I recently found evidence of my 7 year old self being distracted on a week long school trip by the interior decoration of various different places, rather than the history lesson that was intended to be the focus. I remember at an even younger age, cutting out pictures of furniture from the Argos catalogue and glueing them to paper, creating my very own 'mood boards'! (Not that I knew that they were even mood boards at the time). Needless to say, it's quite an obsession now that I am nearly 30!

I recently acquired this little table; salvaged by my Mum from the local dump. It needed a little TLC, but I'm rather pleased with it now.

The colours were inspired by this picture of the Jardin De Majorelle in Marrakech, somewhere I will be visiting in April.

I also revamped a set of drawers while I was at it, using the same paint colours, and finding that they really complimented my satchel (this was a happy surprise; not planned!)

The paint colours are Dulux "Delhi Bazaar 3" (The bright yellow) and 'Azure Fusion 1", in eggshell finish, in their range for interior wood. I sanded down the top of the drawers and the table, but ran out of sandpaper and didn't bother with the rest. I find that perfection is not something I am after, and unless you plan on selling your creations to someone else, this is my top tip; it doesn't need to be perfect! 

Here are my other tips:

1. Why waste paint and energy on parts you'll never see!? I didn't paint the inside of the drawers, or the underside of some of the table, because no-one will ever see this! Lazy yes, but if these projects took me hours, I wouldn't even bother starting them!

2. Use a big brush. It might sound obvious, but it will halve the time the project takes, and the finish is smoother. Use long strokes in the same direction for a smooth finish.

3. Look at the piece from many different angles. You'll be surprised the bits you can miss!

4. Pick up loads of free newspapers from the supermarket; those free local advertisers by the door. Spread these thickly around the floor and you won't need to worry if things drip.

5. Imagine where you'll put the piece before you paint it. Choose your colours based on its future surroundings and something that inspires you. Pinterest is a fabulous place for inspiration. 

6. Go to the tip or dump for your chance to pick up free furniture that you can paint and re-use. Freecycle is also good to pick up pieces that may need a little TLC for free.

7. Wait for the paint to dry to the touch before adding any additional coats of paint. It's tempting to rush it, but the finish just isn't as good.

8. Choose some good music and use this time to relax and enjoy being creative. It feels good!

9. Allocate enough time to complete the whole project, or a number of them, to avoid excessive cleaning up each time. If you're like me, if it's not finished the first time around, I'm a lot less likely to finish it at all.

I'm lazy, impatient and impulsive. If I can do it, anyone can.

Growing Parsnips

I love a good roast parsnip! They make a roast dinner for me, so this year they made my short list for the vegetable plot. I chose the 'Albion f1 hybrid', from Alan Tichmarsh's range.


While its easy to just follow the instructions on the back of the packet, I've learned that these sometimes miss out on some vital steps, so I always consult a few gardening books that I have as well.

Parsnip seeds should be sown in the ground where they are to grow, in well drained soil in full sun. It's always advised to have added manure to the plot the year before, and I did do this back in January 2012, but I haven't done it again since. I'll add fertiliser to the soil instead (I've found regular additions of fresh manure cause a lot of extra weeds to grow as well).



Parsnips should be sown in April/May, after the last sign of frosty weather. I plan to sow mine the first weekend of May. A week before sowing, rake over the soil to a fine consistency and add fertiliser and a little sand. Parsnips like a sandy soil apparently. Parsnip seeds are notoriously slow to germinate, and can take a few weeks to show the first signs of life. Sow them in a drill about 1cm deep. Sow three seeds every 15cms, and thin out when the seedlings, leaving the strongest looking shoot. Keep the soil as weed free as possible, and don't over water, parsnips don't need a lot of water.

Start to dig up from September, but they can be harvested throughout the winter when needed.

Every year I find I cling to winter. I love the snow and the cold, warm mulled wine and hearty comforting meals. I've never been a hot weather person; probably something to do with living in Texas for 10 years and fantasising about wearing a jumper for a change! The snow from last weekend has now melted, and been replaced with lots of wet greenness, and while a lot of others rejoice in this, it makes me feel sad! So in an attempt to prepare for a new season, I bought a little piece of spring this morning from my local market. I didn't like the black plastic pots these narcissus were in, so tied some ribbon around the middle and popped in some fresh bay leaves from the garden. A little something to add to my table.

 When living in Edinburgh my husband and I would pop to the farmer's market on a Saturday morning and treat ourselves to a hog-roast roll. Delicious moist shredded pork with a little crackling, stuffing and apple sauce. Tucking in and looking up at the castle was pure joy. We loved this tradition so much that we had a whole hog roast on our wedding day! I recently tried to recreate this at home with fantastic results. The pork shoulder just fell apart in all its yummy goodness, with all the delicious juices soaked up in the crusty white bread that it was served in. To recreate this yourself, you will need:

A medium sized pork shoulder joint
A small bottle of cider, preferably a still kind, like a local scrumpy.
2 Onions
3 cloves of Garlic
Pork Seasoning (I used a pre-made bottle from the supermarket, but any combination of your favourite pork friendly herbs will do)
A slow-cooker (or a lidded casserole dish on a low heat in the over).

I cut the thick fat off the top of the joint and put this to one side ready for grilling later for crackling. Cover the joint in the herbs/seasoning mix, and brown in a pan on a high heat to seal the meat. Whilst the joint is in the pan, add the cider and let the liquid heat a little. In the slow cooker, put the onions (I left mine chunky, cut into quarters) and the garlic cloves (cut in half). Add the joint and the cider into the pot and cover with the lid. Leave the cook slowly, on a low setting, for as long as you can. I left mine for 8 hours. It may look like there isn't enough liquid in there, but don't worry, this helps the meat cook in its own juices instead. Don't be tempted to lift the lid as this sets back the cooking time.

Insert photo

Remove the shoulder joint (in one piece if you can, but I had trouble as it had all fallen apart!) and put into a dish, ready for shredding with a fork. Add the pork to crusty rolls, with some sage stuffing and apple sauce. To die for!

A new year

I took an extended break from the blog but it's a new year and things are starting again. An unexpected snow day has provided me with the perfect time to get organised for the growing season ahead.

While the snow falls outside, my amaryllis bulbs look ready to burst into flower.




They were potted about 3 weeks before Christmas, and while they seemed to take longer this year to sprout their promising green shoots, they've done well on the sunny windowsill of my dining room. I've found it helps to rotate them regularly to keep the stems straight, and as little water as possible to avoid them growing too tall and then flopping miserably.

Although you can't see them, the front garden has hundreds of tiny green heads popping up from bulbs. In October last year I planted daffodils, tulips and Iris and I can't wait to see what they deliver. They are somewhere under all this!



So what's on the menu this year? All this!!



I've opted again for some interesting varieties of the good old classics, including purple carrots, yellow courgettes and a 'fruity, mulled wine' basil. In the greenhouse this year will be poblana ancho chilli peppers and a rainbow blend of tomatoes. I hope we have a lot more sun this summer to really boost the yield...last year was a bit of a let down.

There are some things I've decided not to grow again this year. Potatoes proved to be very difficult to maintain in my raised beds and although I did get some very delicious king Edwards, I didn't feel they were worth the effort. I'll stick to buying from supermarkets. I'm also not attempting the pumpkins this year. Although I have a dream of a small harvest festival on my kitchen counter, with numerous different bumpy pumpkins, the patch I have just doesn't get enough sun or warmth for them. Perhaps I'll try one plant this year and see if anything comes of it.

So here's to 2013!!

Attack of the pumpkins!

Months and months ago I planted some tiny pumpkin seeds, hoping for just one pumpkin this autumn. I have to say, the three plants that I eventually put into the patch have surprised me (shock is probably a more appropriate word!) so much that I'm not quite sure what to do. They have sprawled and grown out of the raised bed and across the lawn! They're even taking over the raised bed that currently houses a similarly rampant potato crop.








I planted the seeds in February in small pots of seed compost. When large enough to handle I replanted in larger pots with regular compost and kept in the greenhouse until the last sign of any frost. At this point there were already flowers and signs of tiny pumpkins, but the stems looked a little weak and I was worried they might not survive. I planted in the raised beds in may with lots more compost (previously I added well rotted manure to the soil in the raised bed) and have kind of left them to it. They didn't grow much in the first few weeks, but with the recent warmth and occasional sun they've really taken off. I'm now in need of researching what to do with the monsters that I've created. My instincts tell me to cut them back and remove some of the flowers to allow the plants to focus all of their energy on the existing fruits, but I could be wrong!

Another worry I've had is with my potatoes. The huge amounts of rain and hardly any sun that we had at the beginning of spring/summer meant that the growth above ground was huge and floppy and falling out of the raised bed (sounds a little 'explicit' no?!) I took the choppers to it and cut it all back...thinking that if I get no potatoes for it then so be it, but it was worth a shot. I was impatient this evening and decided to dig a bit and see what was down there. This is what I found!



Some didn't look very good at all, and there were a few small green ones (poisonous...do not eat) but this isn't bad for just one small dig!! I'm going to leave the rest for at least another month, but this is a promising start. Now for a taste test. Fingers crossed!

Lavender

I'm a lazy blogger! However, I am not a lazy gardener! The recent blast of summer has really got things going in the garden, and it's a never ending task of cutting back, mowing, watering and feeding.

Check out my pumpkins....

 And the tomatoes are certainly coming along

What I am most excited about is the copious amounts of English lavender in my front garden. A few years ago I tried lavender meringues for the first time. A heavenly combination of subtle scent and a hit of gingery spice. It's amazing just how much of an impact a small amount of lavender can make. I'm thinking of a lavender and white chocolate muffin, lavender ice cream and maybe even lavender added to some kind of morrocan stew!

To harvest lavender, cut the freshest looking flower heads and wash them thoroughly. Leave to try in some paper towel and use fresh, removing the flowers from the stems. For dried lavender, which you can add to little sewn parcels to add to drawers or cupboards, or also cook with (dried lavender has a more intense flavour than fresh so use more sparingly), cut longer stems and tie together in a bunch. Hang the bunch upside down in a warm, dry area, and rub off the dried flowers when they are completely dried. This can take up to 2 weeks depending on how wet the foliage is to start with.