Little Green Space
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Little Green Space |
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August 2009 August 11, 2009 Ready for Winter The August weather has been unimpressive so far, to say the least. And the long-term forecast for the rest of the summer is not so hot, to boot. So what shall we do with one of the rare warm and sunny days we do get? Sit in the garden with a good book? Day-trip to the seaside? Picnic in the park? Nope. We have a truckload of logs delivered, into the road outside our house (no room on the driveway). We then throw logs over the wall (before the police come along to arrest us for obstructing the highway). We then throw logs in the general direction of the wood stores, attempting (but not always succeeding) to avoid hitting fellow log flingers on the head with a good solid lump of ash. We then stack the wood in the shelters. We then realise that the wood to shelter ratio is a little askew, so hastily build a makeshift shelter using a builder's pallet and an old paddling pool. Job done. Firewood warms you three times, they say. Still, it feels good to be ready for winter. And today it is cold and rainy again, so the more firewood we have, the better. August 6, 2009 Gluts As well as potatoes, we have plenty of courgettes. I'm really pleased about this, as last year three of the four courgette plants I grew rotted and died. Come to think of it, the fourth one did too, but managed to produce one courgette before giving up. You really have to keep your eye on courgettes, though. If you don't pick them, they have a tendency to keep growing and growing, until they become marrows. Yesterday, I found one I had missed - it was hidden by a leaf - and it was almost a foot long. Whether it would be classed as a large courgette, or a small marrow, I am not sure. At any rate, with just four plants on the go, we have courgettes coming out of our ears. They are fantastic just sliced and fried in olive oil, or served in a cheese sauce, and I am going to try them in place of the aubergine in moussaka. The big ones can be turned into Stuffed Courgettes. We also have a lot of beetroot, which, according to recent news reports, increases your stamina. (It's also renowned for its cancer-fighting properties.) I had a go at pickling it - my first pickling attempt. The runner beans are just beginning to from - that will be the next glut. August 4, 2009 Potatoes Back in January I bought 110 seed potatoes. I managed to find space (after a spot of digging) for every single spud, including potting some up in various containers on the patio. Every potato I planted has grown into a healthy plant, producing between three and 10 babies. I say "babies", but actually some are real whoppers - the Kestrels, especially, have produced some fantastic bakers. The first and second earlies have all gone now - we haven't bought supermarket potatoes for over two months. Now the maincrop potatoes are about ready, and I have dug up one plant of Sarpo Mira - a beautiful little spud with translucent pink skin. So long as the slugs or the blight don't get them, we'll be eating plenty of potatoes for a few months yet. |