Best wellyboot forward. Pips frugal edible garden adventures.

Seanymph

Happy Sunday.

We had our first wins from the garden yesterday (well in any decent amounts) - I picked the pea pods (too impatient to wait for peas) - with strawberries and tayberries.

I didn't do digging in time, so we are late with everything.

Yesterday I went to work to study (work linked qualification, contract says I must get it, AND I get a payrise if I pass, but I can never seem to find the time - so I sacrificed a Saturday and of 24 modules am now on module 16 - it's not my first Saturday, been doing it a year and a half!)....

Anyway, worked, then cooked roast dinner - today I am working - but hope to whip i a bit of gardening..

Greying_Pilgrim

Ay up!

I'm very late to the house/diary warming party Pips - sorreeee

Mind, I've had a fab excuse - I've been wandering around lots and lots of gardens in pavement splitting sunshine, well, someones gotta do it.......

I have now read through the first 6 pages, and have thoroughly caught up

All this talk of *rescue hens* reminded me that one of the natty trust properties that we went to had hens in the orchard, and they were ex-battery hens. I didn't take a pic of their hen house though Pips, let's just say the nt do ostentatious very well........ But as everyone else has mentioned, if it hadn't of said on the info board that they were re-homed chooks, you never would have guessed, they looked very bonny in their new surroundings.

Greying

Mara_uk7

Exciting ? How about sitting on a rocky shore with number one husband at midnight on Midsummers, watching the ripples come ashore, and listening to the seals. Thats how we rock on Las Orcadienses !

Pippilongstocking

rtandon27 wrote: »

Well not really more exciting but fun none-the-less...

We went to Toad Hall Garden centre & bought a hanging basket & 2 pots of fushia to help rescue one of last year's hanging baskets. New basket to go at front door once well watered & fushia to be potted up once I find the gardening gloves!

(The Garden centre is on the grounds of the house that inspired the Toad Hall in 'that' book!)

Sage plant in herb garden has turned into a sage bush and needs a serious trim, but it is still flowering & the bees love it so maybe not this weekend.

Bay bush is turning into bay tree as planned but needs limbing up and some shaping. Will have to dry bay leaves to distribute to work mates & friends and then get some small bags to parcel up the rest for gifties throughout the year.

genius Idea!:money:

Chives can't be found this year, so the sage must have crowded them out, but the greek oregano, lemon verbena (?), and rosemary seems to have done well. A small confession about the oregano & rosemary - they never made it out of their pots last year, but have rooted into the ground through the bottom of the pots & thrived!



Also have a few potted plant survivors from last year that need some attention! A bit of pruning & perhaps a soil top-up?

All sounding good in the garden with you RT - I think toady hall garden sounds lovely too. I've been madly pruning the garden, so much so I need my shredder out.

Today job :eek:

starnac wrote: »

How do you dry herbs rt? pippi? we have rosemary and chives at the moment. I want more but we don't use enough fresh herbs to warrant more. If I could dry them however, that would be a different argument

Some great advice below - I'd also freezer chives chopp them up int o a bag and lob in freezer or in ice cube trays

Rosemary I've also frozen - worked grand too.

We come from the land of 'sloppy lazy gardening and preserving here' if I can't lob it or leave it (like cheery) it doesn't happen for me.



I did dry sage in a large wooden platter in the living room on a sunny table also worked well for my neglect school of herb preserving.

Goodluck!:D

rtandon27 wrote: »

Starnac - I dry mine in a convection oven on a very low heat using parchment lined pizza trays (the ones with holes in them) - Have a look here for good instructions. Her tip about not bothering to take the leaves off the stems until dry is a good one - I do my herbs about 100C to 150C and store them in (recycled) glass jars.

Oh now you see 'proper' instructions - I've taken a note of that blog thanks RT.

Pippilongstocking

Igamogam wrote: »

Chop chives finely an fill ice cube tray compartments. Add a bit of water and you have a handy cube whenever needed. Works well with parsley, tarragon, sage, oregano, coriander and basil too. Think it would be ok with mint but havent tried it as I have a pot of mint on the go all year round. Thyme and rosemary dry beautifully in oven or can be hung in bunches in a dry sunny spot covered in either a muslin or paper bag to keep dust off

Great advice! I'll be trying a bit of that too - thanks for sharing

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

i hang my herbs (mostly rosemary, sage, oregano) in bunches over the stairs from an old grill thing leave for a couple of weeks and the crumble with fingers into jars.

but then i'm probably less fussy than most about dust rofl

Dust is extra protein right? I'm a fan of the leave and ignore school of preserving too

beanielou wrote: »

Chuck me a malteaser, ta

Lobs malteser whilst OH isn't looking, he'd have me hands off.

:A

starnac

rtandon27 wrote: »

Starnac - I dry mine in a convection oven on a very low heat using parchment lined pizza trays (the ones with holes in them) - Have a look here for good instructions. Her tip about not bothering to take the leaves off the stems until dry is a good one - I do my herbs about 100C to 150C and store them in (recycled) glass jars.

Igamogam wrote: »

Chop chives finely an fill ice cube tray compartments. Add a bit of water and you have a handy cube whenever needed. Works well with parsley, tarragon, sage, oregano, coriander and basil too. Think it would be ok with mint but havent tried it as I have a pot of mint on the go all year round. Thyme and rosemary dry beautifully in oven or can be hung in bunches in a dry sunny spot covered in either a muslin or paper bag to keep dust off

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

i hang my herbs (mostly rosemary, sage, oregano) in bunches over the stairs from an old grill thing leave for a couple of weeks and the crumble with fingers into jars.

but then i'm probably less fussy than most about dust rofl

Thank you everyone. I too am a lazy gardener. If it's a lot of fuss then it doesn't get done. Love the ice cube idea and the hanging idea too. Off to check out that blog now. Thank you lovely ladies x

Pippilongstocking

Mara_uk7 wrote: »

Exciting ? How about sitting on a rocky shore with number one husband at midnight on Midsummers, watching the ripples come ashore, and listening to the seals. Thats how we rock on Las Orcadienses !

:A sounds like bliss. Missing the isles but found some seals this way too to natter too. You do get a decent convo with a seal. Hope you're well and having fun OOP north Mara - we use to go to the ring at midnight and have a stroll and say hi to all the folks there who'd had the same idea. Seals sound much more sensible.

Any selkies aboot?

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

Ay up!

I'm very late to the house/diary warming party Pips - sorreeee

Mind, I've had a fab excuse - I've been wandering around lots and lots of gardens in pavement splitting sunshine, well, someones gotta do it.......

I have now read through the first 6 pages, and have thoroughly caught up

All this talk of *rescue hens* reminded me that one of the natty trust properties that we went to had hens in the orchard, and they were ex-battery hens. I didn't take a pic of their hen house though Pips, let's just say the nt do ostentatious very well........ But as everyone else has mentioned, if it hadn't of said on the info board that they were re-homed chooks, you never would have guessed, they looked very bonny in their new surroundings.

Greying

Waves hello I'm so glad you've had fun adventuring in gardens and sunshine. Deeply sensible.

Natty Trust property here also has a wee flock of someat in the garden (again hen hoose isn't what you'd call a castle) must see what they're got they were a wandering under 'shrubbery' when we called.

Thanks ever so much for popping by Nice to see you back from your holibubs. And, thank you for introducing me to the 'super six' :T I'm equidistant between to of those stores and our fruit and veg overfloweth.

:money:

Seanymph wrote: »

Happy Sunday.

We had our first wins from the garden yesterday (well in any decent amounts) - I picked the pea pods (too impatient to wait for peas) - with strawberries and tayberries.

I didn't do digging in time, so we are late with everything.

Yesterday I went to work to study (work linked qualification, contract says I must get it, AND I get a payrise if I pass, but I can never seem to find the time - so I sacrificed a Saturday and of 24 modules am now on module 16 - it's not my first Saturday, been doing it a year and a half!)....

Anyway, worked, then cooked roast dinner - today I am working - but hope to whip i a bit of gardening..

Happy Sunday to you too! Well done on the assignments and working thorugh modules. Whilst tis a chore you'll be so glad of it and the enshuing payrise

:money:

Pea pods develop peas :eek: who knew :rotfl: always well scoffed here too well done! Tayberries and strawberries sound lush.

Must get me peas in. When I say MY peas of course I mean the peas a kind chum grew for me and lobbed over me fence.

Got me dwarf french beans in just the climbing french and the peas to go.

Although, beans outside is a bit novel to me at the mo.



Although our 'posh' slugs (snails) seem to have been helping themselves to bean leaves. Now I'm seeing how far I can 'lob' them up the garden or putting them on the bird table and leaving them to escape. I know its harsh, but snouts off me beans varlet snails.

(shakes fist at snails)

Pippilongstocking

Hello and happy Sunday to you all.

I'm awa' off in the garden then oot to a local botanic gardens open day. As its well lovely and my chums and I bunsed (clubbed) in for a membership its also free.



First off, shredding, grass cutting and some planting. These peas won't grow themselves. I've a few plants which I got reduced and they need a bit of a 'chelsea chop' to revive them, so they'll flower later, at least they were saved from the great compost bin in the sky.



Hounds lift a paw to say hello too. They're enjoying their holiday they say. Haven't broken it to them yet that we're not going back up north this month, but probably next.

We miss the isles but I have to confess I'm rather enjoying my new uniform of cargo trousers and a vest (and a hat) - although my fleeces are sulking through lack of garden action.

Have a happy money saving day folks. We had a bbq last night (OH's first go at it, lovely it was too) and with a few leaves (edible) from the garden.

Bliss. Think its fish from the meal planner later nom nom.

Have a good un!

rtandon27

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

...All sounding good in the garden with you RT...

The 'garden' is but a postage stamp - lol much like our 'cottage' of a house! I'd never be able to keep a garden as large as yours! Looking at your garden piccies on the book of face has given me serious backyard envy!

My theory of gardening is that if it survives the neglect it stays! Anything that lives in the ground must be fuss-free and pots of flowers added to keep it pretty! The large lawn of grass in the front is OH's job, though I give it a good manual weeding every so often (no chemicals allowed!). The back patch sometimes gets a mow but I prefer the daisies & clover so keep it a bit long.

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

...distribute to work mates & friends and then get some small bags to parcel up the rest for gifties throughout the year...:D genius Idea!:money:...

Always try to give something made or grown! My theory is that gifts need to be useful & practical...nothing better than a food gift...sometimes even throw in a hand-written recipe card with ways to use the ingredient!

cazmanian_minx

Good luck with the beans - I've planted a second lot of dwarf French this morning after the first lot completely failed to germinate. Fair enough, the packet does say 'best before 2010', but *some* of them should still be okay, shouldn't they?? I've put them in compost into pots in the cold frame this time rather than chucking them straight into the raised beds, so fingers crossed.