The highs and lows of growing your own dinner 2015

zafiro1984

unrecordings wrote: »

Outside the Oca is getting bigger and bigger and still flowering,

Unrecordings:- My Oca hasn't started to flower yet - what am I doing wrong?

One escapee courgette now turned into marrow and ginger jam this afternoon.
Still need to make crab apple and clove jelly - love it on the top of rice pudding in the winter.
Also, I must pick some rose hips before they disappear to make rosehip and orange marmalade.
Made tomato and red pepper chutney the other day - had a little left over in the pan so used it on pasta - quite surprised, it was good, not at all sharp.
The sweet chestnuts are a washout this year, small and they are full of grubs, hazelnuts all gone - squirrels!!

I think I'll have to give the rest of the sweetcorn to the hens as it doesn't seem to be ripening but I'm a bit reluctant as the farmer next door hasn't harvested his yet, but I think they are the variety used for cattle feed.

I suppose it's time to think about tidying up and muck spreading again, my least favourite job - doesn't a year come around quickly.

Happygreen

zafiro1984 wrote: »

Unrecordings:- My Oca hasn't started to flower yet - what am I doing wrong?

One escapee courgette now turned into marrow and ginger jam this afternoon.
Still need to make crab apple and clove jelly - love it on the top of rice pudding in the winter.
Also, I must pick some rose hips before they disappear to make rosehip and orange marmalade.
Made tomato and red pepper chutney the other day - had a little left over in the pan so used it on pasta - quite surprised, it was good, not at all sharp.
The sweet chestnuts are a washout this year, small and they are full of grubs, hazelnuts all gone - squirrels!!

I think I'll have to give the rest of the sweetcorn to the hens as it doesn't seem to be ripening but I'm a bit reluctant as the farmer next door hasn't harvested his yet, but I think they are the variety used for cattle feed.

I suppose it's time to think about tidying up and muck spreading again, my least favourite job - doesn't a year come around quickly.

Oh, yummy things you make! We have a huge amount of apples this year. So I got myself a kilner jellybag strainer stand and the first third of the lovely red crab apples will turn into chilli jelly today.
The sweetcorn is the same here, who was to know summer would be that bad (sunshine, it's too late now but I'm not complaining ), chicken food. I found another bed with small potatoes, so another meal sorted.
I watched Monty Don on TV clean his greenhouse - now that's an idea :rotfl:

sashanut

zafiro1984 wrote: »

One escapee courgette now turned into marrow and ginger jam this afternoon.
Still need to make crab apple and clove jelly - love it on the top of rice pudding in the winter.
Also, I must pick some rose hips before they disappear to make rosehip and orange marmalade.
Made tomato and red pepper chutney the other day - had a little left over in the pan so used it on pasta - quite surprised, it was good, not at all sharp.

Your preserves sound gorgeous....do you have a recipe for the tomato chutney please? I have made the crab apple & clove jelly before & have to agree, although I have it on porage...

zafiro1984

Happygreen - your Kilner jellybag strainer sounds interesting - I'm not that organised. I use an unsidedown chair - jelly bag tied to the legs and bowl beneath.

Sashanut
Links to the recipes I use:-
Tomato and Red Pepper chutney - its says aubergine, I didn't have any and certainly wasn't going to buy one so I used courgette - worked well.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1158/mary-berrys-christmas-chutney

Crab apple and clove jelly - Last year I didn't have any lemons so forgot about that ingredient - used just crab apples, without any cooking apples - set very well
http://www.allotment-garden.org/recipe/131/apple-jelly-recipe/

Rosehip and orange marmalade:- getting rid of the hairy seeds is quite time consuming if not a pain - they can be irritant if not discarded. I try to find a good sunny day and sit outside with a 'drink' sharp knife and teaspoon to do the job. However, the result is well worth it. The rosehips I use are Rosa Rogosa, it's was planted as a hedge a few years ago.
http://www.eastofedencooking.com/2014/01/rose-hip-and-orange-marmalade/#.Vh5ZoPlViko

I'd be interested if anyone has some good well tried recipes for things that are being 'cropped' at the moment. I've loads of blueberries still attached to the bushes, plus under ripe sweetcorn - that's the difficult one.

thanks

thriftylass

Hello, just stumbled upon this thread too. Is it ok if I join in?

I'm a bit of a novice. Grown the odd tomatoes, pepper, chillies and herbs.Tried potatoes, kohlrabi and onions in the garden, but all a bit haphazard.

So next year the kids will be older (5 and 2) and I might get a bit more time in the garden that we over the last 4 years tried to transform from a sea of chuckies to a nice garden with two veg patches. I looked into what I'd like to grow and how (maybe use the square foot garden approach as space is a bit limited). I don't have a green house but a conservatory that is never heated.

Now I noticed above that some of you seed/plant things now?! How, what, where? Is there a good all year round guide as most I found online only thell yopu to start from Feb (indoors) to May (outdoors) etc.

Thank you very much

EDIT:

I see you can plant onions and garlic now. But the seed bulbs seem quite expensive compared to the prices in the shops (like up to £8 for two bulbs=20 cloves). Where do you think is the best place to buy them or could you use grocery shop bought ones?

unrecordings

zafiro1984 wrote: »

Unrecordings:- My Oca hasn't started to flower yet - what am I doing wrong?:(

hmm, afraid I've no idea (this is only my second year growing them) - i've an approx 2m2 raised bed overflowing with oca - but at any one time there can't be more that 6-12 flowers

peaceandfreedom

thriftylass wrote: »

I see you can plant onions and garlic now. But the seed bulbs seem quite expensive compared to the prices in the shops (like up to £8 for two bulbs=20 cloves). Where do you think is the best place to buy them or could you use grocery shop bought ones?

Many people advise against planting supermarket garlic as it is possibly suited to warmer climates, may have diseases and may have been treated with a retardant to prevent sprouting. All this is hypothetical though, so you could always give it a go. Apparently if it is French or British garlic in the supermarket, there is a better chance of it growing well.

I bought my first few garlic bulbs from a garden centre. Now my new crop is planted from the choicest bulbs of the previous crop, so it costs nothing after the first year.

£8 for two bulbs is expensive - I think I paid that for 4 bulbs. Somewhere like The Range often have cheap-ish bulbs, not sure if they do garlic though.

zafiro1984

Welcome Thrifylass

Agree with peaceandfreedom on supermarket garlic bulbs and their price.

I've planted both garlic and onions in the past at this time of year outside - always a disaster, the pigeons disturb them or they rot. Also you only beat the spring grown ones by about 4-6 weeks. This year I've planted onions in the tunnel (£2.50 for 75 sets - garden centre) - hopefully they will survive. I'm going to do the garlic outside in the Spring.

Other ideas for now, try Happygreen's idea on living salads, I did it last year and it was very successful. Also try a garden centre as it's not too late to plant kale and sprouting broccoli if you live in the south.

oops just looked at where you live - sorry

thriftylass

zafiro1984 wrote: »

Welcome Thrifylass

Agree with peaceandfreedom on supermarket garlic bulbs and their price.

I've planted both garlic and onions in the past at this time of year outside - always a disaster, the pigeons disturb them or they rot. Also you only beat the spring grown ones by about 4-6 weeks. This year I've planted onions in the tunnel (£2.50 for 75 sets - garden centre) - hopefully they will survive. I'm going to do the garlic outside in the Spring.

Other ideas for now, try Happygreen's idea on living salads, I did it last year and it was very successful. Also try a garden centre as it's not too late to plant kale and sprouting broccoli if you live in the south.

oops just looked at where you live - sorry

Thank you.

I think I give garlic a miss and will wait till the start of next year with sowing etc as the garden isn't quite ready yet for winter planting. But I will try onions from seed in Jan-Mar as I had success with spring onions that way before. Did my square food garden plan and got all the missing seeds in. Just need to finish digging the patch and let it settle over winter. Will also do potatoes again and interplant them with cabbage, leeks and broccoli this time. In the conservatory I will do my usual tomatoes, chillies etc hopefully with more success than this year (was just to wet and cold up here this summer). Excited, can't wait

unrecordings

As I'm on the edge of the woods, everything is getting covered in leaves - great for the leaf bin, not so for the person who has to fill it. Still getting tomatoes from the old leaky greenhouse, there are a couple of Ailsa Craigs still going strong. I'm hoping I can still pick tomatoes into November, that would be nice. Rhubarb completely died back now, so I've covered that bed with a spare wood lattice to stop the cats having a go.