The ups and downs of growing your own dinner 2016...

Fruittea

Thanks for the recipe Kantankrus I'll try it with veggie stock as I don't eat meat.
I was just preparing lunch and I thought I'd share with you this little tool with you:

Sorry the picture won't copy so this is the link:
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/15806/SharpPeel-Stainless-Steel-Julienne-Vegetable-Peeler
It's a Sharp Peel Julienne cutter. They are £.3.79 from Lakeland and half price for one if you buy a second tool from the range. I use it all the time as I have a salad nearly every day. Here's the detail:
Product Features

• Makes matchstick-sized strips of carrot or courgette for coleslaw, salads and stir-fries
• Super-sharp precision blade
• Great for vegetable spaghetti or finely shredded citrus peel for marmalade

• Makes matchstick-sized strips of carrot or courgette for coleslaw, salads and stir-fries
• Super-sharp precision blade
• Great for vegetable spaghetti or finely shredded citrus peel for marmalade

I was thinking of all those courgette. This tool makes a really fantastic looking salad with carrot and green and yellow courgettes. I use it to 'matchstick' courgettes to go with pasta as well. It's the most used tool in the kitchen for me.

Kantankrus_Mare

That tool looks good.......but I'm still thinking about a spiralizer. The one I was looking at on amazon juliennes veg as well which would be great for stir frys. Has anyone got a spiralizer and is it worth the outlay?

So much for a cheap allotment tea. Chopped up the courgettes for risotto and me and OH went out for tea on the spur of the moment.

Went to wetherspoons.......two meals...two drinks....£15 so not too bad. Risotto for tomorrow nights tea now.

Fruittea

Hi Kantankrus
I haven't got one but I have one of those simple hand turn things that give the same result - well sort of. If you have room I'd go ahead and get one - I think they really transform veggies and I love the effect they have. It might be one of the those things you could pick up on Ebay as it's the sort of thing people get given as pressies and if you're not into veggies - then it gets left in the cupboard. I used my little tool to prepare veg for fermenting last year and pickled veg and the jars just look so pretty.
o allotment for me this weekend as I'm off to Essex. So I'll check in when I get back.
Have a great growing weekend everyone.

Waterlily24

We haven't picked an awful lot yet. A couple of marrows, some small red and yellow toms and some loganberries. Hubby dug all the raspberries up earlier this year and isn't going to replace them. The early apple tree is coming on well, apples are about 2 inches diameter. Hope to dig some pots up today.

Jazee

Judging has happened, I should find out in a few weeks how I've done.

Eating stuff from the garden each day now.

suzybloo

Can I pop in too! You all sound so productive! We don't have a garden as such for veg but do have a greenhouse, I have grown lots of stuff in containers and pots, and large wicker crates. The only thing I have used so far is lettuce abd spring onions, along with some herbs, everything is a bit behind here as its not exceptionally sunny and we have had lots of rain. Hopefully today I will have a cucumber and courgette ready to pick, they weren't quite ready last weekend. It's amazing what you can get into a small space! I have potatoes (4 potatoe grow bags), butternut squash, green beans, lettuces, carrots, Spring onions, courgettes abd cucumbers outside and in the greenhouse I have tomatoes and peppers. Fruit wise we have strawberries and black currants, which have given us enough fruit for a couple jars of jam. I planted a Bramley apple tree and Victoria plum tree in massive pots, they seem to be doing quite well, so fingers crossed next year will see some returns!
There's a bit of whitefly on the greenbeans, and peppers so I am spraying with an organic spray I got at the garden centre every few days, tomatoes seem to be ok, as I have marigolds planted throughout them.
Good Luck Jazee! Hope you have done well. The courgette chutney sounds lovely, must keep the recipe and give it a go if I have enough!
I approached the council back in April to see if there was any provision of allotments. However, there isn't,they said if there were enough interested in allotments they would assist so we are getting backing from them and have been in discussion with a local landowner who has 3 acres he would consider being used, he is just checking out the legalities. Next week will see us forming a committee and looking at various things, along with a site visit! It's exciting times ahead although I am sure there will be many hoops to jump through and hard work in front of us it will be so worth it!

Dizzy_Ditzy

Hope you get something sorted soon suzybloo, and welcome!

I've been a very busy allotment bunny - still picking strawberries! It's been about a month now :j

One plot at a time - raspberries, black currants, rhubarb, potatoes, garlic and onions. And that's just today!

Other plot - French beans, runner beans and carrots. Onions are ready there but I brought home 60 onions this morning and have no more space for them!

I've got cabbages to go in next weekend where I've got space now.

I've just finished bottling 6 bottles of wine from grapes that I started off last year and I'm just about to do the gooseberry stuff - it was meant to be champagne but it never got bubbles in still, a splash of lemonade and all will be well with the world :beer:

When I've done that, I've got this years gooseberry wine in the bucket ready to go

My kitchen smells like a brewery :rotfl: :rotfl:

zafiro1984

4 cucumbers today - they would never pass the 'EU straight cucumber test' plus Sungold tomatoes, courgettes, beans, carrots and baby kohl rabi.
Really interested in the 'super peelers', just been on the website and I'm quite taken with the idea.- thanks.

I've spent the day trying to rabbit proof the polytunnel as thy get in under the bottom rail. They have eaten the peppers, fennel, peas, sweetcorn, and one lot of courgettes to mention just a few things. I'm absolutely fed up with them. You spend time and effort growing the plants in modules in the greenhouse but as soon as they are planted outside or in the tunnel they disappear - the word frustrating isn't strong enough. All the raised beds outside have had to be netted, they have even nibbled the shallots and onions. This year has been the worst I have ever known, too many rabbits, too many squirrels - they steal eggs from the chicken houses and the pesky deer have eaten the climbing roses growing up the house. Sometimes I wonder if life would be easier doing what most people do and that is just using the supermarket.

DH has just cheered me up, he has just come in from putting the horses to bed and announced that the glowworms are back - that made me smile.

zafiro1984

So far so good, no more rabbit damage, fingers crossed.

So hot today, did a sort of continental day was out very early 6am, knocked off this afternoon but went out again about 6pm tonight for another three hours. I'll probably do the same thing tomorrow.

The cucumbers are very impressive this year. They have already reached the top of the polytunnel and are now growing horizontally along strings.
Has anyone had experience in using different kinds of compost. I used two different types for the tomatoes, one was a very well known compost and the other was the 'garden centre' own brand. I'll be not using the 'own brand' next year as the tomato plants are paler and thinner - the difference in growth is very obvious.

One of my mistakes this year - I planted out some leek seedlings in a bed which I thought was empty only to see my Jerusalem artichokes which I thought had rotted now sprouting.- oops, - not sure which will win.

Another mistake - 6 cucumber plants growing really strongly, producing well, but I only need one cucumber a week, maybe next year I'll grow two and hope one dies!!!

Fruittea - Just off to update my savings, you were right I didn't realise just how much can be saved.

Jazee

Morning all. Interesting comments Zafiro about too many cucumber plants. I don't have any as none survived this year, but I did cut back on the number of courgette plants from 4 to 2 and it's been the right thing to do. There are just enough to keep us going but not a glut.

I may potter in the garden later, it's all looking good at the moment. I need to lift the garlic. I kept it in place so the judges could see I'd been growing it but need to rescue it now before it rots. Also need to then plant out second lot of leeks, first are doing very well.

Have a great day everyone.