The great, good and not so good bits about growing your own dinner 2017

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I made berry jam on Sunday - blackberries from the garden, plus random frozen ones, elderflower and a bit of lemon peel. I've never made jam before, but it was remarkably easy.

Now eyeing up the elderberries ripening. And the apples. And if I could find a cherry plum tree anywhere nearby, that would happen, too.


My cabbages were attacked by pigeons, as the nearby wasp nest kindly took care of all the caterpillars each year. Haven't grown any this year, but the feathered beggars missed the miniature cherry tree after I moved it out of its pot and into a different patch of the garden that gets more sun. They were lovely and sweet - and we ended up with more than 3 through moving it.

Kantankrus_Mare

Im another one that has never made jam. Dont know why. Just seems really scary. :cool:

CAFCGirl

I made blackberry curd and it was delicious! I put it through a loaf cake as a some of marble - yum! Perfect with a cup of tea

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

CAFCGirl wrote: »

I made blackberry curd and it was delicious! I put it through a loaf cake as a some of marble - yum! Perfect with a cup of tea

Oooh. Recipe?

Never done that, either...

CAFCGirl

Ingredients
275g blackberries (I used fresh)
1 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
200g granulated sugar
55g unsalted butter, cubed
2 eggs, beaten

Instructions
Put the blackberries & lemon juice into a pan and simmer gently for about 10 minutes or until softened. (No lid required).

Sieve the blackberries into a pan using the back of a wooden spoon.

Add the butter and sugar to the pan and heat gently on the lowest setting until they have both dissolved.

Turn up the heat a fraction (so still gentle, barely a simmer) and vigorously whisk in the beaten egg (pour in a thin stream) and carry on whisking for about a minute. You’ll see the mixture thicken up and it should coat the back of a spoon, remember it will thicken further on cooling. Do not over do the heating, you don’t want scrambled eggs!

Pour into 2 hot, sterilised 250 ml jars.
Once cool, store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and eat within 3 days of opening.

unrecordings

Hmm... we have lots of (bramble) blackberries here. In fact there's still a massive bag in the freezer from last year. Been quiet here, last round of chemo is wearing off, so it's time to run amok (well sort of hobble amok). Courgettes still rubbish, runner beans are days from the first picking, peas have got powdery mildew and are winding down. Had a few tomatoes but all with end rot (cut that bit off and you generally still have a good half left). First real tomatoes are getting tantalisingly darker...

Fruittea

Hi Everyone
Good to see all the news. Glad to hear about the last round of Chemo hope you're recovering well Unrecordings.
I'm doing well with most things. The only I had a large squash stolen from the allotment - it was a large Crown prince and looked really lovely. A neighbour told me he's lost all his butternut squashes to. Can't believe some people can you. I've been managing the amounts of food quite well. The fruit freezer is full and I've be making some tomato sauces later today as I've got a bit of a glut with the tomatoes.
Neighbours are all happy with the extras they are getting. In the greenhouse I have three fairly decent sized melons - so I'm pleased with that. Veg shopping is down to mushrooms only at the mo and I've even found a few of those in the fields - although that's been a bit hit and miss with the weather.

tibawo

I have been missing for a while and am just catching up. Sends virtual hugs of both sympathy and congrats to all.


The holidays have not gone quite to plan as it had rained on my free days and we have had pre planned things on the sunny ones so have not done even a third of what i had hoped but am chipping away. I am also really jealous as the neighbours finally gave up on their plots and they have been taken over my new people who literally just had to move the top layer of weeds to find beds, path and produce all ready to pick!


I have had courgettes, cabbage, potatoes and a few bits are growing but have decided to weed and cover the main areas ready for next growing season and plan it properly.

Fruittea

Morning Everyone
Well done for whatever you have Tibwawa - it will save you money and make you feel better.

I found I've improved on growing almost every year. I now grow what I eat a lot of and don't bother with other stuff. I know I can't grow tomatoes down at the plot because of the blight clustering in the trees. So I grow them in 12 pots at the side of the house.

I made a batch of Arribiata sauce last night (only 4 jars) and canned them in my instant pot. They have all sealed nicely this morning and look great. So that's officially my first glut sorted. Everything thing else is being eaten, given away or sold at the gate.

All the onions and a heap of chillis have been strung up for storage. Plenty of beans frozen - so the house is gradually filling up for winter supplies. Getting a nearly start this year seems to have paid off.

I'm really looking forward to the melons- any one else growing them.

zafiro1984

I've been a bit slow this year, I had good intentions but other things took over. However I have enough coming through to feed just the two of us but apart from potatoes, onions and beans I don't think I'll have much to store so I've decided to concentrate on putting things in for the winter.

I'm going to do one raised bed at a time to get rid of the weeds, and not panic about 'too much to do' and just see how it goes.

Fruitea: melons yes, I've 6 quite large ones at various stages of development. They are sprawling over the bed as I didn't tie them up so I'll have to put a brick/tile under them so they don't rot. This is my first year of having anything decent - maybe there's a method in my negligence.