Posts Tagged ‘Grow Your Own’

Well, I just knew something would go wrong. There we were pondering at the weekend what to have for tea and we decide upon some sweet potato and carrot mash which sounded like a good idea. It’s ideal as it just so happened we had been growing a number of carrots which were ready for harvesting.

So off I go, really excited at the prospect of pulling up our first carrots. As I grabbed the foliage and started to pull, what unravelled before my eyes was not …… expected.
Instead we have quite possibly grown the ugliest carrots in the world.

I am not entirely sure why this has happened, I thought growing carrots was going to be easy, well growing pretty carrots that is! Some of them have tunnels down the sides of the vegetable looking as though they have been eaten, and others look like they have grown extra legs.

The carrots we were growing were the Parmex and Chantenay varieties, and it’s the Parmex who have been eaten the most and the Chantenay who have deformed the most.

Looking forward to harvesting the rest of the Chantenay and Autumn Kings now!

Despite a few hiccups, growing courgettes from seed really hasn’t been that difficult. As soon as the late frosts had passed and the courgette plant was placed in the raised bed, it quickly established itself during June and has been growing well ever since.

The courgette is certainly my favourite plant in the garden and we have already eaten four courgettes, have another three in the fridge and four more growing on the plant itself.

Harvesting the courgettes was pretty easy after an initial confusion about how to actually cut them from the plant, sounds a little strange now but we didn’t want to kill it by accident, so I just imagined what they looked like when we had previously bought them from the supermarket.

I was surprised to go out some evenings into the garden and see monster courgettes which had matured into marrows because they had been left for such a long time. A moment of curiosity I decided to weigh the ones we had in the fridge and one of them was no less than 1kg in weight!

Needless to say we are not short on courgettes for cooking, but short on recipes for meal diversity! As much as we both like roasted vegetables it’s not something you want day in day out especially during the summer.

So far our meal ideas have consisted of a courgette bake, roasted vegetables and a courgette and feta salad, all of which I would highly recommend. All ideas were super yummy and we are still in the process of collecting more recipes. I have to say that the courgettes we have had are delicious, they are fresh and juicy and seem to have sweetness that lacks from courgettes we have purchased previously.

I don’t know if any of you courgette growers out there would agree but I didn’t realise just how big the courgette plant was going to get. It is easily taking up the whole of the middle planting area in the Cultivation Station and seems to be growing along the earth as we cut the fruit blocking the light to our spring onions and carrots. Next year I might try staking the plant and growing courgettes vertically, a courgette tree if you will!

 Your fresh herb growing is now hopefully in full swing and its time for us to look at preserving fresh herbs by freezing or preserving fresh herbs by drying. 

Hopefully like me you will want to preserve your fresh herbs for later use. Lets face it,  growing and preserving your own herbs means you could be eating your own tasty herbs all year round without ever having to buy them from a supermarket again.

Well that’s what we would like to achieve, isn’t it? If the answer is ‘yes’, read on! 

Five step guide to drying your fresh herbs Virgin Gardener style!  

1. Cut herbs carefully with pair of scissors
2. Shake and wash to remove bugs
3. Dry with kitchen roll
4. Use string and tie stems together
5. Hang upside down in a warm place and dry 

When tying the stems together I put between 4 and 8 stems of herbs in a bunch depending on how bushy they were, and do make sure the herbs are dry after washing to avoid any rotting.

The herbs should be ready when the stalks and leaves are brittle, then all you need to do is remove the leaves and break them up by hand or gently with a rolling pin.  There you have it, your very own dry herbs!

Remember to obtain some airtight glass jars to store the dried herbs.  If, like us you have bought herbs from the supermarket before, why not re-use those glass jars. 

Other tips you may find of use which I have learnt post drying include firstly blanching fresh herbs before hanging because it preserves the flavour. Secondly whilst crushing can be therapeutic,  dont crush your herbs into submission and instead leave bigger pieces which will also help retain the flavour for longer. 

Do you have any hints or tips on drying or preserving fresh herbs?

Seeing as my herb garden is rapidly expanding I have been looking into methods of preserving herbs quite a lot of late  and in particular how to preserve herbs by freezing. In our Cultivation Station we have a wide variety of garden herbs such as dill, thyme, rosemary, sage and coriander, all of which are growing like mad in this weather.

Although I have been merrily snipping away at them and using them in cooking (carrot and sweet potato mash with coriander – yummy) I have also been looking at methods of storing fresh herbs for the winter so they won’t go to waste.

So what do I know about storing herbs?

Methods I know about include drying herbs and putting them in water after cutting but I wanted to start with preserving herbs by freezing first.  I did a bit of research and this is my mini ‘how to’ guide. 

1. Cut the herbs, nice and clean with a pair of scissors (or a knife)
2. Wash the herbs in cold water
3. Place herbs on a piece of kitchen towel and allow to dry
4. Lay the herbs in a sandwich bag
5. Label the bags (just in case) and place them in the freezer

Shortly after doing this I required some coriander, so I promptly got it out of the bag and it defrosted quickly and was chopped and ready for the dish in seconds.

 So, so far so good and I have read somewhere that freezing should keep herbs preserved for around 6 months, so we shall see. In the mean time I can see myself ending up with a freezer full of herbs as there are plenty of fresh herbs outside still available for rich pickings.

Making a Raised Vegetable Bed the Potty Innovations Way

So you have decided you would like to grow your own vegetables and have even thought about what you would like to plant, but now you are looking for a bed to cultivate your produce!

Building your own raised bed doesn’t have to be mission impossible any more. The Cultivation Station Raised Bed System from Potty Innovations allows you to get setup in minutes rather than days, leaving you more time to get on with the fun of planting.

But you are biased, you would say that!

Well, yes but with good reason! A popular choice amongst many gardeners involves the use of chunky railway sleepers, which although aesthetically pleasing are not ideal as they require back-breaking preparation, huge expense and great deal of time.

Unlike many other raised bed solutions, the Cultivation Station has the very best insulation properties and raises the bed at least 30cm off the ground making them more accessible for you and lets be fair, also more of a challenge (we live in hope) to the midnight snail snacker.

Build your Cultivation Station Raised Vegetable Bed

What will I need?

If you are looking to save space, try the Cultivation Station 8 Piece (compact starter kit), measuring just over a metre square, this is our smallest kit which can be assembled in minutes without the need for tools or glue. You can order this Starter Kit online for as little as £49.36

This kit and other larger ones are all available via our online retailer SCA Online, we even sell the planters separately so you can go crazy and design your own!

Our Planter Dimensions

Standard Planters
600mm long by 300mm wide, and 300mm deep (24” x 12” x 12”).
Weighs 530 grams (19 ounces) when empty.
Holds 25 litres of soil or compost.

Corner Planters
300mm long by 300mm wide, and 300mm deep (12” x 12” x 12”).
Weighs 285 grams when empty.
Holds 12 litres of soil or compost.

Where will I put my Rasied Bed?

Don’t do what the Virgin Gardener did, instead before you begin think about where you will place your raised bed as once it is full of soil it will be more difficult to move.

• Do you want it close to your kitchen?
• Pick an area with plenty of sunlight (as much as the UK will allow!)
• Look for a reasonably flat area –  chasing your veg down the hill isn’t much fun!
• Place in a sheltered area as strong winds which may damage new shoots
  • A wall of your home
  • A bushy hedge
  • A fence

The delivery: What’s in the box?

Once your new delivery of joy and happiness has arrived, you will find four standard planters and four corner planters.
Corner planters have a slightly smaller planting area but allow for different shape construction and are ideal (but not exclusively) for companion planting to encourage natural pest control.

Assembling your new 8 Piece Compact Cultivation Station

Each Cultivation Station planter has a snug tongue and groove interlock which allows the planters to slide together forming a strong and durable planting area.

Putting it together really is child’s play, in fact if you have little ones why not get them involved too? All of our products are child friendly, they are super lightweight and splinter free, we think it’s important that children enjoy growing.

Step 1

On a flat surface begin by aligning each planter ensuring there is a snug fit between the tongue and groove interlock.

Step 2

Placing firm pressure, simply slide the planter down until it is locked firmly and snugly in place.

Step 3

Continue this with the rest of the configuration until you reach the last piece which you will need to ensure snug fits on both sides. That’s it! All done.

Once assembled the 8 Piece starter unit weighs only 3.2kg, just lift it up and place it in your intended position (now you couldn’t do that with railway sleepers).

The planters can be used for germination or growth of seedlings prior to planting out, and remember to use the central area for growing deeper rooted vegetables.

Happy Planting!

The Good Life Event 2010 comes to Northampton

If you are local to Northampton and you like pottering about in the garden, especially if your are into growing your own, then why not get down to Billing Garden Store this weekend.

Event Times
Saturday 20th March 9.00am – 6.00pm
Sunday 21st March 10.30am – 4.30pm
At Billing Garden Store

This event is being held to promote the massive growth in public interest in The Good Life & Growing Your Own Veggies. Why not pop down and visit  Potty Innovations and all the other companies with their products on display, come and see whats new in the world of grow your own. Learn more about growing your own fresh veg and even keeping chickens.

We hope to see you there!

So we finally got around to doing a bit of gardening this weekend and getting those fingers green again! With having a quieter weekend it gave us time to get loads done, so much so that I have had to break up the blog posts into several parts. So today you have the joy of part one!

I have to confess that recently our poor raised bed has been feeling a little lonely and dejected and could really do with a bit of TLC. In fact it has been such a long time that eight legged squatters have taken residence, and I just know that Daisyboots will love this photo (blight-free tomato revenge)!

How To Grow Your Potatoes

First on the list was the random experiment, more out of curiosity than anything else, we decided that we would pull up the plant and see if anything had grown. It turns out that I really shouldn’t have held my breath so far as the potatoes were concerned, because we had a crop!

Granted the potatoes were neither big nor plentiful but the potential was certainly there. Although the potatoes did not resemble the baking potato that we had originally planted, we did end up with new potatoes of sorts, based purely on size and probably not on taste.

I think the plant just needed more width and depth to be completely successful, which isn’t surprising as we did use the smaller corner planter.

However Rich was very impressed with the crop as it was just an experiment and was quite adamant that we should eat them. All I could think of at the time was that I hoped he didn’t mean the ones with mould!

With increasing enthusiasm we nearly proceeded with potato experiment number two in the central area of the Cultivation Station, but unfortunately this was not to be as I already had plans for it with the infamous beans. We will have another go next year and try the larger planter.

Busy time all round with the Bank Holiday and all. A couple of updates but I’ll begin with part one, an amusing Snail tale….

I used to be very good at throwing but I realised it wasn’t really my strong point when, slightly enraged,  I accidentally  relocated the first snail I found on the Cultivation Station the other week to the neighbours garden. I confess that in my quick thinking I forgot to take a picture to show you all, so this where this blog post is going to get amusing.

Once I realised I did in fact need photos to put on this blog I decided to find another snail and just remake the scene, but I couldn’t find a single one. I looked everywhere, behind bushes, under leaves, near the fences and in every conceivable nook and cranny I could find. But there wasn’t a single one to be found.

So I next enlisted help and was told quite categorically ‘no’. Anyway Rich finally came around to the idea and it was a good job he did as he found one in the front garden.

Never in all my life had I ever been so happy to see a snail. I really have to wonder what the neighbours must think…. ‘weirdo’s is all that springs to mind at the moment.

So I put the snail back on the Cultivation Station where I had found the original and it seemed a bit sleepy or dead, I wasn’t sure which at the time so we decided to go for a quick walk and see if we could find anymore. We could only find slugs, slugs and more slugs but no snails. By the time we had got back to the garden, Mr/Mrs Snail had woken up and was well on their way to yummy scrummy plant delicacies , and I have to say they are actually quick movers.

As it happened this snail quite liked the look of the potato plant, and me being slightly amused that it wanted to eat the most random thing in our raised bed, I couldn’t help but leave it a bit longer and take more photos. Rich on the other hand is quite partial to his potato plant so it wasn’t much longer after we noticed holes appearing where the snail had been that he insisted we remove it and call it a night.

Things we do for photography! Probably just me…enjoy the photos.

So after the slug fiasco I forgot to tell you that the red onions finally appeared the other day.
I was getting worried that they had died, or that I had planted the bulbs in the wrong way and that they were making their way to Australia. But, that wasn’t the case, and like a mad woman I ran out into the garden in the pitch black in my dressing gown, armed with a camera.

I call this photos… ‘Onion by Night’’.  Possibly art?

Oh and finally I also have to report that the random experiment is looking, well pretty random. We have had people saying that we may get potatoes off of it, and some have said we won’t – only time will tell!

This is what I found!

‘How could you?!’ I cried

 No response from the slug

‘Grrr’.
I ran into the house and grabbed the camera to collect photographic evidence.  Still in a state of mild anger I then proceeded to prod them with the stick (known affectionately as the slug-o-pult) until they let go.

(By the way that huge hole in the slug wasn’t me – I think it’s a breathing hole or something.)

Anyway, we then had words about our deal.

So, although I was a little, ok well very unhappy, I did decide not to kill them but to ‘eject’ them from the garden using my slug-o-pult.  It’s very easy to use, coax one slug onto the end of a stick, let it take hold, then draw back the arm and release with force.

I have to report that out of the two slugs that I managed to coax onto the slug-o-pult, only one actually made it over the fence to freedom, the other one made it to the fence and is currently still at large.

That aside I did feel bad for a split second as I heard the thud on the fence panel and I murmured ‘oops’, but it shouldn’t have munched my lettuce!

..…poor thing…sorry.