Markets

Casablanca Souk

Whether they are the little flea markets that sell tat or unwanted memorabilia or the colourful, fragrant spice markets in Morocco, they all hold a fascination for me..

A market traders life must be the same worldwide; the pressure to find the goods and the hope of selling out on the day; the search for items that will sell easily and the balance of cost of acquisition against selling price. In no other place is this balance in such open view as the markets of Morocco. Yet everywhere, if you take a moment to stand and watch, wherever you are you will see the price of this search in the stall holders face, the lines around his eyes from the sun and the worry are a testament to the strain of buying and selling. The disappointment of no sale and the welcome joy of a good price leave equal traces on the face of the market trader, as the wind and rain leave patterns in the dunes of the Moroccan beaches.  

Cape Verde's Markets were very crowded...

I always have an urge to head for a market whenever I get to a town or city, I love the sensory attack that accompanies these places, whether indoor or out. The riot of colours shimmering in the air, the sounds and cries, the smells of meat, fish, vegetables, spices - even clothes and books - and recently, on a long cruise I had the chance to head for the stalls in a variety of places. Tenerife, Cape Verde, Agadir, Casablanca and El Ferrol all provided a feast for my hunger of markets and not one of them let me down. Yet even in the UK I migrate to stalls like a traveller makes for the warmest Inn. I look for the book stand, the green grocer, the baker - oh yes the baker - at this one stall alone does the olfactory sense shift into overdrive and I drool physically at the smells and mentally at the ideas, the shapes, the artisan skill and the ingredients, I imagine the bustle of the early morning bakery, the flour dusting the very air and the heat from the ovens as the bread is shaped, patted and baked. 

Oranges By The Cart Load

The Spice stalls in Casablanca were all I hoped they would be, colours ablaze and glowing in the damp sunshine, oranges by the cartload, chillies and peppers, lemons, limes and the muted hues of the mounded spices themselves; the ochre of turmeric, the deep red of ground chilli, whole nutmegs and cinnamon sticks in shades of chestnut and burnt umber, the rich pastel shades of the lentils glistening in the low December sun. 

Pastel Shades of Spices

UK fish stalls are fun places, fishmongers having a humour all of their own, but the colours are muted. Mackerel, cod, plaice and salmon are subdued in shade and lack the vivid reds and blues of mullet, snapper and wrasse from the Mediterranean or the frightful appearance of the monkfish and scabbard fish from the Canaries. The spangling sardines from Portugal, the Tuna from St. Vincent and the coin-scaled mullet from Spain are on neat display in rows of bright eyed freshness in most markets. I say most, because a couple of the Tuna that were brought along for inspection for our onboard chef in St Vincent were not as fresh as our local fishermen purported, judging by the limp flaccid flesh and the red eyes of the specimens - they were a day or two old at best. But most of the fish on display are caught that day, brought stiff and fresh straight from the boats. 

Scabbard Fish

Vivid Reds...

 And that's another great thing about markets; you get to inspect the goods, discuss them and haggle if you're brave enough. In the UK haggling isn't really the done thing, we don't argue, discuss or debate the goods on offer, we accept them and buy them - or we don't. That's it. 

All over the world deep, meaningful conversations take place around the efficacy, quality and price of the items. Markets are places to haggle, argue and act insulted, to quibble over cents, pennies and proportions. You spend time comparing and handling, learning to trust the stall holder, relationships are forged or trashed, cemented or destroyed as you spend your time buying your essential items. I was sitting at the indoor market in Bath recently watching the cheese counter as fists were bumped, hands shaken and friendships obviously made through trade were on display. There was a respect, an honest mutual liking and of course money and cheese changed hands as I sat and supped my afternoon tea. 

Colours....

Don't be afraid of markets, respect them certainly, but watch, if you can, over a cup of coffee, tea or a beer and you'll see the exchanges, the colours, hear the sounds and smell the aromas. You'll see friendships, respect and disdain all in one stall, you'll observe peculiarities, oddities and strangeness, but most of all what you're looking at is human nature in its most basic, intrinsic honesty, you're watching life. 

English Market in Cork City

October Gardens

Collecting leaves....

Just because the evenings are drawing in and the temperature is dropping doesn't mean that you can abandon your garden that has worked so hard for you during the year. There are many things to keep you occupied if you want to be outside and, let's be honest, being outdoors in whatever sun autumn has to offer can only be a healthy thing. Vitamin D is in short supply through the winter months, so grab it while you can.  

Leaves are a wonderful compost composite, turning rapidly into a fine, airy loam that can be mixed in with general purpose compost to promote good drainage and lightness in your soil. Don't discard them, round them up using a lawn mower if you can, because then they will be partly shredded from the start. Store them in sacks or mix into your own compost heap. I used to have a spare wheelie bin that I put mine into, jumping on them initially, to get them all in, but to be honest a separate, covered pile will do the job, just turn them over every now and again. These days I mix all my leaves with my chicken poo which produces a rich, light but awfully pungent pile of unctuous goodness which is wonderful for vegetables but not necessarily for neighbourly relationships. 

Sweet peas can be planted now in deep pots (I'm using toilet roll holders) in a greenhouse or cold frame to ensure early spring flowers. Assuming we get an early spring next year. 

Saving Cardboard.....for sweet peas, peas and beans...

Clearing up this year's vegetable beds and mulching them or covering them for next year will keep the weeds down and will also help keep some warmth in the ground. Use an old piece of carpet or some plastic compost sacks, black side up so they're not too dazzling to the eye. 

Bean poles, bamboo canes and hazel rods can all be stored upright and kept in a dry place if possible. They'll last a couple of years if looked after. 

Lawns can be raked now to remove moss and other detritus. I also like to keep fallen leaves off as much as possible to prevent those ugly, bald patches that are a sure sign of wet, cloggy leaves lying in one spot too long. Buy a leaf blower, electric ones aren't too expensive and they'll keep a lawn leaf free. I also use a strimmer to cut the grass if it's too wet to use a mower. You can always run the mower over it when it's drier to tidy it up if necessary. A nice lawn makes a garden look so much better. Don't forget to keep the leaves! 

Shrubs can be shaped before the really cold weather comes. Cut ends and frost don't go together very well and many hedges and shrubs are better cut when the leaves have all gone and before the sap rises in the early spring. 

There are many vegetables than can be sown now and planted out. Early broccoli, cabbages, winter salads in a greenhouse or polytunnel, broad beans - and you can also pot up some herbs to be kept indoors. Just remember that cold windowsills and most herbs don't mix. Try and keep them in a warm but sunny spot. Over a radiator - but not too hot - or a warm bathroom shelf. 

Don't forget too that on the milder sunny days throughout winter much preparation for spring can be achieved, but generally, just keeping things tidy and clear will give you a good, fresh start next year. 

It's all about keeping your enthusiasm going through the darker, colder months, when the days are short and nights are long. You quickly forget the summer and can easily slip into a kind of semi hibernation when you think it's too cold to be outside. But some warm clothes and a bit of activity will soon get you warm, the hardest part is getting started. 

Try and get out if you can. It can only do good. 

Watch out for some of the windfalls - they're very tasty...

Runner Beans

Looking good this summer...

I thought I would continue my occasional commentary on easy vegetables even though the planting season is over as next years plans will soon need to be considered and I can highlight these posts again next Spring for all my wonderful followers....

And runner beans are easy to grow and, although they are wonderful to eat fresh, they can also be easily frozen.

The thing to remember about beans and peas is that they like deep roots - at the expense of foliage for some time - so if planting the seeds in pots to plant out later, use deeper pots than you otherwise might. Sometimes toilet roll holders are used as they are deep and can be torn off the rooted seeds when planting out. Just remember that they will take longer to get their roots established than many other vegetables and you may wonder why they're not growing - they are...underground!

Another tip when erecting your bean poles is to place them in an X shape rather than the traditional A shape or tepee type of arrangement. If you use these later two shapes then the beans will grow and fall into the inside of the trellis in the dark rather than on the outside in the sun.

The final tip is to keep picking the beans, the more you pick, the more you get - the plant will keep producing flowers and therefore beans when you pick the formed beans as soon as you can.

In every allotment, and in many gardens all over the UK in the Summer you will see runner beans climbing all over their supports, their red flowers catching the eye, the  beans dropping like green scimitars and swords beneath the leaves - they are all over the place because they are so easy to grow.

When you have picked them, string them if necessary and then cut them up and blanch them in boiling water for thirty seconds or so before plunging them into ice cold water to instantly stop them cooking. Then dry them thoroughly before freezing - you don't want to add any more water to them - and enjoy your beans all over Autumn and Winter!

Growing your own produce can be easy...

High Days and Holidays

Kids love the outdoors...

Is there anything better than a good English Summer? When the days are long, the weather is fine and warm and the whole country seems to resonate with music - festivals, local outdoor events and garden music systems; the air is filled with the aroma of barbecued food and the roads are rammed with patient traffic edging towards the coast.

This summer seemed to be quite long, the days have appeared to be endless and the nights warm and short. This is the benefit of bright, sunny skies for weeks on end during the middle of the year, and I hope that we have made the most of it. I certainly have fond memories of this summer and my January 1st holiday in Madeira not only fired me up to make the most of our garden this year - vegetables and flowers, but I have been able to see the benefit. Unlike last year, we have been dry and fine for almost all the summer. The lanes have not been waterlogged for the entire summer, the vegetables have had more than enough sun and the grass has been cut at least every week, often every 5 days. We have been able to walk in the woods at 9 o'clock in the evening and still see all around us and also at 4 in the morning - had we wanted to!

Bumbling bees fumbling in the foxgloves, tractors kicking up the dust in the late summer sun or sunlight sparkling off trout dimpled waters - these are a few of my favourite summer things.

late evening sunshine....

We had a wonderful evening filled with music, food and good company and raised some money for Frankie's niece Anna who needs a new communicator, in the process, that is a memory that will stay with me for a long time; the darkness slowly sneaking under the marquee, candlelight gradually taking over from the late evening daylight as the singer/guitarists stood and kept us entertained with music that seemed so apt for the occasion that it folded over us like a warm, comfortable blanket.

An evening of music, food and good company

The fishing has been affected, naturally, the trout staying deep and, whilst not uncatchable, difficult to locate and tempt to the fly, but longer evenings mean later rises of dry flies and this last minute, late light flurry can be fun and produce one or two welcome fish.

Summer walks were spectacular...

Winter seems far away, but Autumn is just around the corner and I love that Season too and I look forward to all it brings. But I will not wish away this summer, I have spent hours upon hours outdoors and although my garden - reclaimed woodland at best - will never look cultivated, be weed free or win any prizes, I have been very pleased with the outcome of the slow start in a very cold Spring, I have loved every vegetable, every flower and every sunny, blue skied day - long may it last - but I'm not afraid of the year's end, just happy to look forward to a new beginning.... 

Tractors kicking up dust in the late summer sun...

August Veggie Jobs

August - it's pretty much a time for harvesting and ensuring that your vegetables survive the heatwave, or sudden downpours of rain, sustained attacks from butterflies, rabbits or slugs. 

Seriously though, August is definitely a time for reaping what you have sown - the long, hot days are just made for the salad produce you have laboured over, but there are jobs that can be done to clear the time ahead and to ensure that you get the most from your vegetable plot...here are a list of mine...

• Clear all beds as the plants finish their work, if you don't then any slugs, diseases, blights etc have a free reign within the pile of rotting detritus.
• Keep picking beans, many plants will keep producing flowers if you do.
• Feed the tomatoes, chilies, squashes, courgettes, beans salads - well everything really
• water potted plants EVERY DAY. Even if it rains.
• Start to think about where you are going to plant Winter Cabbages, Broad Beans, Early Broccoli etc
• Tidy up around you - it's much easier than in the cold Winter months (I'm particularly bad at this...)

But most of all - enjoy the summer and enjoy your reward....

Courgettes

Grown in pots....

Courgettes are an easy vegetable to grow and they're quite versatile with regard to their environment too.  From my point of view the only problem is I'm not keen on their taste, but many people love them - besides, I can always make chutney. 

Courgettes can be grown in pots, or in the ground and whilst all vegetables like the sun any bright warm place out of the wind will do for these.

Baby courgettes are growing...

The other great thing about these ants are the double whammy you can get with regard to the flowers. The male flower doesn't grow into a courgette, so it can be covered in a nice tempura batter and deep fried. Now that I do like.  

As with other veggies and especially those grown in pots, just feed them regularly, keep the snails away and water them as often as required. Enjoy some this summer - it's not too late. 

Veggies Jobs For July

Thyme flowers are out about now

Summer marches on and compared to last year, we have had some protracted spells without rain which has been an improvement to say the least. Naturally, this means that the vegetables are growing quickly and, therefore,  rapidly using up the nutrients in the soil which will need to be replenished as the weeks go by. 

There are a few ways to do this; in some instances and where possible, I dig in some more compost - earthing  up potatoes for instance. Around well spaced tomatoes I can sometimes dig in a little more compost but I also add a proprietary tomato feed, which, incidentally will also do for chilies, peppers, squashes and courgettes. I dig in compost around my beans and also lay some chicken poo (freely available from my chickens and in great abundance) around all the plants that are advanced enough to get near and not damage. This might also, thought I in a moment of severe frustration at having more lettuces dug up, deter my feline fiends from using my well hoed and weeded vegetable beds as custom made cat commodes. The jury is yet deliberating on that ruse.  

Shop bought feed is obviously expensive although the sachet type that you mix yourself is cheaper than the ready made up stuff, but you can make your own by soaking as many nettles as you can cram into a large bucket and leaving it for a few weeks or by having a wormery and using the liquid feed from this.  Worm pee - nice!  Worm farms are a useful way of turning large amounts of garden waste, food waste and used tea leaves into a very small amount of very rich and potent compost, and a liquid run-off that can be added to your watering can to water in. It's quite potent and should therefore be well diluted.

A Safe haven for Brussels away from butterflies

Remember that as your vegetable plants strive to grow you the most wonderful peas, beans, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, leeks, chard, parsnips, beet root, courgette and every other wonder of vegetarian delight, you need to supply them with the nutrients to be converted into your food. Planting vegetables and leaving them doesn't always work, I'm afraid. 

Tomatoes growing well

As for the rest of the garden, it's down to maintenance really and the first harvests of your crop should come this month. We've had garden peas and some herbs from the tunnel, the broad beans are a week or two away and the first strawberries are blushing into readiness as I type.  

Broad beans very nearly ready

There have been a couple of disasters; the French Climbing Green Beans are, alas neither French nor climbing -they are green however, apart from the purple ones! They are, in fact, mis-packaged Dwarf Beans which look daft growing next to the towering edifice I spent a wet weekend erecting in the sunniest and most public spot in my garden. No doubt the occupants of the passing traffic are waiting avidly to see the beans climb all over this mighty erection, imagine their disappointment and my embarrassment when the beans just stop growing at about two feet tall.  In an attempt to deflect my discomfiture, I sneaked out in the dark one night and planted a few runner bean seedlings I had left in the tunnel. I doubt this ruse will work either and I await the derisory hoots and beeps of my passing public.

My wormery - with tap for collecting worm pee!

All my other minor catastrophes have, actually, been caused by cats as I mentioned earlier. 

We live in the woods, acres of land all around, no neighbours, no roads except on one side and no restrictions as far as animal evacuations are concerned. Yet all three of my cats are determined to use only the areas in which I have chosen to either grow vegetables or carefully planted bedding pants. Their propensity to dig up seedlings, seeds, well buried bulbs and delicate flowers is astonishing and has also caused my wife some distress. However, as the promises I made to our cats in moments of extreme anger are in some cases physically impossible, in others, illegal and the rest involve implements I do not own, I hope she won't worry too much while she's away in Australia for three weeks. 

Really. 

All this hard work in soon to pay off, so stick with it and start looking up some vegetable recipes. 

Cooking Rabbit

Rabbit Pie - ready to bake

I promised in an earlier blog to look at this wonderfully versatile , cheap  and healthy meat and I would like to share my all around approach to cooking it. Rabbit can be quite dry and the amazing reason for this is that the animals are so lean they are relatively fat free. That makes it a healthy and efficacious meat but can also make it difficult to keep moist through the cooking process. So I cook all my rabbit in a way that gives you many options concerning the final result but ensures that the meat stays juicy and moist while it's being cooked

Rabbit, jointed

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So here is the way I tackle my rabbit cooking and in this instance I made a couple of pies from the cooked meat. 

Ingredients

At least a couple of rabbits, jointed

A couple of finely chopped onions

two or three cloves of garlic finely chopped.

Some bacon chopped finely - about four slices

A sprinkling of plain flour

a glass of red wine

a couple of springs of fresh thyme

two bay leaves

a nob of butter

a couple of tablespoons of olive oil

A good tablespoon of plum/blackcurrant/redcurrant jam or similar

chicken stock to cover the meat in the pot (or just water/vegetable stock)

Salt and pepper

To Turn the rabbit into a pie

A sheet of puff pastry

an egg lightly whisked

a couple of chopped carrots

a couple of potatoes chopped to about a couple of cms square

You'll need quite a large pot that can go on the hob and in the oven (set at about 180 degrees)

Melt the butter in the pan with the olive oil and sear the meat until it is lightly brown. Put to one side.

Add some more oil if needed, then add the bacon and the onions and saute these until they are translucent   and soft and the bacon slightly coloured. The bacon adds more fat to the rabbit. Now add the garlic and after a minute or so add back the rabbit, sprinkle with flour and stir in until all these lovely ingredients are amalgamated.

Now add the red wine and the stock to cover all the meat and top off with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper, the thyme sprigs and the bay leaves. leave to simmer away for 5 or ten minutes and then put the pot in the pre-heated oven for an hour or so.

You'll notice that my instructions are not exactly precise, but I think feel and taste is much more preferable than exact measurements and timings...

Now when the meat is cooked, take the joints out of the pan, leaving the sauce and put them on a separate plate. Also remove the thyme and bay leaves.

Here's the clever bit:

You can now:

 Put the rabbit away in the fridge (when it has cooled) to use later

Serve with chips and vegetables of your choice and some of the sauce on top

Cover the joints (when they have cooled) in egg floured breadcrumbs and shallow fry until golden

Or shred the meat from the bone and ......

Add back to the sauce with the carrots, potatoes and some peas and make a casserole, or top with mashed potato to make a Poacher's Pie or cook further until most of the sauce has been reduced to make a pie with a flaky topping.

A rich, unctuous casserole

For the latter, once the potatoes and carrots are cooked, but not mushy, (this is why I add them later) pour the contents into a pie dish and ALLOW TO COOL. This prevents a soggy pastry. 

Roll out you pastry until it is large enough to cover the pie dish and place on top AFTER you have egg washed the edge of the dish. Cut around the tin, removing the excess pastry and crimp the pie to the dish using your finger and thumb. Using a fork, make a couple of holes in the top to allow the steam to escape, egg wash the whole lot really well and put in a 180 degree oven until the pastry is cooked a nice golden brown.

That's it - a way of cooking rabbit to keep it moist and then the choice to do as you wish with it after. This recipe also works with pheasant.........and squirrel!

Bees....

For the last few years bees have been in decline in the UK. There are many reasons for this, but certainly the weather has not helped.

In the last week I have found two nests in disused birds nest boxes. It seems that the Queen finds these nest sites while she is carrying eggs. She lays her eggs in her new nest and these hatch into her new workers creating a new colony which also attracts other workers from the area. 

Given that the one located in our garden has caused us to notice far more bees in our raspberry bushes, chive and thyme flowers, we are more than happy to leave the box where it is to help and be helped. Bees can only be good for a garden, whether it is a vegetable plot like ours, or full of flowers. 

So if you do find one, don't panic, leave them be(e) and let them get on with their vital task. They won't hurt you and if necessary you can move the nest a short distance after dark, but I wouldn't recommend it, view them as a bonus for your garden.

Potatoes

An assortment of potato growing recepticles....

Everybody likes potatoes don’t they? And they are rather an adaptable vegetable that can be eaten as a side dish, main dish, starter or dessert.

Yes, dessert…you heard.

Anyway, I’m not going to talk about cooking with these wonderfully versatile tubers – I’m going to look at how easy they are to grow.

Most of our potatoes are turned into that mainstay of modern gastronomy – the chip, French fry or wedge…but, they are so adaptable, such an all round, flexible vegetable that the uses of it are far too numerous to explore.

So why don’t we grow our own more?

Because they are cheap?

Because they are difficult to grow?

Because we don’t have space?

I don’t know, but I think that the first answer is probably the most correct. Why bother growing your own when they are relatively inexpensive to buy? Well, bread can be cheap, but until you’ve tasted a loaf from the oven – sliced within minutes of being baked, warm enough to melt the butter spread upon it and experienced the taste and smell of really fresh bread – you can’t really understand why home-grown vegetables taste better than shop bought ones, why just picked raspberries are more succulent, more alive with flavour than supermarket fruits. Or why fresh potatoes – of a variety that you chose, chitted, planted and harvested yourself – taste much better than the run of the mill, limited variety potato from the Supermarket. Washing, peeling and cooking a spud just minutes from the earth is a whole different experience than using a potato that has been scrubbed and denuded of all the goodness from its skin, packed in a plastic bag, and hauled miles through heavy traffic to your shop – but maybe the real reason they taste so very different is that you grew it yourself!

And yes, that can make a real difference.

So how easy is it to grow your own?

Well, try this:

Find a large-ish pot.

Start to fill it with earth from somewhere until it’s two thirds full.

Place 3 – 6 old potatoes on top

Fill it with more earth

Water it occasionally

Wait

Once the greenery has flowered, wait three more weeks, longer if you can

Empty the pot

Eat all the potatoes within, at your leisure, in any way you wish.

It really is that easy, some magazines sell kits of seed potatoes, bags and earth – DO NOT BUY THESE KITS! They are a rip off, seed potatoes are just potatoes gone to seed…

You can also plant potatoes in the ground if you have the space….No, really.

Three or four potatoes planted could easily produce a couple of kilos of spuds within a couple of months.

There are over 4000 varieties of potato, so which one to choose?

Well, Pink Fir Apple is fun, tasty and waxy, Charlotte is large and multi functional, Anyas are great, but why not try a few different ones? Supermarkets sell Red Roosters – a popular line now -  and I have found these to be easy to grow, high yielding and tasty. Experiment, try various types that you like...

Have a go at growing your own potatoes – they are easy and great for kids to get involved with – all kids love potatoes – but so do most adults…

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Chips, jackets, mash, sautéed, dauphinoise, creamed, rosti, roasted, boiled, curried, crushed, Boulangere...just to start with. They’re fun to cook with too..

Reclaimed woodland - with potatoes coming up...

Veggie Jobs For June

Adding straw to strawberries helps protect the fruit

Well the unsettled weather looks to be settled in for June (!) according to the Forecasters, it's unfortunate that we can't seem to put together a string of sunny days that would allow the plants to gather up the warmth and convert it into growth, everything still seems a little spindly and undernourished.

There are jobs that need doing though and one that is often overlooked is to keep the area around your precious crops well hoed and weeded. There is a good reason for this - the nutrients in the soil are for your plants and if you share that goodness with a whole variety of unwanted weeds then the goodness is dissipated among them all. Keeping the areas well weeded, and dug over ensures that the soil is light and well drained. Ideally, in a perfect world, you should be able to bury your hand up to the wrist in it without digging- it should be that well tilled.

Broad Beans are in flower...

Earthing up potatoes is useful. As the first shoots of greenery come through, pile on more earth, this encourages the production of more potatoes and enhances the crop. You will see the old hands at the allotments leave soil piled up alongside the potato runs to facilitate this. 

Tumbling toms can be grown in hanging baskets

Tomatoes should be fed while they're in flower and remember to remove the shoots growing between the stem and the main leaves. Tumbling toms can be grown in hanging baskets but they will definitely need more water and feed. 

I planted my leek seeds in an old length of plastic guttering and just last week transplanted them into the outside vegetable bed. As they grow I will thin them out, but not until they are mini leeks and edible, much like a spring onion.  Lovely in salads as well as casseroles. 

Strawberries should have straw placed under the flowering plants to keep the drooping berries from the damp earth, keeping them clean and dry.

My beans are slow, but remember peas and beans always establish deep roots so while it may seem that not much is happening above the surface, the work is advancing underneath to set the foundations for good plants. Patience is required. 

Courgettes and sweet corn have been translocated from the poly tunnel into the outside beds - in full sun, if possible - but most vegetables want as much sun as they can get.  Give courgettes a go if you can, they are easy to grow and can be put in large pots. They don't need much work and pretty much look after themselves. Courgettes are always useful - and if you have any spare - well you could add them to a chutney...HERE

Remember to Keep your beds clear and clean - your vegetables will be much better for it. Just five minutes a day can keep all your beds weed free throughout the season.

Simple veggies like radishes should give early start to home grown salads

Veggie Jobs for May

Poly tunnel looking lush

Well it has been a slow start to the year, but fear not, the vegetables WILL catch up. In fact Monty Don was recently castigated for suggesting that one needn't run to the Garden Centre to stock up on ready grown plants because even if you plant seeds now, this late, they will soon catch up as the daylight hours lengthen and the days warm up.

Warm up? We have had a couple of days where the temperature has nudged into the twenties, but they have been noticeable by their limited number rather than their warmth.

I have managed now though to get out and finish planting all my chitted potatoes, my beans are coming on well in the Poly Tunnel and so are my herbs, tomatoes, courgettes, sweet corn and strawberries. My Chilies are well behind but I'm sure they'll catch up. I have dug over my outside beds and covered them with polythene cloches to try and keep the soil warm and cat poo free.

The bean poles are up - in a cross shape so that the beans can hang freely rather than get caught up on the inside where it is dark and access is difficult. Don't be tempted to allow the beans to grow on the inside - they won't do as well. Chard, carrot, parsnip and beet root seeds are down in the ground outside and my salad trays are started off and doing well. My broad beans are in flower as is one of my peas, my Chervil looks vibrantly green and tastes great, but my basil is conspicuous by its absence. 

Things are progressing well. 

I'm frequently asked what people should grow in their gardens and I mostly give the same answer: you should grow vegetables or fruit that you like, but don't buy often because they are expensive, or plant what you love to eat a lot of. For me the former consists of fruit like raspberries, strawberries and blueberries or perhaps Borlotti beans and some rarer herbs. The latter would include all the salad stuff for summer, Italian tomatoes, pink fir apple potatoes, beans of all varieties, carrots, herbs and beetroot which my wife loves. 

Potatoes are easy to grow in pots or in in unworked soil if you have to because they will move the earth for you! Rhubarb enriches soil and beans will keep growing the more you pick. I use so many herbs on a daily basis that my back courtyard is full of all of them from bay to rosemary, sorrel to chives and thyme to a huge clump of oregano.

It's a time of busyness but also a time of optimism for the coming glut of food. Well, I hope so anyway. I'll keep you updated....

Salad trays are very useful...

Cold Snap

Formed around a dripping hose...

First, I made some soup. I'd already made bread, but I thought if we're going for a walk in this we'll need something warm and substantial on our return. My basic vegetable soup recipe is HERE. That done we dressed up so warmly until we looked like unfashionable Michelin Men and tying boot laces became a laborious task. then we sallied forth.

It's been very cold for a week or so now. This time last year we were languishing in dry, unseasonably warm weather, there was a hosepipe ban in the southern counties and it was due to be very dry into April. Little did we know what was to follow or that our summer had pretty much happened.

Early primroses are showing...

My wife and I just had to get out for a walk though, cold or no cold. We had been working away indoors at the NEC and were suffering from Cabin Fever. It was just 1 degree outside, but a bitingly cold north easterly breeze made it feel more like -5 or so.

Bracket fungi ....

My iPhone captured some of the frozen sculptures that could be found with a watching eye and as you can see from the icicle around the blue hose, it was jolly cold. There was still some life working its way through though; early primroses and hazel catkins were abundant, but the Bluebell buds that were very obviously coming through last year, are pretty much conspicuous by their absence today.

hot soup and warm bread in front of a wood fire was a wonderful treat when we got back home and our faces were soon glowing as we drank our tea and relaxed on the sofa.

But it was good to get out, even in the cold.

Homemade soup and bread