Monday, May 31, 2010

Newsletter week commencing 31st May 2010

It was a bit of a shock to the system to slide back to the threat of frosty mornings again over the last few days. It was pretty close to freezing last night, however, if the weather forecasters are to be believed, and the fact that we are now into June, I think we can put the fleece and the bubble-wrap insulation away until the autumn. Lynda’s started to plant out some of the softer plants in her cut-flower garden. Her collection of Allium varieties is going to be a riot of colour over the next three or four weeks going by the amount of full buds in evidence.
On the vegetable side of things, I’ve sown another batch of salads and a few extra herbs and pricked out a full tray of basil. I have high hopes of getting a huge crop so that I can make a huge amount of pesto sauce for the freezer. I tried it for the first time last year and it was a success so here’s hoping for a good crop. The plants haven’t liked this cold snap, but I think they’ll be strong enough to pull through. We lost a lot of our soft fruit potential yesterday when the cows from the neighbouring farm broke down a gate and had a feast on the currant and gooseberry bushes. Their big tongues could just wrap round a dangling truss of partially formed berrys and whisk them straight off. The berries in the centre of the plants survived OK and nothing else was damaged, so it could have been much worse.
This week, I’m going to have to concentrate on pricking out the second batch of brassicas, along with sowing another batch to follow on. I also need to keep on top of the weed situation. With the bit of damp weather we’ve had the weeds are starting to move. The only bed that looks a bit green at the moment is the potato plot, but the potatoes seem to be taking forever to emerge, so it’s hard to weed confidently without doing some damage. I may just run the ridging plough through the rows to give myself a bit more time to weed them thoroughly once I can see the tattie plants themselves.
We don’t have any markets or gala days this weekend. We attended the Claylands nursery fete, near Newbridge on the outskirts of Edinburgh, last Saturday. The rain threatened but stayed off for the whole time we were there and we all had a great time.

Potatoes Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are Cara good general purpose potato.. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like. They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Kohl-rabi ( 1 head) Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group - Excellent source of Vitamin C and potassium. This vegetable deserves to be far more popular in Scotland than it is considering how sweet and juicy the flesh is. Eaten raw, it has almost the texture of an apple. However, it is most often steamed or cut into stews. Just prepare them as you would for a turnip. Here’s a recipe to try: Trim and peel the kohl-rabi and cut into ½ inch slices. Blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water, with a litle lemon juice added. Drain and refresh in cold water. Melt 3oz ( 75g) butter in a pan, add 2 tablespoons of water and the kohl-rabi slices. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the kohl-rabi with salt if preferred, lift the slices out and arrange in a shallow serving dish. Stir a tablespoon of chives and a tablespoon of parsley into the cooking liquid and spoon this over the vegetable.

Spring Onions Allium fistulosum (1 bunch) Good source of vitamin C and A, calcium, iron, potassium, protein and phytochemicals. This salad onion can be used in salads and sandwiches. Both green and white parts of the plant can be used. In Ayrshire, where I was brought up, they were called Cybes.

Leek Alllium porrum (2 head) Leeks are used to give a creamy texture to soups. They can also be served as an accompanying vegetable, and may be boiled, braised, steamed or fried. To prepare, cut off the root base and any damaged upper leaves. Rinse in running cold water to wash away the grit that gets caught between the leaves. Boil in minimum of salted water. Whole or halved leeks need 15-20 minutes while rings and slices need about 10 minutes. Drain then return to the pan to steam off any remaining water. Serve with a knob of butter, or coated in a white sauce or cheese sauce.

Pepper Capsicum sp. (1 head) Slice off the top and scoop out and discard all the membranes and seeds. Slice up the flesh and add to salads or cook into stew and pasta sauces.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Newsletter w/c 24th May 2010

It’s been another really busy week here at Cobbinshaw. Not only have we been busy sowing , planting and watering, we’ve also been to a primary school strawberry fayre, had a photo taken for a newspaper article and got the house tidied as my cousins from Boise, Idaho are visiting for a few days to do a bit of sightseeing in Edinburgh. We even managed to take the boys for a picnic in the fine weather on Sunday. My brother Brian, is on TV, (BBC2 4.30 this Friday) in the quiz show that was filmed a few months ago.
The heat is bringing –on the plants in the tunnel amazingly quickly. I started out only watering in the evening to avoid sun scorch on the tender leaves, but through necessity ended up having to water at least three times a day and couldn’t avoid taking the risk. The cover isn’t completely transparent and, so far, there has been no damage. I planted out the first of the plants into the field this week. The mizuna and rocket were planted out on Saturday and by Monday morning had started to wilt, so had to be watered. I’ve no irrigation system in the field, so it’s quite time consuming, walking up the rows with a watering can. The positive side is that I’ve got the reservoir at the bottom of the field to fill the cans with.
I’ve given up on our scarecrow as a method of keeping the birds away from our seedlings. Instead, I’ve invested in some netting and will cover all the brassica bed this year. It has been a source of real disappointment to see the strong plants, on which we spent so much time and effort, being almost annihilated overnight by pigeons and crows. For this reason alone it’s worth the expense and the experiment. I’m told that we just lay the net over the plants and they push it up as they grow, so there is no need to stake it up or anything like that, so it’s extremely easy to install.
This week I want to start planting out the brassicas and in so doing will create space in the tunnel for a second sowing of salads and herbs, we’ve also got a lot of transplanting and pricking out to do. Part of each day has to be spent hoeing to get rid of weeds while they are still small enough not to cause a problem. The brassicas that we plant out will need to watered in until we get some rain, or they become established enough to send roots down into the deeper soil.

Potatoes Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are Cara good general purpose potato.. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like. They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.
Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum. Can be eaten fresh in salads or cooked into sauces, the famous soup, or for the unhealthy option fried for breakfast. With the construction of the poly-tunnel, I’m going to try growing a few of our own for the first time to see if it’s worthwhile trying it out on a larger scale for next year. It’ll be a wee while before they’re ready though.

Fennel (1 head) This stem base can be chopped raw into salads or simmered in a stock. Here’s a recipe for Buttered Fennel: Trim the root base and cut in half lengthways and rinse in cold water. Put the fennel in a pan with a minmal amount of boiling, lightly salted water and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until just tender. Overcooking reduces the sweet aniseed flavour. Drain thoroughly in a colander and keep warm on a serving dish. Now, melt the butter. Season the fennel with pepper, then pour the melted butter over the top and serve. Your cress would be a fine garnish for this dish. Goes particularly well with grilled fish or roast chicken.

White Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group. (1 head) The most seasonal option for white cabbage, as far as eating is concerned, would have to be coleslaw, but with the weather being a bit cooler this week, then maybe just steaming or boiling it would be preferrable. Some of them were pretty big, so we cut them in half. To cook, simply wash in cold running water, removing any marked outer leaves. Quarter the cabbage, then cut out the core. Shred the leaves, then boil or steam for about 8 – 10 minutes until the leaves start to wilt. You want to retain a bit of a crunch! Drain thoroughly and tip into a warmed serving dish with melting butter

Courgette
Cucurbita pepo (1 head) Source of Vitamins A and C , calcium, iron and fibre. Prepare by wshing and trimming both ends. Courgettes can be coked whole or in slices, or they can be cut in half lengthways filled with stuffing and baked. Boil courgettes in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes. Sliced courgettes may be steamed in butter for 10 minutes. Halved courgettes may be parboiled for 5 minutes the finished in the oven, in a well-buttered dish for 25 minutes at 190oC (375oF) Gas Mark 5.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

newsletter w/c17/05/2010

Apologies again for having to raise the price of eggs to £1.80 per box and thanks for all the notes conveying your understanding re: the price rise. For those who haven’t noticed it. We raised the prices on the 1st May, so if you could amend your payments accordingly we be grateful.
For the last week we seem to have spent a lot of time covering seedlings at night to keep the frost from doing too much damage. We’ve had a few cold mornings, but nothing seems to have perished, although some of the earliest sown seed trays, form the end of March, are really struggling to make much growth at all and have been overtaken by later sowings. I’ve been busy in the field on the dry days, sowing all the carrot seed that I need to at the moment and getting the other root crops sown too. I’ve got at least some of every type of vegetable and herb growing now, either in the field or the polytunnel, but there is still a lot more to be sown yet. I’ve spent the wet days in the tunnel, pricking-out brassica seedlings and now only have calabrese and brussels sprouts to transplant from the first main batch. I’ll get them done before I move on to the rest of my planned work for this week.
We also finalised, with Anne, the direction and design for the logo that we’re going to use for The Whole Shebag from now on, and Anne’s busy getting it into a format we can use for van signage and business cards, enabling us to launch it.
This week I hope to be pricking-out salad and herb seedlings and hopefully will be able to plant out the first batches of cauliflower and calabrese, rocket and mizuna. That’ll be the first of the produce from the poly-tunnel to make it to the field. I have also still a lot of seed to sow directly into the field as well as sowing more seeds into seed trays as follow-on crops for the brassicas that I spent last week pricking out. There is a chance, that if the temperature picks up, newly sown plants will catch up with those that were planted a month ago. Other jobs for next week include weeding the garlic rows, which are really growing away strongly from transplanting about a month ago. I also need to make a start at weeding the onions. It’s vital not to let them get crowded out by weeds.
The large bags this week, should contain, globe artichoke, Broccoli (calabrese) and Broad beans. Substitutions may be required.

Potatoes Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are Remarka a good general purpose potato.. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like. They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Kohl-rabi Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group (1 head) Excellent source of Vitamin C and of potassium. Peel the outer skin off of the swollen bulb then eat either raw or cooked. Here’s a recipe for Sugar-browned kohl-rabi Peel the kohl-rabi and cut into finger-wide strips. Blanch for 5 minutes then refresh in cold water. Return the kohl-rabi to the pan with a small amount of boiling lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Drain and allow to cool slightly. Melt 1oz (25g) sugar in a heavy based frying pan without stirring, until it bubbles and is pale brown. Add 1oz (25g) of butter and stir until blended. Stir in the kohl-rabi strips and shake the pan frequently to coat all the strips evenly with caramel.

Parsley Petroselinum sp. This is the more traditional moss-curled type of parsley Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into saladsor, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter. If it’s looking a bit limp when you receive it just trim the base of the stems off and pop into cold water, shake dry and then pop into a jar of water, covering the bottom of the stems by about an inch.

Aubergine Solanum melongena Source of Vitamin C, potassium, iron and fibre. Serve cooked. This is a member of the same family as tomato and pepper and is widely used in vegetable lasagne. We tried a recipe, last week, where we chopped up an aubergine and pan fried it til it was a golden brown colour, then added a chopped up onion til it softened. Then add a couple of tomatoes a crushed clove of garlic a tablespoon of your finely chopped parsley, a pinch of spice, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Simmer for 5 minutes transfer to a baking dish, sprinkle with cheese and breadcrumbs and bake in an oven at 190oC375oFGasmark5 for 30 minutes

Celery Apium graveolens (1 head) This biennial veg is high in Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and fibre. The stalks are generally eaten fresh or used in soups and stews. To cook it, boil it in a little salted boiling water for 15-20 minutes or steam it for 25-30 minutes. Serve in cheese or parsley sauce or smothered in butter.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Newsletter w/c 10/05/10

I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to get the van packed to go to Balerno for the Farmers Market. At 6.30, as I was carrying crates of vegetables from the shed to the van, the sun was shining down on me and everything led me to believe it was going to be a fine day. This may be the reason that I didn’t pick up my ‘market jacket’ as I left, as I usually do. It goes with me to every market and generally gets left in the van as I never need it very often. Anyway, as you can guess, I got to Balerno and drove up to my stall under a leaden sky and a heavy breeze that felt as if it carried the air of the Baltic. All I can say is, It’ll probably be a while before I forget my jacket again. It felt like a long morning. To pass the time between customers, I took a tray of leek seedlings along with me and I pricked-out the plants into a modular tray. I feel like I can’t waste a second at this time of year.
Last week I didn’t get as much done in the field, as I would have liked, but I’ve got large areas rotovated and ridged, ready for seed to be sown this week. By the end of the week I’d like to have sown all the carrots, swedes, a first-sowing of beetroot, chard, more peas and more beans. I also need to do a fair bit of pricking out and the garlic and potatoes are needing weeded, so I hope we get some decent weather and that things go according to plan. It’s a busy time of year.
Our new logo and van signage is being finalised, so hopefully we can launch it and let you see it very soon. We decided on the route we want to take and our friend, Anne, is working her magic on each area to get it exactly right
As I intimated last week, egg prices are going to have to rise at last. We’ve held off for ages, but we’re determined to stay far cheaper than the supermarkets, so you won’t be losing out. The eggs are going up to £1.80 per box from the 1st May 2010. Obviously, many of you will have left us a cheque for less than this, as you had no prior warning of the increase. If you don’t mind just adding the extra £0.30 to the next delivery that will suit us fine.
We’re also still tinkering with the delivery runs, just trying to make them as efficient as possible, so one or two of you may get deliveries on days you aren’t expecting them. Please accept my apologies for this short period of uncertainty. It will settle down to a regular day soon. We’re still trying to integrate the deliveries Brian used to do, without driving for too many hours at a time, or needing to get up ridiculously early. I think we’re nearly there now though.

Potatoes Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are Remarka a good general purpose potato.. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like. They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Cucumber Cucumis sativus. (1/2 head) Good source of vitamin C and A. Also, a good source of potassium. Wash thoroughly, dry, then slice up to use in salads. Occasionally used in soups.

Leek Allium porrum The leek is a mainstay of Scottish cookery, used primarily to give a creamy texture to soups. It is also good as a vegetable in it’s own right, boiled; steamed; braised or fried. The leeks collect soil in the leaf axils as they grow, so, once sliced, give them a good rinse to clear the grit. If cooking them whole, make a slit into the white part far enough to allow you to prise the leaves apart but not far enough to split it in two.

Pepper Capsicum sp. (1 head) Good source of vitamin C. Wash the pepper, then slice off the top. Scoop out the seeds and membranes. Can be eaten cooked or fresh in various dishes including pasta sauces, pizza, salads. Peppers can also be stuffed with various fillings.

Beetroot Beta vulgaris Contains Vitamin C folic acid and potassium. Can be cooked in various ways, but don’t peel the beet until you’ve boiled it as this stops it ‘bleeding’. Super Boost Juice – Put on the rubber gloves, spread out a newspaper and peel your beetroot and cut it into chunks. Take 4 apples and quarter and core them. Take 4 carrots and trim and peel them. Take 1cm/1 inch of fresh ginger and peel it. This is easily done by scraping the skin off with the side of a teaspoon. Process all the ingredients through a juicer. Stir and serve immediately, adding ice if desired.

Friday, May 07, 2010

newsletter 03/05/10

We’re still awaiting the warm weather to start heating the soil up here at Cobbinshaw. There have been frosts as the day has edged towards sunrise, on the last couple of mornings, not enough to damage anything under the protection of the poly-tunnel, thank goodness, but I put a layer of bubble wrap as extra insulation over the softer plants, just to make sure.
The tunnel is looking good, with a lot of the seeds sown in the last two weeks, germinating nicely. The seedlings that have been pricked out are sitting up straight and looking quite uniform, so I can’t ask for better than that. The next job that needs done, is to prick-out the leek seedlings that have been sown at the beginning of April. I’ll transplant them into individual plugs, then hopefully they’ll be ready to plant out by the middle of June. Some of the seedlings could do with a bit more heat, just to bring them on that bit faster. We haven’t had a lot of slug problems yet and I’m sure that is partly due to a big toad who has assumed some accommodation beneath the seed tray holding the celery. If anyone can come up with a name for her/him, just let me know.
One piece of bad news this week is that egg prices are going to have to rise at last. We’ve held off for ages, but we’re determined to stay far cheaper than the supermarkets, so you won’t be losing out. The eggs are going up to £1.80 per box from the 1st May 2010. Obviously, many of you will have left us a cheque for less than this, as you had no prior warning of the increase. If you don’t mind just adding the extra £0.30 to the next delivery that will suit us fine.
We’re also still tinkering with the delivery runs, just trying to make them as efficient as possible, so one or two of you may get deliveries on days you aren’t expecting them. Please accept my apologies for this short period of uncertainty. It will settle down to a regular day soon. We’re still trying to integrate the deliveries Brian used to do, without driving for too many hours at a time, or needing to get up ridiculously early. I think we’re nearly there now though.
We’ll be at Balerno farmers Market on Saturday from 9am til 1 pm. It would be great to see you there. It always helps if we can get some good weather.
The white cabbages in the bags this week, may be halved if they are too big. I know a lot of you get put off by trying to deal with vegetables that are too big and end up leading to waste.

Potatoes Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are Remarka a good general purpose potato.. Potatoes are the only commonly available source of B3 and Iodine. Excellent source of Vitamin C and also Vitamin B6, Potassium and fibre.

Onion Allium cepa. Used in stews, pasta dishes, soups. Source of Vitamins A and C, Iron, Calcium and Potassium .

Carrot Daucus carota Carrots are eaten fresh in salads or cooked in just about any way you like. They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Celeriac (1head). To prepare celeriac, treat it much as you would a swede. Peel it thickly and slice. As you slice the flesh drop it into a pan of cold water with a couple of drops of lemon juice to avoid discolouration. Here’s a recipe fpr Celeriac with mushroom stuffing: Prepare as above but slice crossways into discs 1 inch thick. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and keep the celeriac warm under a dry cloth. Meanwhile, take 250g (1/2lb) mushrooms, keep whole if small and slice thickly if large. Fry the mushrooms in 50g (2oz) butter for 5 minutes until golden. Arrange the celeriac slices on individual plates, top with the fried mushrooms and sprinkle with paprika. Serve as an appetiser.

Radish Raphanus sativus (1 bunch) A good source of vitamin C, potassium and fibre. Wash your radish, cut the top and tail off and cut into salads. Give a fine burst of colour and a little kick to the taste buds.
White Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group There’s nothing like the crunch of bit of white cabbage with a bit of melted butter enhancing the flavour. Great accompaniment to any dish. Cabbage is a source of phytochemicals, Vitamin C, potassium, fibre , calcium and Vitamin B6. To cook, cut the cabbage into quarters, take out the central core and either cook it whole for 20 minutes in lightly salted boiling water, or shred it an cook it for 12-15 minutes. Serve up with melted butter over the top. Here is a recipe for Asian Coleslaw with Peanuts and Chilli: Combine the following for the dressing: a crushed garlic clove, ½ onion finely sliced, 1 chilli chopped, 1 tablespoon of thai fish sauce, 1 ½ tablespoons of brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and a dash of sweet chilli sauce. Whisk them together in a bowl and set aside. Mix together the following veg: ½ cabbage finely shredded, 3 carrots coarsley grated, 2 apples grated, 1 red pepper sliced, 1 tomato chopped and 2 tablespoons of crushed roasted peanuts and 100g of beansprouts if you have them. Toss the veg in the dressing sprinkle a few roasted peanuts on top and serve.

Garlic Allium sativum.( 1 head) Good for Vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. A crushed clove of garlic can enhance many savoury meals.