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.
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.
posted by thewholeshebag at 11:44 PM
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