Newsletter w/c 26th July2010

The potatoes, this year, are doing really well. So well, in fact, that I’ve started lifting them for your bags. I think this must be about three to four weeks earlier than usual, and that’s after, what I thought, was a really late start to the growing season. The first variety I’ve picked, Orla, is a good size for the time of year. We’re also getting a good quantity of tubers under each shaw, so we can’t ask for better than that.
Although we’re getting new British carrots just now, I’m not 100% happy with them. They don’t seem to be lasting very long before they start to go a bit bendy. Let me know if you have unuseable carrots and I’ll put something in your next delivery to make up for it. We’re probably only a month away from starting our own carrots anyway.
It’s our carrot crop I’ve been busy with this week, weeding all the carrots that are big enough to be weeded safely. If the carrots are still quite slender, they get pulled out very easily along with the weeds. I like to wait until they are big enough to have a bit of a grip on the soil before we clear around them. The onions have been getting cleaned up at the same time. They’re probably about a month away too. Andy has been busy planting more batches of salad and brassicas. We’ve got less time for planting now as a big part of our time has to be devoted to harvesting.
So, along with harvesting, this week, I’d like to get some more of the carrots and onions weeded, and I want to sow a batch of spinach, rocket and mizuna, to take us further through the year with salads. As usual, the other main job will be weeding. I’ll continue with the carrots and Sky has just finished the huge task of weeding the swedes, so she’ll move onto the other brassicas now. They’re coming on well now and should be ready to start picking within a month, in fact we have a few kohl-rabi ready now.
Here’s a list of what’s in the standard bag this week. As I’ve noted already, substitutions may occur.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are Orla, 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. They’re our own now, so there’ll be a bigger variety of sizes than usual. All sizes are very tasty though.

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.

Mixed Salad various. Our mixed salad bags are on-stream again. There’s a mixture of lettuce, endive, eraclea and herbs. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily. If you’d like more, let us know.

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum Good for Vitamins A and C, potassium and iron. To cook tomatoes are used for many peoples favourite soup, they are added to casseroles, folded into omelettes and served grilled with a little butter and salt and pepper on top. Obviously, the most common usage at this time of year is fresh in salads.

Radish Raphanus sativus 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. They are a bit smaller this week. I’m not too fond of the big ping pong ball sized ones. These little ones are the sweetest and most tasty.. May be in short supply latewr in the week so might be substituted.

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group (1/2 head) Excellent source of Vitamin C and phytochemicals and also contains Vitamin B6, potassium, fibre and calcium. Here’s a recipe for Braised red cabbage which uses apples rather than the orange based gravy I gave you last time. Braised Red Cabbage: Remove the outer coarse leaves and cut the cabbage into quarters. Remove the tough coresand shred the cabbage finely. Peel core and grate 2 cooking apples and mix with the cabbage. Melt 2oz.(50g) of butter in a pan, add 5fl.oz.(150ml) white wine vinegar and mix in the cabbage; coat thoroughly; then cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer over a gentle heat for 1 hour. Add a little more vinegar or water if the cabbage threatens to stick. Stir in 5fl.oz. (150ml) of red wine or blackcurrant juice, and season to taste with sugar. The cabbage should be fairly sharp in flavour. Cover with a lid and simmer until tender.

Newsletter w/c 19th July 2010

Sorry it's a bit late going online!

We’ve been dodging the showers this week, trying to keep busy through the worst of the heavy downpours. The weather seems to be changing every 5 minutes at the moment. No sooner have I got soaked and dried out, than I’m soaked again. It can be quite refreshing when the works hard, but it is a bit tiresome.

How do you like the new logo? We’ve got our annual SOPA inspection this week, so I thought it would be a good time to launch it. Still need to get van signage sorted out, but one thing at a time. Our friend Anne Kenmure designed the logo and I think she’s done a great job.
This week we’ve bought-in new potatoes from Perthshire, but hope to be able to start supplying our own within 2 weeks. The warm wet weather is suiting the plants and everything is growing fast now. It’s hard to keep up. I’d like to be sowing third or fourth sowing of some of the vegetables, but the weather is so unsettled it’s hard to get the ground dry enough to take the tractor and machines. It looks like I’ll have to dig the new potatoes by hand. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve put milan turnips in all the bags this week again as they need to be picked now or they’ll go to waste. If I think they’ll hold for another week, I’ll keep them out and put in a substitute. I know you prefer variety in the bags if it’s available. The carrots were a bit ropey for a couple of weeks there. I’m really sorry about that, but they were the only ones that were available. We’re back onto more local carrots again so hopefully you’ll noyice a big improvement.
So, this week I’m hoping to get a lot more weeding done and I’ll make a start trying to get ahead with potato lifting for next weeks bags. I’ve also got another batch of seedlings ready to get transplanted into the field from the polytunnel so if I can get the ground prepared, I’ll start on that today. I also want to get some more sowings of milan and radish in, so that we can get one more crop before the end of the season. I’ll also sow a bit more rocket, mizuna and spinach if I have the time. I’ve got a couple of rows of later planted peas to tie up too. So, as usual, there are no end of little jobs to get on with.

We’re just coming up to swarming season for honey bees and we’ve still had no takers for our lovely bee hive. If , over the next couple of months, you have a swarm of bees in your garden, or you hear of someone who does, I’d be delighted to have a look to see if I could remove them for you and re-house them in our hive.

Here’s a list of what’s in the standard bag this week. As I’ve noted already, substitutions may occur.

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are Axona 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.

Mixed Salad various. Our mixed salad bags are on-stream again. There’s a mixture of lettuce, endive, eraclea and herbs. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily. If you’d like more, let us know.

Broccoli Brassica oleracea Italica Group Excellent source of Vitamin C and folic acid. Also contains Vitamins A, B2, B6 and phosphorus, fibre, calcium and iron. It is best eaten raw or quickly blanched in boiling , lightly salted water. Also good in stir-fries. Please use as quickly as possible as it doesn’t keep well.

Garlic Allium sativum. (1 head) Adds another dimension of flavour to all sorts of savoury dishes. Don’t overdo it unless you like that sort of thing

Milan Turnip Brassica rapa Rapifera Groups (300g) Contains Vitamins A and C, folic acid and calcium. Trim off the top and the root, then peel thinly. Boil in lightly salted water for 20-30 minutes. Drain thoroughly, toss them in butter and chopped parsley and serve immediately. An alternative is to prepare as above, but cut into small chunks, then do the same with an equal amount of carrots. Melt 3oz (75g) butter in a pan, add 2fl.oz.(50ml) white wine and add the turnip and carrot, a little salt and pepper, cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes. Spoon the buttered vegetables with the juices into a dish and serve hot.

Newsletter w/c 12th July 2010

The field is looking as good as it ever has at this time of year. Not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but no complete failures. The problems we had with beetles early on in the planting season seem to have passed and subsequent sowings are growing well. I just need to fill the gaps, where plants were eaten away, with the plants still coming on in the polytunnel. All the vegetables seem to be later this year and although the tatties are looking green and most are in flower now, I could pick them a month before this in previous years. This is the last week you’ll receive stored tatties. Next week we’ll begin this years crop, but even this is 6 weeks later than usual. The upside is that I won’t have to reduce the weight that you receive. The standard bag will still contain about 2 Kg and the large bags 3.5Kg.

Last Saturday we took our, now annual, trip up to Braemar for the Junior Highland Games. It’s a great event for introducing children to the fun and friendliness of the real Highland Games. There are all the usual Sports Day events with flat races, sack race and obstacle race etc, with a 2Km cross country for the over 8’s. There are Dancing and Piping competitions and a whole range of the traditional heavy events. The children then get the opportunity to try out the heavy events for themselves with adapted equipment. It’s quite entertaining seeing all these wee ones tossing the caber and throwing the hammer. One of the other main events is the family tug-of –war competition. Everyone gets the chance to be as involved as they want to be. My body’s been aching a bit as I took part in a couple of adult races, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday, and my old legs just aren’t used to the punishment. It was all good fun though. We’ll definitely be back next year.
Here’s a list of whats in the standard bag this week. We’ve got spinach and radish in some of the other bags too. The radish are a little on the large side. I’ve left the leaves on both the milans and the radish. If you have pets that eat greens they’ll love the tops.

Potatoes Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are Axona 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.

Mixed Salad various. Our mixed salad bags are on-stream again. There’s a mixture of lettuce, endive, eraclea and herbs. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily. If you’d like more, let us know.

White Cabbage Brassica oleracea Capitata Group..(1/2 head) . To cook, remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the central core. It can be cooked in quarters like this in boiling salted water or else shredded and boiled or steamed. Here’s a recipe for Cabbage soup which will use up a few items in the bag this week: Prepare and wash the cabbage and shred it finely. Prepare and roughly chop, 2 carrots, the leek and 1/2lb(250g) potatoes. Put all the vegetables in a pan with 3 pints(1.5l) stock and a bouquet garni, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Season to taste, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.

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.

Milan Turnip Brassica rapa Rapifera Groups (300g) Contains Vitamins A and C, folic acid and calcium. Trim off the top and the root, then peel thinly. Boil in lightly salted water for 20-30 minutes. Drain thoroughly, toss them in butter and chopped parsley and serve immediately. An alternative is to prepare as above, but cut into small chunks, then do the same with an equal amount of carrots. Melt 3oz (75g) butter in a pan, add 2fl.oz.(50ml) white wine and add the turnip and carrot, a little salt and pepper, cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes. Spoon the buttered vegetables with the juices into a dish and serve hot.

newsletter w/c 05/07/2010

We arrived back from Carcassonne this afternoon, to hear that we’d missed quite a storm over the weekend. I’m happy to report that the poly-tunnel has stood up well to it’s first wind-speed test, with only one door blown off it’s hinges. I think that’s not too bad. The rain that fell with the wind must have been gratefully received by the plants, as they were already showing signs of stress before we left. I have to say a big Thank-you to Andy, Finlay and the team for keeping things going without too many hiccups. It makes it less stressful to go away when you can trust the people left behind to handle whatever problems may crop up.
Our holiday was a real success. The boys were a bit wary about trying to speak French to begin with but by the end of the week they’d quite happily go into a shop and work away at making themselves understood with a mixture of sign language, a little French and a good deal of pointing. I have to admit it was pretty much the same for myself, but I’m determined to be a better French speaker for the next time I go back. The weather was pretty hot for the whole week, up to 35 degrees some days, so it took a bit of getting used too. We spent most of the week, walking around the city, exploring during the cooler part of the day, going for a rest, then spending time at the open air pool. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday were market days in the square just around the corner from our rented flat and it was a nice change to be able to walk round the stalls for a change. It was great to see the different produce available in such a warm dry climate and also encouraging to see the veg that we grow ourselves, not too far ahead of our own.
So there has been a bit of growth at Cobbinshaw in the last week, and we’re going to have to put in a lot of effort to catch back up with the weeds which have really taken off while I’ve been away. We’re getting to the end of the main plantings now, so that will free up time for the job. The signs are encouraging though, the tatties are starting to flower now so I should be able to start picking some early tatties soon. We’ve also got lettuce at last so that means we can start giving you salad bags. You should get salad in your bag this week. I hope you enjoy the freshness.
Here’s a list of what you can expect in the standard bag this week. Substitutions may occur.

Potato 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.

Mixed Salad various. Our mixed salad bags have been really popular this year. When you receive your bag, rinse the salad leaves thoroughly to remove any traces of soil that may have attached, then drain in a salad spinner or colandar. Pop back into a sealed bag or box and store in the fridge until ready for use. Will keep for over a week easily. If you’d like more, let us know.

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

Cucumber Cucumis sativus (1/2 head) Source of Vitamins A and C and also a source of potassium. Cucumbers are generally eaten fresh in salads. Just give them a wipe over and slice or cut into chunks. For an alternative to this, try peeling the cucumbers thinly, then slice crossways into slices 0.5cm thick. Cut the seeds in the centre out to form a ring. Melt some butter in a frying pan and add a little salt and the cucumber rings. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the cucumber is tender but still crisp. Serve hot.

Leek Alllium porrum (1 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.