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.
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.
posted by thewholeshebag at 12:53 PM
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