Newsletter w/c 30th May 2011

The strong winds still haven’t managed to destroy the poly-tunnel yet, but it’s certainly been under pressure. The winds pulled the polythene through the door frame in a couple of places, but thankfully it hasn’t ripped. The tunnel is crammed full of seedlings that have been waiting for the weather to improve, to allow me to prepare the ground to plant them in.
I hope the Axona potatoes aren’t causing you too many headaches. They are great baked or roasted, but because they are such a high dry matter potato, if you boil them in water, they break up and you end up with a sort of potato soup. The way I’ve been advised to cook them is to start boiling them in the conventional way, in salted water. Keep an eye on them and when they look like the water is starting to affect them, drain them and put the pan back on a low heat to finish them by steaming them. Shake the pan every so often to stop them sticking. Once they are tender, serve as usual with plenty of butter. If you want to mash them add plenty of butter and cream or milk, until you get the consistency of mash you prefer.
On the farm, this week, I’m hoping to plant leeks, salads and the first of the brassica seedlings. I also need to start on second sowings of most of the root crops. I’ve weeded the onions once and the carrots once, which is a feat I usually don’t manage, so maybe I’m more on top of things than I feel. Everything seems late now because of the weather. I’ve ridged up the tattie rows today as well as they were getting very green with weeds. Theres a lot of couch grass in the potato bed so I’ll need to be quite vigilant with the plough and the hoe to make sure it doesn’t get a firm hold and cause a real problem.
We’ve been working around a lot of family commitments now as well. Finn is now a piper with the Boghall and Bathgate Pipe Band and there seems to be a competition or Gala day on every weekend for most of the summer. He was at Bathgate Highland Games last Saturday and is back there for the gala day this weekend. Keir has a different Gala Day with the Beavers and I already had a full day of work planned. It’s a major logistical exercise working everything in.
The large bags have a bag of leaves that you may not recognise. This is lovage and is quite a strong flavoured herb. If you’re unsure what to use it for and would like a recipe, here is one for

Cream of Lovage soup :- Melt 3 tblspns of butter in a large pan and saute a chopped up onion and 2 crushed cloves of garlic until they are soft. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 tablespon of flour and slowly stir in 500ml of chicken or vegetable stock, return to the heat and bring to the boil. Add 500g of peeled amd sliced potatoes and pepper to season and simmer for 15 minutes. Add 4 tablspns of chopped lovage leaves and simmer for a further 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Puree with a blender then return to the pan and add 250ml of single cream. Heat gently and serve garnished with a few lovage leaves.
Here’s a list of the produce, which barring any need for substitution, will be in the standard bags this week.
Potato Solanum tuberosum. The variety this week is Axona. It is a very dry potato and a little harder to cook than some of the other varieties we grow, See above for cooking instructions.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.

Spring onion . Spring onions are used in various ways in the kitchen. Traditionally in this country, primarily as a salad vegetable, the greens and white bulb are cut up finely into salad bowls to add a mild onion flavour. They are used in Chinese and Thai cooking frequently as well.

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.

Red Cabbage Brassica oleracea CapitataGroup (1 head) – If the cabbage is really big this time, I will half it. This is in response to customer comments after the last red cabbages 5 weeks ago. Some of you may even have some left. Here’s a different recipe for you to try with it: Preheat your oven to 150oC/300oF/ gas mark 2. Remove any damaged outer leaves, cut into quarters and remove the stalk. Shred the cabbage finely. In a casserole, lay a layer of cabbage, seasoned with salt and pepper, a layer of chopped onions and chopped, peeled and cored apples, with a sprinkling of garlic, 1 clove should be enough, a little nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves and about a tablespoon of brown sugar. Repeat these layers until everything is in then pour in 3 tablespoon of wine vinegar and 1/2oz (10g) of butter. Put a lid on the casserole and let it cook slowly for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring a couple of times during cooking.

Spinach Spinacia oleracea (1 bag) Good source of vitamin C, B2, B6 and A, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, protein and phytochemicals. No wonder Popeye did so well on it. Can be used fresh in salads or cooked as a vegetable. Strip the leaves off the stalks and immerse in a basin of cold water. Lift out and repeat the process twice more with fresh water. Spinach has a high water content and does not need any water to cook in – just the water that adheres to the leave will be enough. Sprinkle lightly with salt cover with a lid and cook gently for 7-10 minutes until soft. Drain thoroughly, squeezing out the last of the water with a masher.

Newsletter w/c 23rd May 2011

We still have a poly-tunnel, I’m delighted to say, after the stormy weather of the past 24 hrs or so. At times, it looked in doubt. The whole structure was lifting and straining off it’s bed and swelling up, then sinking back down as if it were trying to give birth to the next generation! If the polythene had torn slightly anywhere, the whole lot would have gone, but we’ve been lucky and our plants were all protected from the blasts.
I was hoping to get our leeks planted out at the weekend, but the ground conditions never improved to the point where I could have ploughed the rows, so that will be one of the first jobs this week. I also need to ridge-up the potato rows. The first of the tatties are showing now, and there are a lot of weeds coming up with them. This is a job I can do mainly with the tractor and plough, because, even if I cover the potato plants with soil, they will be strong enough just to push their way back out again. It also gives a bit more frost protection too. Last year we had quite a hard frost on the 30th May, which is very late for such a cold spell, and it did a bit of damage. I’m in the middle of hoeing all the carrot and onion rows, the carrots are looking good, and unaffected as yet by any insects and the onions are coming on strongly as are the shallots and garlic. From the house I can see the neat rows of radish and turnip stretching away down the field too. Things at this time of year look as good as they can do. Keeping ahead of the weeds from now on is the struggle. Each evening I sit at the table in the house and prick-out a couple of trays of seedlings and so far, I’m managing to keep up with whats ready in the tunnel. We’ll start planting out in earnest next week.
Lynda is busy trying to straighten out the accounts, which have been a bit neglected lately and she may ask for your help with queries about payments over the next few weeks. We’d appreciate your help and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Axona, and, unusually are a very dry potato. I generally put general purpose varieties in the bag, but they are few and far between At the moment. The thing about cooking dry potatoes is that if you boil them in water, they will turn to mush. You must steam them gently and keep an eye on them. They make great mash with plenty of butter or marg mixed in, but they are at their best and easiest as baked potatoes or roasties. 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. I don’t like having washed carrots in the bags as they don’t last as long and I think, lose some of their flavour. I will get back to dirty carrots again as soon as I can. They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and also contain significant amounts of Vitamins B, C, D, E and K. and Potassium.

Brocolli 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 steamed or quickly blanched in boiling, lightly salted water, as an accompanying veg and is also good in stir-fries. Please use as quickly as possible as it doesn’t keep well.

Radish. I’ve added a small bunch of radish to the bag this week as they’re just starting to come into season. At the size thes are they are best washed and cut into salads. They add just a little bit of spice and colour to the greens and reds and purples of a salad bowl and a wonderful crunchy texture.

Aubergine egg plant Traditionally used to make vegetable lasagnes or moussaka, the aubergine has more versatility than that. For example, they can be great barbequed in stacks as follows: Cut the aubergine into 1cm thick slices and score across with a sharp knife, brush with olive oil and roast at 170oC for 15 minutes. Spread the aubergine slices with a tomato sauce and then a slice of mozzarella, roughly the same size as the aubergine slice.repeat the process til you have a stack of three or four aubergine slices and skewer. I’ve heard it done with rosemary twigs but kitchen skewers will do. Place on a tray over the BBQ and heat through untilt he cheese is beginning to melt but not collapsing and serve with basil leaves and salad and some nice fresh bread.

Rocket this is the first salad of the year and is in small amounts yet, but it’s so nice to get some fresh leaves at last. Perfect to go with the recipe for aubergine above, but will accompany many meals. Rinse well in cold water to refresh, drain thoroughly, pop back into a clean plastic bag and it should keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Newsletter w/c 16th May 2011

I’d got used to being able to go and work in the field whenever I could during April, with all the stable weather we’d been having, but a visit down to the veg plot is becoming an unusual occurance over the last week or so. The ground is saturated again, great for the plants, not good for getting machinery on or for weeding. I hoe the weeds out at the moment and they just re-root again where I’ve pushed them to.
The big news this week is that I have a new farmers market to go to on the third Saturday of each month, starting this Saturday, at Gorgie City Farm in Edinburgh. I’ll be there between 9am and 1pm so if you’re in the area, it would be great to see you. The market has been running for a few months now, but is struggling to pull customers away from the Castle Terrace market, so your effort in getting along would be much appreciated.
Robbie should be out to help me this weekend again, so after the market we’ll focus on getting second sowings into the field. I have six or seven seed trays full of different salads that badly need to be pricked out into seedling trays. This will need to be my job until the weekend, and at least that’s not weather dependant. I can sit and sort them out in the poly-tunnel.
I’ve got Lynda’s help full-time again, so we’re going to concentrate on straightening out all the accounts that have been needing checked or chased up over the last while. I never seem to find the time for all the paperwork that needs done. I like being outside growing vegetables! But we need to keep an eye on cash-flow, especially at this time of year, while we’re waiting on the veg growing for this season. So, anyone that has asked me to check if they were up-to-date with payments, I can assure you that this will be done over the next few weeks. One other plea is for net bags. If you have a stash of our bags saved up, could you leave them out for me to pick up with a delivery soon. We’re running a bit short. We never get all the bags back that we put out.
Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Maris Peer, (white skins), andthey are good general purpose potatoes, slightly on the waxy side, so good boilers.. They are very easy to prepare when they’re as fresh as this and really only need a wash and a scrub. 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.

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.

Parsley. Petroselinum sp This flat leaved variety of parsley has far more flavour than the more common curly type, though I have to say the curly one is a far nicer plant to look at. Excellent for flavouring all sorts of dishes or cut into salads. Especially popular in our household, cut over boiled potatoes, with a little melted butter.

Kohl Rabi Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group (1 head) – Excellent source of vitamin C and potassium. These swollen stem bases are great eaten raw, but can be cooked. Just peel off the outer skin and slice or dice the inner flesh. To cook, blanch for 5 minutes in boiling water with a little added lemon juice, then refresh in cold water. Cook the kohl-rabi for 10-15 minutes in a minimal amount of boiling, lightly salted, water, adding butter at a rate of 3oz per lb of vegetable. Serve with a little of the cooking liquid poured over it.

Mixed Beansprouts very nutritious, these sprouting seeds are excellent fresh in salads or cooked in stir-fries. If there is a punnet open in the kitchen in our house, they don’t last long because people seem to find it hard to pass them without digging out a spoonful.

Newsletter w/c 09/05/2011

Robbie came out from Edinburgh, to help, at the weekend again. Things had been getting a bit behind schedule, but after a hard weekend we’re back on track again. We had some heavy showers to contend with, but I’d prepared the ground in advance, so they didn’t affect our ability to work between the downpours. We even managed to get the poly-tunnel sorted out a bit. As each tray was sown or pricked out or potted up, it had been put into the tunnel where there was a space, rather than in any order, and there was quite a bit of weed germination round about as well. The weeds have all been removed and the salads are in one section, the brassicas in another etc etc, so it’s all looking very organised. The first of the onion family, our garlic, white onions and shallots are all leading the growth race at the moment, and it’s great to see all the healthy green rows. The Jerusalem artichokes are also growing away well. The rest of the field is still bare soil at the moment. This is the time of year when the field looks at it’s neatest. Plain brown soil, with uniform rows, (yes I’m getting better at ploughing them straight) with the roadways between each bed in the rotation scheme I use. We have a perennial bed, where I grow the rhubarb and Jerusalem artichokes, a potato bed, a brassica bed, a carrot and onion bed, a salad and herb bed and a beet and bean bed. All of them are at least partly planted after the work we did this week.
In the coming week, it’s now just more of the same. I have to do second sowings of some of the crops, plenty of pricking-out of seedlings, a bit of potting. I also have to make a major start on the honorous task of weeding everything. My aim is to hoe over every plant at least once a month and this has to start with the white onions this week as there is already a haze of green weed germination around the base of the plants and sweeping over the ridges. This job will carry on all summer.
Please let me know of any problems you encounter with the veg you receive from us. The cold blast on Tuesday night caught me out last week and the bananas that had been packed for the Wednesday run fruit bags, were affected and needed to be eaten really quickly. The skins were blackening with the chill. Also with the last of the stored tatties, I had one report about the bigger potatoes being bad in the middle. I’ve changed the variety this week to try to sort that out. We’re having to move onto washed carrots for a little while, hopefully only a little while, til I source some more dirty ones. Our stores have run out now. This seasons are planted but it will be a wee while before they’re ready to eat. Also, if you’ve any ideas on how we could improve the service, please do let us know.
The standard bags this week should contain the following, but there may be substitutions, especially with the beetroot which is running out.

Potatoes Solanum tuberosum. The tattie variety, this week, is Maris Peer. It’s slightly to the waxier side so a good boiler. 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.

Beetroot Beta vulgaris Contains Vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. Beetroot can be eaten fresh, cooked or pickled. Much of the beet I sell at the market is going to the juicer fresh, although I have never tried this, it is the most beneficial way to eat beetroot. Cooked it can be boiled, stewed or roasted, and of course, after boiling, can be pickled. The time for boiling depends on how big the root is. A golf ball sized beet would boil in 20 mins, while a tennis ball size may take over and hour.

Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum. Obviously, slightly out of season, but a nice treat nonetheless. Can be eaten fresh in salads or cooked into sauces, the famous soup, or for the unhealthy option fried for breakfast.

Leek Allium porrum. Leeks give a lovely creamy consistency to soups and are great in flans or quiches. Leeks are a great source of Vitamin C. Be sure to wash them very carefully though, as soil gets caught in the leaf axils as it is growing. Cut up the leek then rinse in cold running water in a colander.

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.

Monday 2nd May 2011 - update

I've had a very busy, but reasonably successful day today. Got up early and planted the rest of the red onions and carrots. It's always good to get the last of the onions in, as each individual set has to be planted, so it's quite an onorous task when you're planting thousands of them. The carots are easier as they are just small seed sown in a drill with a little hand held seeder.
Finn wanted me to help put up my new tent after breakfast, so we spent an hour on that. It looked good when it was finished, but ine of the zips burst almost immediately, so a repair or a shop replacement are required before we'll be going on any adventures.
Next I packed the veg for the usual Tuesday run, put them on the van and set off delivering them. I managed to get round the entire run and got home at about 10pm. If you're reading this and expecting a veg bag on Tuesday - it's sitting at your front door!
It's great what you can get doen when you put your mind to it - and there are very quiet bank holiday roads.

Newsletter w/c 2nd May 2011

There may be a few bag deliveries at a different time this week, as I’m needed to do other things on Tuesday. I’ll try to deliver as many as I can on Monday and the rest will be delivered, hopefully, early on Tuesday morning. The deliveries for the rest of the week, should go as normal. I realise deliveries have been disrupted a bit lately, but I hope they’ll settle down for a wee bit now, at least until we go away for summer holidays. I haven’t booked anything yet, so don’t have any firm dates, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do.

The reason for most of the changes, is that when I’m trying to do so much on my own, sometimes the timings for things just get in each others way and something has to give. I’ll try to make sure it’s kept to a minimum and that you’re kept informed.

I’ve managed to get a bit of work done in the field this week, despite Royal wedding parties and school holidays. I was meaning to avoid the Royal wedding altogether, but ended up listening to it on the radio on my delivery run last Friday.

So’ I’ve planted almost half of the red onions now and half of the carrots, so the filed is starting to fill up. The garlic and shallots are greening up nicely and the Jerusalem artichokes have germinated, so I ran the ridging plough up their row, to keep the weeds in check. Once I’ve planted the remainder of the carrots and onions, I’ll get the rest of the seed sown, while this hot dry weather continues, then when the rain does eventually come, I’ll start to plant out the seedlings that are growing away in the poly-tunnel.

I was given a tent, by the family, as a birthday present, last week. I don’t know if there is some kind of message there about me spending so long in the field that I may as well stay there. I’ll see if I can encourage a little camping trip next weekend, if the weather holds. The midgies won’t be too bad yet! I’ve got terrible memories of BB hikes when I was a youngster and the misery those little pests can inflict. If I can get a trip without the midgies, there’s a better chance of there being a follow-up trip sometime later in the summer.

Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. They are very easy to prepare when they’re as fresh as this and really only need a wash and a scrub. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieties so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Brocolli 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..

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 cores and 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, season to taste with sugar. The cabbage will have a fairly sharp flavour. Cover with a lid and simmer until tender.

the flesh. Boil in lightly salted water for 30 minutes and mash with cream and butter.

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.

Garlic (1head). Use a clove of garlic to flavour savoury dishes. Split a clove off of the bulb, peel off the skin and crush or chop finely. Mix with butter and spread on bread or toast to make a tasty snack.

I’m going to be needed at home, again, on Tuesday next week, so I’m going to deliver the Tuesday veg on Monday. I’m sorry for any inconvenience caused, but this should be the last time this change is needed for a while.

It was my birthday last week, and Lynda decided to take us all away for a couple of days. We rented a wee apartment for a couple of nights in Pitlochry. I was a bit reticent to go and leave all the work behind that needs done, but I certainly felt the benefit of the break. The boys and Lynda had a good time too. We left on Saturday, once I got back to the farm from the market at Juniper Green. It was the quietest market I’ve been at for a while. The combination of a chill breeze with no sunshine, and a holiday weekend seems to have had a bad effect on customer numbers. Last month the same market was the busiest one I’d had for a while and I sold out of lots of the basics by 11.30am. Consequently, of course, I’d taken lots of veg with me, to avoid running out. I’ll never get it right! I had to humph it all back home again.

The one benefit of the quiet market was, that for once I was prepared for all eventualities. I had taken some seedlings with me that needed to be pricked-out. I took more of them than I thought I’d need too and nearly got them all transplanted. I’ve been falling behind a bit with the seedlings, so that really helped. This week I really need to get the red onion sets planted and make a start on the spinach and beet bed. I haven’t even any peas or beans planted yet which is unusual, but it’s not too late yet.

Here’s a list of the veg that should appear in the standard bags this week, if substitutions haven’t been required:

Potato Solanum tuberosum. Tatties this week are either Robinta (red skins) or Valor (large, white skins), both are good general purpose potatoes. It’s so good to have our own tatties again. We’re bagging them straight from the field at the moment so the sizes will vary. They are very easy to prepare when they’re as fresh as this and really only need a wash and a scrub. 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. You may receive some of our own onions this week. They are the best onions I’ve ever grown. I have red and white varieties so could be either or a mixture. They haven’t been dried yet so they’re full of flavour. 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.

Swede Brassica napa. (1head). Swedes are one of Scotlands Winter staple veggies. It is completely frost resistant so needs only to harvested as required rather than having to be stored. The only problem is lifting when the ground is frozen I’ve seen us lifting them with pick axes in frosty weather. Cut off the top and bottom of the swede then peel thickly. Cut into cubes or big chunks and boil for 30-40 minutes or alternatively, parboil then set around a roast in the oven for the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Excellent boiled, then mashed with butter and cream.

Parsley

Aubergine

Rhubarb