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.
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.
posted by thewholeshebag at 10:15 PM
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