Tree Fungus

A lovely winter’s walk today and we spied some interesting tree fungus. Does anybody know what type it is?

Strawberry Jam

The last of the strawberries going into some lovely jam.  

Learnings:

Strawberries need a lot of pectin added as they don’t contain much themselves.

August Harvest and Ratatouille

A perfect day to harvest the summer veg and prepare some ratatouille. Although it’s always best fresh, I always freeze some for winter months and if it’s allowed to thaw naturally then the pieces remain intact enough. If they do decide to fall to bits, ratatouille soup is lovely too!

Learnings:

• Remember to leave space in the freezer for harvest time.
• Use a bigger pan :D

Best Tomatoes to Grow

The heatwave has given differing results for tomatoes this year. The little Rosada F1 plum tomatoes in the greenhouse have done really well and are deliciously sweet. 

The heritage Marmande in the polytunnel haven’t done so well and have suffered with greenback which happens when conditions are too hot and sunny leading to uneven ripening. The top starts by staying green and then just doesn’t ripen properly, in this case remaining yellow. The bottom of the tomato is still edible and this batch is going into some soup for winter. 

Our unpredictable weather means that growing the heritage varieties in the polytunnel will be a bit hit and miss. Maybe next year I’ll try them in the greenhouse. 

Learnings:

• Unpredictable weather = unpredictable crops.

Mint Moth

A perfect little mint moth landed on our kitchen window this morning. Enjoying the sunshine and warming its wings. Looking forward to some more summer sun. Fingers crossed...

Learnings:

• Herb gardens outside the kitchen window pay benefits.

The Beast From the East

Wow. This amount of snow in March is really unexpected. Feeding the chickens some extra corn to keep them laying nicely. Our HenSafe automatic door opener still functions perfectly :D Robust, Rugged, Reliable. #chooseHenSafe