99 days ago
A large courgette, spring onions, potatoes, beetroot, radishes and some garlic and shallotts to dry and store. One trip to the garden and a few minutes harvesting.
120 days ago
A number of kind readers as well as an Oxford contemporary, L, have either expressed surprise that I am such a keen gardener or have asked for a progress report. Well here goes. I start with the small field behind the barn which was six foot high in weeds when we arrived and contained a number of abandoned metal structures hidden by those weeds. As you can see in the first photo, it is now anew orchard of about 30 trees, mainly plums, apples, crab apples and pears but with the odd fig, a dog’s arse tree and a tayberry. At the end of the orchard is the top field where one day I hope to keep goats. I have planted five edible olive trees from Greece, three mulberry trees and a sweet chestnut around the edge. That is all WIP.
528 days ago
The first three and a half litres of home made ginger beer should be ready within 24 hours. The ginger beer bug plant is bubbling away and the next batch will be ready for bottling a week today. Meanwhile, the elderflower bush at the top of our upper field by the churchyard is in full flower, flowers we picked on Saturday afternoon.
772 days ago
In writing this admission, I reckon it is a good bet that some moron invested in a fraud I have, or am exposing, will take time out from discussing with other internet warriors about having me killed to report me to social services in Wrexham or our esteemed dear leader here in Wales, Mark Drakeford. The idiots at the Badger Trust have yet to apologise for harassing me after I was maliciously reported to them as being a badger killer. So, nothing surprises me although the local rozzers do now know about this sort of harassment and are thus ignoring spurious complaints from crooks like Julie Meyer rather than interviewing me as I laugh at the silliness of it all. Back to green tomatoes.
773 days ago
The fried green tomatoes continue to win rave reviews from the Mrs and myself and so we enjoyed another batch yesterday after the arrival of two large bags of “old fashioned cornflour” with a big picture of what used to be known as a Red Indian on the front of each. I suggested that the flour might have been produced by Native Americans but the Mrs, a woman once known as the deluded lefty, gave each bag a dirty look, suggesting that – like the Washington Redskins – a makeover was needed for these enlightened times. I think I shall order some more bags to ensure we have a lifetime’s supply with the current design. Meanwhile, I have more of the green tomato glut to deal with, without resorting to chutney as we already have more than one winter’s supply of apple chutney.
851 days ago
I hear that there was a near biblical deluge yesterday and it looks like there is plenty of rain ahead back at the Welsh hovel. And I have a couple of assistants going in to water both the garden and the big lawn so I hope I shall return to something in good shape. As long promised, here is what I have turned the jungle into. The project is far from finished but its no longer a jungle.
874 days ago
Okay, not a cracking yield. When your potatoes start flowering, you should – I am told – take a look beneath the soil. So I did. These are the yields from two plants. It was enough to eat roasted with a chicken, along with homegrown broad beans, courgettes and a lettuce salad. Fear not, if you worry we’ll run out. These are two plants from some 25 in tranche one. Tranche two will be hilled for a second time, and should be ready in August, while Tranche three was planted last week.
875 days ago
Much to my surprise, all 12 tomato seeds have taken. Thus, I worked late into the night on a small patch of the jungle, bringing it into life as a tomato bed. In addition to the ten plants I was given by a friend, I hope to be drowning in tomatoes by autumn. We shall see. It was about nine when I finished. I leant on my rake, pondering the last roped-off patc
1005 days ago
Last night, the remaining squashes stored from the Autumn went into a stew. Today at lunchtime we ate the last of the winter potatoes seasoned with almost the last of my dried herbs, some rather miniscule sprouts from the winter crop and a small cauliflower from the same vintage,all of which you can see below. The last of my stored apples were used to make an apple sauce for a joint of pork.
1149 days ago
Drowning in radishes, gherkins and apples here at the Welsh Hovel the three find themselves in a salad almost every day. But still that is not enough to use up everything on offer and so yesterday I tried an experiment. Food should not only taste great but should look gorgeous too. Don’t you agree?
1354 days ago
It is only March but we have the first harvest from the newly created gardens at the Welsh Hovel – a small bunch of rhubarb. There is more to come. Today sees the planting of beans, peas and potatoes. Yesterday it was (indoors) chillis and peppers. More photos later.
1426 days ago
A triumph for the hard-working chef i.e. me. At the head of the table in a stunning new Indian shirt from his Grandmother sits Joshua. In front of him in order:
1440 days ago
It would not be Christmas without the Guardian newspaper filling its pages with angry and unseasonal comments about how beastly and miserable life is. Anything that can provide joy to a man or woman must be dragged down. Today’s winner is a long article by James Wong “Other arts are political, why not gardening? -Gardens make strong statements even when they don’t!.”
