The Head Gardener

Today* I have lived inside a big dizzily rain cloud, metaphorically and meteorologically. It's not been fun. At these low light levels I'm like a little Livingstone daisy and stay all shut up, my colours hidden away just as those outside are so dulled and touched with grey.

So to shake me out of this terrible funk I thought I'd talk about one of my favourite subjects - my hubby.

First off I'd like to once again shout from the shed rooftop that he has done everything on the plots this year. As I said in the last post, I have only started to join in recently.

Well, let's just take a look at what he did on Sunday at the Lottie. If you look again at his cosy hideaway area in the last post, you'll notice how happy I am sitting there. But really, its a shame you can't see how happy he is, at this point, at my happiness. I should have taken a photo of that moment from my point of view.

Then as I headed over to 14b, he got stuck into the work by leaving again to take lots of rubbish to the dump. On his return he planted my zinnas out, harvested the extra broccoli sprouts and weeded the runner beans...

Onto to the apple trees which he espaliered like a pro. Lots of pruning, shaping and tying branches to wires and bamboo poles. Check out this RHS advice page if you are interested in doing the same to your apple or pear trees, it's a superb way to grow them in restricted spaces.

The bottom photo is one I pilfered off his Instagram account - it's of the other apple tree (the one behind him in my photo) but they were pretty much in the same condition so it gives you an idea of the shape he was able to get them into. Each tree has one apple - one each for us, shhh don't tell Maggie!

But on top of everything, he encouraged me to go, made me dinner afterwards and praised my efforts. In the evening he went back (whilst I showered and yoga-ed), to plant out some more baby leeks and to use his petrol strimmer and make the place all tidier. He had his mum round to gather a harvest for her too :)

He's just all kinds of fabulous, sometimes it makes me really sick, haha.

Hugs and Love
Carrie

P.S. This is what Maggie did for most of the afternoon, supervising is such tiring work...

* (written on Tuesday - the weather is nicer today)

Tidying up and harvesting

You would be so proud of me last weekend when I went to the lottie on both Saturday and Sunday :) The weather was doing okay so we needed to spend time there before it's just raining all. the. time. ... November, how did it get to be November already?!

Anyway, I started off in a good mood >

And then went over to the top of 14b and saw this>

It put me in an even better mood! Hahaha, there is nothing better than constructive destruction, it's my favourite activity. This mess is our Jerusalem Artichoke row and for a while now it's just been allowed to do whatever because basically, it's way up there at the end and it's easy to pretend it belongs to someone else *blush* But no longer, I have taken ownership of the disaster area that has been 14b and it is slowly being tamed.

After :)

Plus this is all from one plant. I know! no need to screw your face up, they aren't pretty. They have a look about them that only a mother could love, well I am that mother and I love them, see their potential and will have them roasted up and eaten soon. (Disclaimer - I do not have human children but I do realise that you don't eat them)

So as always happens to me when I do a big clear out and I have my head phones on (lucky it was just me and Andrew at the plots - I was singing Emeli Sande quite loud and probably very badly indeed) I got carried away. I started pulling a few weeds up and then ended up destroying one of the worst weed patches we have ever had. Up there between 'the big bed', the compost bins and next door's shed isn't somewhere we tend to go often, especially as this year the pumpkins were in a different place, not that bed.

So I shall very happily and with a bit of pride it must be said, show you a before and after :) There is more to do but I had so many weed flowers up my nose I felt dizzy and we have also decided that we need some sort of netting fence/ windbreaker up there too so why dig it twice?

On Sunday I moved on to the bottom of 14b and ripped out the beans. Oh it was joyful to grab handfuls of bean stalks and rip, tear and pull them from their bean pole wigwams. I imagine it all looked a little horrific from afar, as if I was fighting for my life, but nope I was just having fun.

We got some Borlotti beans from the far wigwam but not much, it was a pretty disappointing year really. I have saved seed though for the first time ever off this. And Andrew has eaten a good handful in some soup and he's still alive, I think he actually likes them.

 

The runner beans? They all just went into the compost, seriously there are only so many a person can eat and they just kept coming and going stringy really quickly, it was a battle, they won. Though I guess I had the final say.

Another catch up, this time, it's 14b

I have tried to write this post a few times now and the words just haven't been flowing. I know I'm not well yet again today but there is also a funny block when it comes to writing about this plot and I have only just realised that. It's so stupid, but then again so much about having mental health problems can feel stupid, so it's also very real. Plot 14b is still new to me (though we acquired it in May 2009), it's more open and I feel exposed, naked and a bit uncomfortable over there even though it's where my beautiful flower bed is. There isn't a proper wind break border between us and our neighbours or anywhere to hide, like under the pergola, in the shed or under the fruit arch as there is on 24a.

14b is right by good old 24a at a diagonal - here is a fabulous drawing by me to help you visualise. I drew this with my tongue sticking out so you know it's good, lol. Oh look, a ruler, now why didn't I use that and do it all to scale? Answer: I'm a free form artist, Andrew is the scientific one in this house.

Click to enlarge. I feel it is  now wonderfully clear, hahahaha

Anyway here's a little update as to what is going on. I didn't spend much time there for reasons I have explained but boy, it is productive and quite beautiful, if I may say so myself :)

These are our Purple Podded Peas send so kindly by Celia of..Purple Podded Peas :)

We haven't really got stuck in to them yet as the other peas are finishing up now and we don't want to waste anything but I reckon this weekend will be a PPP festival in the mouth :) Aren't the flowers that they have utterly gorgeous?? They remind me of the Sweet pea, 'Cupanii' that's my favourite but we forgot to plant this year.

 

 This is my flower bed - I am rather proud of this and it has supplied me with beautiful fragrant flowers in the house AND the bees and butterflies love them especially these -yellow Elecampane. This plant came up from Co. Kerry from my best friend Rosie - look at it now Rosie! (indulge me these photos Matron)

 

 Of course along with the flowers there are many other edible food stuffs. But ah haa - this allows me to throw in another flowery photo; the runner beans and climbing beans are there in the background scrambling up the home made wig-wams. The Runner Beans are lovely, not too long but oh so sweet and tender at the moment, the climbing beans are a little lackadaisical.  PLEASE ignore the weeds in this other bed, oh lord, the weeds are taking over in that plot . Here are our gorgeous Beetroot and Sorrel, we've been enjoying these so much, plus the Carrots and Parsnips which won't be ready for a while yet. This last photo is the Jerusalem Artichokes at the back of the plot - these make me happy as I love them and they are growing like crazy  beside 'The Trinty' of compost bins :)

 

* The Magic Hen *

No longer can I gripe, oh no! First off those rice krispie buns were the best ever and looking at the photos again reminds me how much fun we had - more simple baking will follow from this :) But also, my original gripe was all about a lack of seeds in my life and that is the case no longer - yipppeeee!!

Look what I received with a thud on the floor - a glorious packet containing more packages within, which each contained pure joy......seeds have arrived in the Gault household! This is all thanks to the most lovely, the beautiful, the terribly talented and gripe-removing Celia of Purple Podded Peas. God I think I love her, hahaha. I know I have been a fan of her blog for a long time and her artwork - wow! She is the Magic Hen and has provided us with a golden egg. (Very tenuous and clumsy link there to her shop: - Magic Cochin Emporium).

So what do we have here? well let's go clockwise from the top..

• Climbing Bean 'Lazy Housewife'
• Runner Bean 'Salford Black'
• Achocha
• Broad Bean 'Crimson Flowered'
• Coriander
• (and in the middle) Purple Podded Peas

The beautiful card is one of Celia's own designs and within it is a list of what to do with these seeds and when and how big they get :) It's a fab collection as we adore our beans and peas in this house (even Maggie has a thing for them) and we didn't save a single seed from our Coriander plants last season - eejits that we are. Then we come to Achocha, which I really do think has got to go in the 'my favorite words pot'; I have never heard of this before in all my puff so it should be interesting - hope you come along for the ride.

These were my favourites - Salford Black, I let them run through my fingers over and over, they felt so lovely.

You will also be proud to know that we planted up some tulip bulbs we found from last summer - spurred on by our gift. These are one of my all time favourites 'Queen of the Night ', I know they should have been planted in November but at least we did something with them, fingers crossed, haha. They ought to look like this and have done so for us before on the lottie and in our last garden....

Plus I bought myself these beauties and they are given such joy, right opposite me on the bookcase. Nothing quite like a fresh bunch of flowers to cheer you up (eh VP??)

The Sun is shining

There is blue sky, I can hardly believe it but when I'm not looking at the screen in front of me my eyes drift up to the Velux window and yes, it's still there - all that blue! July was officially the dullest on record and boy did we all feel it, the oppressive, heavy clouds every single day and rain, oh rain all the time! But it's the 2nd of August and although it was nasty yesterday I'm thinking maybe someone has told Mother Nature that it's August and it's about time we had some bright skies.

I'm super excited about this as Andy is off on a weeks holiday. We are stay-cationing if that makes sense (we're not going away on holiday) so it couldn't be nice and blue at a better time :)

We had baked rhubarb, ginger and cardamon pods with cream last night for dessert (after a very healthy dinner of peas (frozen, but still ours) and mixed beans (broad and runner) and chorizo on toast - just before you call me a fatty). It was delicious and very tart and cleansing, plus there's more in the fridge - Happy Days all round.

Must dash, shower to have and then get my hubby out of bed and into the sunshine. Big hugs to you all xxxx

If I were a horse I'd be shot by now

Pretty Dahlia in the back garden

I am miserable. Sorry to say. Yes another day of panic and self hatred, not quite off the scale but about 7/10, maybe 8. I feel so low and even though the sun is shinning is feels like it is doing so merely to mock me. I am eating chocolate with green tea and ginger in it 'for wellness', it also tastes bloody gorgeous.

Things got so bad last night that we eat a take away Chinese meal for dinner! Our fridge is bunged full with lovely fresh lottie produce but the big cloud offer this house causes a feeling of depression to all who enter at the moment. There has been a serious case of the 'I can't be bothereds'.

So, yep, we have a bean glut and tonight I guess we need to do something about it. So, just in case you aren't too sure how to go about freezing yours, allow me to refresh your memory, or indeed just plain tell you.

Runners and French Beans :

Top and tail them all, then cut them lengthways so you have 2 long thin bits, then throw them into boiling water for about 2mins, not any longer. Remove from pot and lay them out to cool. Then stick them in a freezer bag.

We were very silly and didn't do this with them all last year , some were just thrown in bags and into the freezer = some de-frosted bags of very limp, slimy beans, not nice!

And while we're on the subject, here's a load of Piccalilli Andrew made with a glut of courgettes. I HATE pickley things and vinegar - yuck! But this is supposed to be gorgeous, and that isn't just Andrew saying that, other reliable sources have tasted some of his mustardy concoction.

I got him the recipe here, at www.growveg.info. As with all chutney type recipes you can change it to fit your needs.

Piccalilli

2kg./4lb. mixed veg (including cauliflower florets, chopped cucumber,pickling onions and small French beans)(I have used courgette or gherkins instead of cucumber)

25g./1oz.salt

25g./1oz flour

25g./1oz dry mustard

900ml./ 1 1/2pints malt vinegar (I use pickling vinegar if I can get it)

30ml./2 tablespoons turmeric

4 chillis, chopped (I use red for a bit of colour and heat)

50g./2oz sugar

Spread the vegetables in a large, shallow dish and sprinkle over the salt. Set aside for 24 hours, then drain off any liquid and rinse in cold running water. Set aside to dry.Mix the flour and mustard, turmeric to a paste with a little of the vinegar. Put the remaining vinegar and the remaining ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir in the vegetables and flour mixture and bring back to the boil. Simmer for 15 mins or until thick. Set aside to cool . Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Makes about 2kg./ 4lb. piccalilli

Hugs to all xx

Finally back to work

We did have that picnic yesterday at the lotties. I was lovely, not too cold and very very quiet, almost as if everyone in Carrickfergus had read the blog and decided to give me some space down there. Thanks guys, haha.

We had a giggle with Maggie and then were able to finally do some work on our plots. For the last few weeks every time we've gone down there Andrew has had to go off and have a chat with someone or a committee meeting about the Fun Day and very little has been achieved. I don't really like being out and about on my own still so when I can't see Andrew well, I'd rather hide in the shed. I am getting better though, sporadically.

So last night weeding galore was done and boy was there a lot of it, half a compost bin full! I also dead headed my flowers and got rid of some poor annuals that had flowered their socks off for me and were now knackered. Then I started what I assumed would be a nice quick job ~ harvesting all the beans. It took forever. A whole, full harvest basket of runner beans, green beans and french beans, boy are we going to have to have another massive blanching and freezing session again this weekend. It is great, don't get me wrong but why do they all have to ripen at the same time?

I also thinned out the stems and old leaves, opening up the wigwams to let in more air and light. I felt rather gardener-y.

We left as the weather started to turn a bit and were shocked to see that we'd been there over 3 hrs, it had flown in and no big panics from me ~ HOORAH! Only 1 downfall and that is the fact that the burst water pipe just above our shed STILL hasn't been fixed, the whole path is a swamp and it stinks too because the manure heap is there and manure-y juices are being washed past us - boke. No birthday party at the Lottie for me then :( It's my big 30 next week (tell anyone and I will track you down and hit you across the face with a wet lettuce leaf, I swear ~ I shall be 29 for a few more years to come thank you very much!!) and I wanted to have cake and tea at the lottie, ah well....

A24a

A14b

Here are a few overview photos, haven't taken them in a while. Everything is going really well, bar the brassicas (damn them) and we're starting to see lots more squashes coming which is such a relief, Andrew was getting pretty peeved with them.

Oh and I made my 1st ever bird box, wee little old me is getting into the wood work :) Hugs for a good weekend, may the weather be a little better x Plus I've just noticed whilst uploading photos that I have lots to talk about and loads of very pretty flower photos too, when is Garden Bloggers Bloom day again? This is my fav

a calendula growing up through the purple kale, wow! I could just go on and on writing but you'd get really bored and grow to hate me and I don't want that!

Potatoes, Beans and Peas

Oh last night was utterly stinking on the lotties - the weather has just been rotten and we're on the final countdown to the outdoor Family Fun Day; it's on Saturday! Eeek. Things have to clear up or else we need to find a 4-field sized marque. At least the roads have improved look at this >

So although working for a rather short, damp time, I managed to tie in all the billowing Raspberry canes and harvest lots of runner beans. The runners are going very well again this year despite the weather. We love these 'Enorma' ones, they live up to the name and they taste excellent. We're going to have a glut soon as this year they are all pretty much at the same growing point and the yield is high on this variety. I cut a good few which we'll eat tonight, the one on the far right is 38cm long, and that isn't the longest we've had.

Although the weather has been bad we have done well so far, bar the fact that the wind has knocked down a good few of my precious sunflowers (no photos of that, just to upsetting, it may even give you nightmares!). I've finished lifting the peas ('Greenhusrt longshaft?', 'Longshaft Greenhurst?' or something completely different; we grew 2 types and head-like-a-sieve-girl here can't remember) now and just have the remaining bagful in the fridge. We have mangetout coming now and boy are they sweet and tasty and more broad bean seedlings and borlotti beans coming along. That's just the start of it! There's also French Dwarf beans and green beans; legumes rule!

We've had some fabulous dinners too. Simple food but done right. The 'Maris Piper' bed had to lifted due to blight starting to get into the tubers, so we'd had lots of lovely spuds. Plus we've also been slowly chomping at the 'Maris Peers' and have some 'Duke of York' for tonight. I took this potato/tomato picture last week, growing on one of the Maris Peer plants. Of course I knew these things existed but I'd never seen it before - nature is marvelous.

So here's a little taster of what we've been eating. A simple dinner, yes but as I said, done right. These are little individual layered pies with our own courgettes (doing very well this year, growing in an old chicken manure pellet bucket!) sliced and seasoned with herbs and white wine vinegar on the bottom, and mixture of thoroughly roughed up boiled potatoes and peas (our own again) and a little cheese sprinkled on top before a light grilling. So good! On my goodness. Andrew (as usual) finished before me and then proceeded to stare at my bowl until I'd finished. Like Maggie I think he was hoping for a little leftovers ~ no such luck!

A 'harvest hat' for a change, I forgot my basket

So, yes, once the raspberry canes were dealt with and the runner beans harvested and photos taken I had to run back to the car. Taking my Strawberry and Mango fruit tea with me. I sat there whilst Andrew had some committee stuff to attend to. It was cold and raining and blowy - this is August. Look at it!! And it just got worse!

31st September (I make the rules here)

I was very brave and a little while ago, I gave in and relented to the fact that it is... October. I turned the page on the calendar before my nerves give way and just felt thankful that it wasn't November, not yet. This year seems to be going in way too fast and soon it will be winter and generally that does not cheer me in any way.

Thanks go out to Paul and Caro for arranging to have their wedding this month and thus a trip to Belgium is on the cards in less than a fortnight.

Even so, while I can, I would like to talk about September for a little longer.

We visited the lottie last night, for food for dinner, last nights dinner and tonight. I forgot to even look at the caterpillar chrysalis, so 'Chrysalis Watch' has gotten off to a terrible start, sorry.

We had a good harvest look. Yes, spinach, carrots, potatoes and 2 new additions to the repertoire - Scallions and Chillies (Hungarian Hot Wax). I had the spinach for my lunch there and it tasted great, with the usual addition of prunes, yummy. The Chillies were used last night in a Veggie Curry (made by Andrew), they weren't hot but they are only just turning yellow/orange but they did taste nice. The plant looks very healthy and there are, goodness, around 20+ on it growing away merrily under their own little greenhouse. The Jalapeno also has lots of flowers and a couple of baby chillies.

The Scallions are for this evening, Champ with Pork and Apple Sausages. Mamma G is coming over for dinner, and that reminds me - must tidy up a bit!! I think this is the 1st time we've had anyone over to share in a Lottie meal with us. We generally just give produce away, like these Radishes last night, which went to the afore mentioned Mamma; a good home for a radish to go and fulfil it's destiny. A couple were split a little and one of them was purple, it always was since it was a baby - odd, maybe just a different variety in the packet of seeds, even it's foliage was richer in colour.

Now I have a lesson to share with you, about Runner Beans and what not to do with them. Take note, if you ever grow these fine and tasty beans, never ever put them in the freezer without blanching them first. They will turn to floppy, squishy messes that even their own Mother would despair over. Blanching is the key, I hope anyway cos that's what we have done with the rest. Hopefully they will be better and can be cooked just from frozen.

Here are the floppy beans (sad) and here are the last batch of lottie runner beans, blanched and ready to go into the freezer.

Well, the sun is out, though it is very cold. I really ought to take Maggie for a quick walk before all the noisy kids get released from their schools and explode onto the streets. Haha, it's just started to absoultely pour down, no going out for us - Maggie HATES rain. It's so changable.

September's nearly over!

I had Andrew all to myself on Sunday, which was lovely. We took a picnic to the Lottie but the weather was so nice we decided to go for a drive up the Antrim Coast, find a beach and run about on it with Maggie - it could be the last time we get a day like that this year. Don't worry, the allotment was still on our minds and we listened to Gardeners' Question Time on the way up (how embarrassing), there was a special on about contaminated manure. Funny thing is, as soon as we arrived at Waterfoot beach it began to pour! We ran up and down the beach in the rain, laughing and got back to the car soaked. Then, in the car again, the rain stopped, couldn't believe it.

Anyway, we had to go back to the Allotment before dinner time - the Runner Beans had to go, it had been bothering me. Over the past week or so they haven't been producing good quality beans at all, they've been distorted and twisted etc, the plants had obviously come to the end of their wee lives.

I got the honours and took to them with the scissors.

So all we have left in there are the roots of the bean plants (nitrogen fixers) and our very healthy but as yet barren, strawberry plants. I think, but to be honest I'm not sure, that next time it will be brassicas in this bed, again I'll be corrected if wrong. In the other bed you can see in these photos is one of the old potato beds, we have green manure growing in there, doing very well, if only all crops would grow as readily.

Sad thing about working on the lottie yesterday was I got no pleasure from it at all. Even though I had been looking forward to getting down there, especially with a job to do. After cutting down the beans and bagging up the stems etc, we just went home - I was too sick. Very weepy and when one of our lesser known neighbours came over to chat, I felt nervous and sick too. A good sleep helped though, curled up on the sofa with my blanket and then an Andrew-made dinner.

It's funny (not in a haha way of course) when that happens - when I feel worse for being out, even somewhere I love. It was quite dull then, I suppose and the week had been weighing on me so that didn't help, but I usually get a boost there. Odd.

I'm changing my profile picture to a portrait of me on the shed step, when I was feeling a bit better (Sunday Lunchtime). Here's a self portrait of me and Maggie taken on the lottie shed step too. Doesn't she look fine?! She knows how to work the camera.