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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

HOW TO GROW ONIONS


Type: Seeds and Bulbs

Sow Time:
Seeds: January under glass, Late Summer outside. Bulbs: March and then August for over wintering varieties.

Position: Open sunny site but will tolerate shade, not in the same place as before.
Preparation:  Well broken up soil, feed 2:1 Potash: Nitrogen to the soil a week before planting
Soil: Well-drained, reasonably fertile but not freshly manured.
Ph: More than 6.5
Frost Tolerant: Some winter varieties, cover spring varieties with fleece if weather cools.
Annual/ Perennial/ Biennial: Biennial
Spacing: Seeds: Sow thinly 1cm depth, 10 inch rows, thin to 2-4 inches.
Bulbs: 10 cm apart, noses poking out, 10 inch rows

Sowing And Planting:

January: sow seeds in trays in doors at 16 0C.  Germination is slow.  When big enough space out 2 inches apart, harden off gradually plant out shallowly and water in generously.

March: Make a drill of fine tilth and sow seeds but do not thin until April then top dress feed with nitrogen.

March and August: Plant the bulbs into the ground with the noses poking half out and gently firm around the plant to prevent air pockets.

Companions: Carrots - Alliums inter planted with carrots confuse onion and carrot flies

Feeding:
Give an occasional feed with a general liquid fertilizer and a light feed of sulfate of potash in June will help ripen the bulbs ready for storage.

Watering: 
Only water if the seasons is dry and stop watering after the onions have swollen.  Mulching helps maintain moisture and deters weeds.

Pest Control:
Onion Fly results in yellow droopy leaves and can be prevented by not planting in freshly manured soil and burning any affected crop.   Most fungal diseases can be prevented by keeping the leaves dry and the soil well drained.  Use chamomile and milk spray as a fungicide. Cut the tops off when they are almost dried out.
Harvesting:
Onions are ready for harvest when the leaves turn yellow and flop down to one side, allow for maximum sunlight preparation by pushing the leaves aside and removing any mulch.  Gently lift the roots with a fork and harvest 2 weeks later ensuring the bulbs don't get wet.  Dry them out in a warm place.

Storage:
 Turning the bulbs whilst they are drying help prevent disease they may take up to 4 weeks to dry.

Seed Saving:
Leave an onion or 2 in the ground until it flowers, it may take a long time, let the flower start to dry out, cut it off then allow it dry right out before shaking out the seed

RICH KALE AND SQUASH SOUP


Whilst neither squash nor kale look anything special they both store well, kale where it grows and squash on the plant or in a cool dry place.  Both can be grown easily by the beginner gardener with the minimum of reading.  I like my recipes to be versatile, rich in flavor, nutritious and as cheap as possible.
This recipe is a firm favorite of the hubby and my twins who often cry for seconds.

There are no precise quantities as you can use your judgement and taste as well as how much you actually have, and change the recipe slightly to meet your needs.

Serves 4
1 tbs oil (or spray pot with low calorie cooking spray)

1 large onion, peeled and sliced


1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed


1 medium sweet potato  (or turnip)


2 vegetable stock cubes


750ml water


1 medium courgette


several handfuls of kale


Squash of your choice


Seasoning


If you fancy a meat version Lamb goes really nice with this recipe.

Chop all the ingredients, put them together in the pan , add a lid and cook on medium heat untill all the contents have broken down into a soupy mixture.  A hand processor can be used to blend the ingredients down into smaller pieces once the soup has cooled.

Cost to Make 

(excluding oil and seasoning)
£1.28 for the sweet potato (as i cant seem to grow them) and
less than 78p for the stock cubes


I often search the meat counter for discounted meat to add to my soups and take home "eat today" meat that can be frozen to preserve its shelf life.

Most of the time i already have a supply of stock cubes, oil, herbs and spices as these staples tend to last a long time before you need to buy them again and can make a huge difference in the quality and taste of everyday dishes.







Monday, July 29, 2013

So you have an Allotment Now what?

 Check it out, hopefully you wont have to remove any rubbish and it will be well cultivated and if your lucky it may already have a shed and a greenhouse, but we will start from ground zero just in case.


  1. Remove anything that should not be there, by rights the council you rent it from or the previous tenant should have done this but by the time you get something done about it you could have done it yourself and already be well on your way to getting it looking good and being functional.
  2. If your plot has not been well cultivated it may be over run with weeds.  We may like to thin we would spend hours pulling them up but the quickest easiest way is to blast it with weed killer and cover it up with some old carpet, taking care not to get too close to your neighbours plot, to follow the directions on the packet to the letter especially with regards to safety and to dig up or steer well clear of anything you want left well alone.  This could take up to three weeks or longer depending on how stubborn your weeds are.  
  3. Whilst you are waiting for the effects of Weedol or whatever to kick in you can go about planning the layout of your plot.  Do you want a greenhouse or a poly tunnel, can you afford to buy right out or should you start trawling the net for a second hand one or start plans on building with recycled materials.  You need to think upon the same lines for your shed.  Will you be wanting a fruit cage?  How much of the plot is allowed to be under cover according to the rules?  Does the wind effect your plot much and if so where would be the best place to situate your buildings.  Having a chat with the other allotee's can give you a good idea of what to expect.  Security is another good topic to discuss before you go buying anything expensive.
  4. Get your buildings erected if you decide to have them.  It would be ideal if you manage to get your allotment lease in the August (if you are in UK) so you can see what others manage to grow and you have plenty of time to get your plot into some sort of functional state.  You should not be charged any rent until the new growing season begins.
  5. Work out how many beds you can fit and what size, consider where to put functional paths and do not make them too big (no more than 18 inch, unless you have a disability or use a wheelchair and need a wider path) as you dont want to waste valuable growing space.  Mark the beds out  and decide whether you want them raised or not and if you would like to mark them off with a wooden border.  Raised beds can be easier to work and deter certain pests.  If you decide to have wooden borders it keeps the bed neat and if painted with creosote can deter slugs.
  6. Find out what ground you have.  You need to know soil type and whether it is deficient in Nitrogen, Phosphorus, or Potassium, if it drains well or not and if it is vulnerable to certain pests and diseases.  Your fellow allotee's can be a great help in acquiring this information but you may also need to buy a soil tester.  Providing you keep your plot well cultivated and practice crop rotation you will not have to do this again.  You will have to do some research yourself but there are plenty of articles on the web describing soil types and how to improve them.
  7. Fertilize the whole plot with copious amounts of manure and then (if your up to it) dig it in, use a rotavator (either rented bought or on site use) or apply a no dig method.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-dig_gardening.  Keep working at it untill your soil is nice and crumbly and then it can be maintained with a once over twicw a year.  All this is weather permitting of course and if it seems a bit much you might want to take on a partner to share the work and harvest with.  Bare in mind once the donkey work is done the whole plot can be maintained with moderate to little  effort.
  8. THE EXCITING BIT!  Decide what you want to grow and track down the seeds for the best price.  Buy a good book so you know the basics.  The more you know about basic principals of growing food the more likely you are to get a good harvest.  There is nothing more down heartening then excitedly chucking in a load of seeds and then little by little (or very quickly in some cases) losing it all to very basic mistakes.  You don't have to start off with everything.  Pick a few varieties and add to them once you have got your bearings.  I personally started off with low maintenance quick growing things like peas, lettuce and radishes and progressed to tomatoes, potatoes and beans.  I buy heirloom open pollinated seeds now.  I choose unusual varieties that grow well in short dull summers but are prolific and tasty.  You can find seeds like these at http://www.realseeds.co.uk/.
  9. Take your time, get to know your plot and how to look after it and most importantly enjoy it.  There are many benefits to having an allotment, it provides a focus, exercise, healthy food, socializing opportunities and a sense of pride and achievement.  

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Electric Daisy Tincture


I was especially pleased with the quality and quantity of my electric daisies.  Considering the slow growth due to my gardening mistakes, the slapdash way they were re-potted and planted they have bounced back with one hell of a kick.  They now completely smother a 8 x 3 ft bed and sport an abundance of yellow button heads.  I sowed these on the recommendation of James Wong's book.  
I did make the awful mistake of when first trying them placing a whole one in my mouth and chomping down.  It was like being kicked in the mouth by a lemon flavored battery, I coughed, spluttered and could not stop the saliva oozing out of my mouth.  The right way to eat electric daisies is to gently scrape the flower a tiny teeny bit at a time with your teeth, or put it in something else.
Electric daisies when used correctly taste like citrus and give the same in the mouth feeling of putting your tongue on a small battery.  They are also very efficient at deadening a sore throat.  There are 2 ways to do this.  

 Crumble up a flower into tiny pieces and put it in hot water or squash, or  make a tincture.

How to Make an Electric Daisy Tincture

  1. Chop the electric daisies up very small with a knife
  2. Put the results on kitchen paper to dry
  3. Place in a few inches of hot water and leave to steep for a day or so, the longer you leave it but not for more than 3 days.
  4. Sieve into a small bottle or container, you can use the remains of the steep in tea if you wish.
  5. Add 2 Tbs of honey
  6. Add 1 Tbs of whiskey
  7. Stir
Keep in the fridge and take a tsp when needed.