I know I've missed a few of these but rather than try to work out which week this would be had I have posted every week ... it just seemed easier to carry on where I left off ... so this is #8.
1. Plant Something: DH was v. busy on sunday & planted: 2 rasperries, 1 blackberry, a damson tree, 25 strawberry plants, 3 Goji Berries, 3 Tayberries, 1 gooseberry bush.
2. Harvest Something: Fairly successful on this front ... we had a bunch of veg that needed to come out before the frosts get any worse.
3.75lbs Turnips (Value £2.85)
1.5lbs Radishes (Value £2.75)
2lbs Beetroot (Value £3.75)
Total value this week: £9.35
3. Preserve something: still nothing here ... next year, I promise it will be different!
4. Prep Something (clean, mend, declutter, organise, learn new skills - be ready for what might come): Ongoing decluttering still in progress. I've joined MISI (like Etsy but in the UK) & set up a store there selling the remaining craft supplies from my old craft store (now closed down) but planning to focus on selling handmade ... so I guess I'm gonna be learning a lot of new skills v. soon. I'm also returning to my roots in party plan - that is more a case of re-learning old skills tho'
5. Cook Something (experiment for variation!) tried a 3 bean cassoulet, partly to use up the vast amounts of turnips!
6. Manage Reserves (don't waste bounty). Not much going on here... maybe we just don't waste much in the first place. I've spent a few evenings at the hospital visiting my stepfather & tend to be sooooo hungry that I can't wait the 20 minutes to boil pasta or whatever. DH had prepared me a veggie sausage pasta sauce one night & I added that to some leftover rice to make a rather tasty 'cheat's risotto' - v. yummy!!
7. Work on local food systems (buy local, promote green, give away seeds or plants, start local initiatives): Nothing actually happening here but I have a few plans. Dad gave me a link to a UK forum, which I will register for soon. I also have just found out about the Dartford Freecycle group (I though it was only in the US) & still need to look into the goodies offered by the River Cottage website ... although that is mostly indirectly local, I also want to try & start a local composting initiative ... just with the neighbours. I need more veg waste for my compost (we couldn't possibly make enough by ourselves) & as I share veg etc anyway, I hope they'll be keen to help.
8. Reduce Waste: Nothing new, just the ongoing re-purposing of glass jars, beer & other glass bottles, toilet roll tubes, bread bags, cardboard boxes & veg/meat trays continues ... as does my campaign against carrier bags! I found a rather interesting book online, all about 'precycling': making the things you would buy ... like shampoo & deodorant, so that you don't buy the packaging in the first place ... will update on that when I have it!
Christmas Countdown Clock
Thursday 18 December 2008
Sunday 14 December 2008
I'm back!!
not too much been going on from the gardening front until this weekend ... we had major harvesting/planting to do!
Today, DH planted most of the stuff that was delivered on Friday (almost an entire month late!!): Tayberries (3); Goji Berries (3); strawberry plants (25); a damson tree; & then there was the gooseberry bush, 2 rasperry canes & the blackberry cane that have been waiting to be planted since late September. Bad us!! We did have some of those 'stick' apple trees a few years ago ... they got so choked by weeds that they never really established & we got rid when we dug the back garden up. Apparently, we missed a root & when DH was digging it over today, he found 2 new shoots ... healthy & about 4" tall growing on a huge root that he dug up. So we are going to try re-potting & see if we can grow them. Nothing to lose I guess!
We still have 9 rhubarb crowns, 2 apple trees, a pear tree & 3 hazelnut bushes to plant ... just as soon as I decide where they are to go! The plan is to put them in the back garden & then throw some grass seed down in the spring ... in the 'mini orchard' we are creating, we want to try keep a few chickens later next year - still just a thought right now ... need to take a proper look at it before we go ahead! But it is looking good for bumper fruit crops next year ... yummy! The hazelnut bushes won't fruit for 2 years but everything else should be OK for next year!!
In with the delivery were some freebies: 25 Spring Green Tulips, 6 Scabiosa Perfecta (have no idea what they are ... other than a flower, of course) & an extra surprise Christmas gift of 20 mixed daffodil & narcissi bulbs. The plan is to grow them in little pots, which will be prettied up as mother's day/easter gifts next spring ... might even sell a few at local craft fairs if I'm lucky.
Anyway, we harvested most of our remaining crops today too ... we have just started to get a few hard frosts: 3.75 lbs Turnips; 2lbs beetroot & 1.5lbs of mild radish roots. the radishes came from the mixed salad, which had gone to seed & been a li'l bit slug/frost damaged. When DH dug them up, he discovered these large radish-type roots, ate one & decided they are edible. LOL. So we also added a huge amount of green stuff to the compost today too!
Update on the allotment: DH spent a lot of time down there last month ... just rotavating the ground. It has been done 3-4 times now & is ready to plant out in spring! Woo-hoo!! No piccies today ... hope to have something for you soon!
Today, DH planted most of the stuff that was delivered on Friday (almost an entire month late!!): Tayberries (3); Goji Berries (3); strawberry plants (25); a damson tree; & then there was the gooseberry bush, 2 rasperry canes & the blackberry cane that have been waiting to be planted since late September. Bad us!! We did have some of those 'stick' apple trees a few years ago ... they got so choked by weeds that they never really established & we got rid when we dug the back garden up. Apparently, we missed a root & when DH was digging it over today, he found 2 new shoots ... healthy & about 4" tall growing on a huge root that he dug up. So we are going to try re-potting & see if we can grow them. Nothing to lose I guess!
We still have 9 rhubarb crowns, 2 apple trees, a pear tree & 3 hazelnut bushes to plant ... just as soon as I decide where they are to go! The plan is to put them in the back garden & then throw some grass seed down in the spring ... in the 'mini orchard' we are creating, we want to try keep a few chickens later next year - still just a thought right now ... need to take a proper look at it before we go ahead! But it is looking good for bumper fruit crops next year ... yummy! The hazelnut bushes won't fruit for 2 years but everything else should be OK for next year!!
In with the delivery were some freebies: 25 Spring Green Tulips, 6 Scabiosa Perfecta (have no idea what they are ... other than a flower, of course) & an extra surprise Christmas gift of 20 mixed daffodil & narcissi bulbs. The plan is to grow them in little pots, which will be prettied up as mother's day/easter gifts next spring ... might even sell a few at local craft fairs if I'm lucky.
Anyway, we harvested most of our remaining crops today too ... we have just started to get a few hard frosts: 3.75 lbs Turnips; 2lbs beetroot & 1.5lbs of mild radish roots. the radishes came from the mixed salad, which had gone to seed & been a li'l bit slug/frost damaged. When DH dug them up, he discovered these large radish-type roots, ate one & decided they are edible. LOL. So we also added a huge amount of green stuff to the compost today too!
Update on the allotment: DH spent a lot of time down there last month ... just rotavating the ground. It has been done 3-4 times now & is ready to plant out in spring! Woo-hoo!! No piccies today ... hope to have something for you soon!
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