From the category archives:

Growing food

Digging our first parsnips

January 19, 2010
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We were worried that the melting snow – and the rain the followed – would have ruined our parsnip crop, but after digging up the first four specimens we’re pleasantly surprised.

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The potatoes have survived the snow!

January 18, 2010
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Our home-grown potatoes have surprised us – in a good way. After all the snow and ice they still looked good to eat when we turned out the latest bag.

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Caring for the raspberries

December 31, 2009
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Our raspberry plants have been in need of attention for a few weeks, so we headed out with the secateurs to prune them, and with three brand new canes to replace some of the weaker plants that hadn’t taken last summer.

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Red chillies

October 28, 2009
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My knowledge of chillies is patchy at best. I grow them every year and scatter them on pizzas or in my spicy tomato soup, and lately we’ve started making our own chilli at home, but I’ve never been certain what colour is best.
We pick them when they’re green because that’s generally when we need them, [...]

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The last tomatoes and raspberries

October 26, 2009
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Autumn is certainly here, going on the colour of the trees, so it’s time to start picking the last of our crops before it gets properly cold. Not that there’s an awful lot left.
We do still have some tomatoes (below), but only really enough for a couple of topped bruchetta as a starter tonight and, [...]

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The cheat’s way to grow your own

October 13, 2009
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2009 was a patchy year on the plot. The beans and onions went wild, but the tomatoes were slow to ripen and the carrots were a wash-out. We’ve been through a few years now of growing our own, though, so we expect some annual variation, but for anyone just starting out, it could be enough [...]

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The tomatoes are ripening

September 23, 2009

And about time, too. It looks like the harsh trimming I gave the tomato plants is finally paying off. Their fruits, which have stayed stubbornly green through the whole of the summer are finally turning, and not before time.

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Pickled onions

September 16, 2009

Pickled onionsWe pickled enough onions to fill two jars in the end. That was the good bit. What wasn’t quite so good was the fact that one of the jars leaked, so it wasn’t airtight.

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Helping the tomatoes to ripen

September 11, 2009

Messy greenhouseIt’s late in the season, but we still have plenty of green tomatoes. In an effort to get them to ripen, we have trimmed back the foliage on our vines.

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Planting cauliflower and cabbage

September 10, 2009

Inside a small polytunnelFor the first time ever we are going to try out hand at growing crops over the winter. To this end, we’ve planted cauliflower and cabbage seeds.

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