Gardening



A garden is not a garden without a sunflower. Allison had a hard time taking these photos of our Sunflower. She got pollen in her eyes.


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We are still working on it...
Parsley, Fennel, Lavender, Horse Radish, Thyme:

We decided to plant potatoes here because this is the first crop on this land in decades.  Potatoes loosen the ground for future crops.  We love potatoes!



In April we created fertilized mounds into rows running north to south.   Furrows were then opened in each mound.  This allowed for earthing up as  the plants grew.  The potatoes (spuds) were planted about 12 inches  apart and covered at a depth of about 6-8 inches.






I'll post another update when we harvest!



Here is another angle of our potato patch.  There are so many varities of potatoes.  We planted Rooster and King Edward.  Here are a few pictures of their blooms.











WIKI:  Rooster is a red-skinned cultivar  of potato, duller in colour than the Désirée, with floury yellow flesh. It was originally bred at the Teagasc Oak Park Research Centre in Carlow, Ireland[1].It has become Ireland's number one variety of potato; in 2002, it accounted for 33% of Irish potato production [2].  In the UK, it is currently grown and packed by Albert Bartlett & Sons Ltd [1], a vegetable packing company. They own exclusive rights to the potato

the UK and supply it packed to the UK's major supermarkets.

The distributor recommends that the Rooster is extremely versatile, and can be used for chipping, mashing, boiling, baking, and roasting.

WIKI:  King Edward potatoes, like the majority of European and North American potato  varieties, are derivatives of the 'Rough Purple Chili'[1]  which was used as breeding stock after the 1840s Irish potato famine.[2]  The King Edward potato is one of the oldest of these varieties.























Sow in fresh tilled mound
Their crown, just above ground
Resist the miser
Add some fertilizer
Water time to time
Bark mulch or straw as prime
Even net o'er head
Ripe and red, cook spread
Really sweet on my bread
You should grow some!
by Patricia Halliday


These strawberries are three years old.  We had so much fruit.  We ate, baked, froze, cooked... I made a video.






A website all about strawberries is here: Strawberry Plants.




Recipe:

Serves:  makes 4-6 jars


Cooking and preparation


  • Preparations  time: Overnight
  • Cooking time: one hour

Ingredients


  • 1kg /2lb 3oz  strawberries
  • 1kg/2lb 3oz granulated sugar or caster sugar
  • ½ lemon, juice only
  • small knob of butter

  • You'll need 4-6 jam jars, depending on their size 

 Directions:
1. The day before you wish to make the jam, hull and halve the   strawberries. Check for soft spots (which must be removed) and discard   any berries with bruises or that are overripe.
2. Place the  strawberries into a large bowl with 500g/18oz of the  sugar. Turn  carefully to mix and coat well, then cover with cling film  and place  into the fridge overnight.
3. The next day, place a saucer into  the freezer to chill - you'll need  this when you come to test the  setting point of the jam.
4. Sterilise the jam jars - first wash  the jars in soapy water and  rinse in clean warm water. Allow them to  drip-dry, upside down, on a  rack in the oven set to 140C/275F/Gas 1.  Leave them there for at least  half an hour while you make the jam.
5.  Pour the strawberries, their juice and any residual sugary juices  into a  very large pan or preserving pan, remembering that the mixture  will  rise as it boils, and add the remaining 500g/18oz sugar and the  lemon  juice.
6. Stir over a gentle heat until the sugar has completely  dissolved.
7. Bring the strawberries up to the boil then boil hard  until the jam  reaches setting point. Check the setting point every ten  minutes,  although it may take up to half an hour to reach setting point.
8.  To test the setting point, remove the pan from the heat. Take your   saucer from the freezer and place a drop of jam onto the cold plate.   After a few seconds push the jam with your finger.
9. If the jam  surface wrinkles then it has reached setting point and is  ready. If it  slides about as a liquid, then it hasn't reached setting  point and  should be returned to the heat and boiled for a few more  minutes before  testing again.
10. When setting point has been reached, turn off  the heat. Stir in the  butter and skim off any scum on the surface of the  jam with a large  spoon.
11. Let the jam cool and thicken in the  pan for ten minutes, so that  the strawberries don't all sink to the  bottom in the jam jars.
12. Carefully remove the sterilised jars  from the oven with oven gloves  - try to avoid touching the insides of  the jars with the oven gloves,  which might introduce unwelcome bacteria.
13.  Stir the jam, then ladle it into the sterilised jars. Use a jam  funnel,  if you have one, to avoid spilling too much jam.
14. Cover the  top surface of the jam in each jar with waxed paper discs  that have been  cut to size - they should cover the entire surface of  the jam. Press  the wax disc down to create a complete seal.
15. Cover with a lid  while still hot, label and store in a cool, dark  cupboard for up to a  year.


No sugar jam:

2 1/2      pints 

Ingredients:

Directions
Combine 4 cups fruit  and pectin in a heavy  saucepan.
Bring to a full rolling boil over medium   heat, stirring constantly. 

Cook for one minute.
Add the  honey and lemon juice.
Return to a rolling boil and cook for 5   minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and skin off  the foam.
Ladle into sterilized jars, seal and process   in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.     

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Fruit-n-Honey-Jam-49267 


Click here:  methods  and directions to store preserving your strawberries
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