Pea shoots

As well as the viability of the bean seeds in the Reading Food Growing Network's seed swap boxes I have been testing the pea seeds as well. Rather than throw away the germinated pea seeds - it's too cold to plant them outside at the moment - I have been putting them in pots on the window sill to grow pea shoots for food.

They are very easy and quick to grow and we've already had our first "crop". Further details on how to grow them together with a video are at How to grow pea shoots.

Our first cut yielded just 96g (3.4 oz) but enough to add to lunch as a green salad. They can be added to stir fry dishes, eaten raw, used in sandwiches instead of lettuce or cress, and included in risottos. We'll see how many cuts we get from each pot but it seems that most people manage to do two or three before the shoots become too stringy and lose taste.





So our lunch consisted of vegetable biryani (parsnip, squash. swiss chard, onion, garlic), dhal, homemade yogurt with spring onions and garlic, and pea shoots.

Checking our preserves reserves

As part of the early spring cleaning in the kitchen I usually check what chutneys and preserves we have in the cupboard. It gives me a chance to see what we have left and to move older jars to the front of the shelves for immediate consumption. This year we are doing rather well, although we are getting through the four fruit marmalade I made from oranges, lemon, lime and grapefruit in January this year. 

From 2015 we still have: 

• Tomato and red pepper relish
• Spiced tomato relish
• Spiced marrow/courgette and bean chutney
• Glutney chutney (based on a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe)
• Piccalilli (Waitrose recipe http://www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/p/piccalilli.html)
• Piccalilli (Hairy Bikers recipe http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/hot_mustard_pickle_87973)

From 2014 I discovered lurking at the back of the cupboard:

• Rowan, rose hip, hawthorn and apple jelly 
• Spiced blackberry and apple jam
• Spiced damson chutney - 2014 was a bumper year for damsons, which was just as well as 2015 was rather disappointing. 

Supplies should last until production starts again later this year! 

My Babington's leeks are very determined perennials

Earlier this week I checked the clumps of Babington's leeks that are dotted around the garden. This is their second year so I was hoping that some might be ready for eating. When I planted them out I wasn't sure how many would grow to maturity and I didn't leave that much space between them. They've all done very well and as a result are suffering a bit from overcrowding. No problem, I thought, just pull a few of them up. I thought they would come out easily, like garlic. Far from it.

Although I had originally planted them about an inch and a half below ground, I didn't realise that they have what are called contractile roots that enable them to bury themselves deeper into the earth. I pulled some of the stems expecting to extract the whole plant but the stems snapped off leaving the bulbs about 6 inches down. To get the whole thing out I had to remove all of the soil above and around the bulb. Even then they did not want to come out. I suspect they are going to be a bit like horseradish; once they are established you can't get rid of them.

I managed to harvest enough plants to yield about 200g of edible leaves, stems and bulbs. They are delicious chopped and stir fried, and taste like garlicky leeks. A worthwhile addition to the garden but, if you are going to try them yourself, be careful where you plant them. They will strongly resist attempts to move them if you later decide they are in the wrong place!

Bean experiment

Yes, I know, it is way too early to start growing beans in the UK. I have been testing the viability of seeds in the Reading Food Growing Network's seed swap boxes. It seemed such a shame to waste the bean seeds that germinated so I decided to "pot" them up. And, yes, those are toilet roll cardboard inners. 

I'm not sure where this experiment is going but the main problem that I can see is one of pollination - if I manage to keep them growing indoors. Planting them outside is a non-starter for a few months.

I'll post updates on the progress or failure/death of the experiment!

Update August 2016: Although they started off well and growth was steady, when it came to setting "fruit" the experiment was a disaster. They plants were potted on and kept indoors so there were no insects to pollinate them and my attempts to mimic the process using a tiny paintbrush were a total failure.  

Lunch: an eclectic mix of flavours and ingredients

Today's lunch - usually our main meal when we are working at home - was an interesting mix of flavours and ingredients. Some came straight from the garden, some were dried or preserved garden produce and some shop bought.

So, starting at the top of the plate and moving clockwise, here is what we had.

Injera style sourdough flat breads (rye and spelt flour)

Red cabbage (bought at the local farmers' market) with fennel seeds (garden)

Various beans (some garden) with homemade tomato sauce (made a couple of months ago from garden tomatoes), onions (garden), garlic (garden), dried herbs (garden).

Green and puy lentils, swiss chard (garden), shallots (garden), garlic (garden), ginger and spiced with garam masala.

Home made, oven baked onion bhajis (onions from the garden).

Raita made with home-made yoghurt but shop bought, out of season cucumber [Gasp,  shock, horror!]

Sprinkling of coriander leaves (pot on window sill)

Good crop of hairy bittercress in the garden

With the weather having been so mild this December we have an abundant crop of hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) in the garden.

As well as providing ground cover this member of the mustard family is also edible and has a peppery taste. Add it to soups, salad, pesto, salsa and use instead of cress in sandwiches.



Further information on this wonderful "weed" at

Forage Wild edibles- Hairy Bittercress Food foraging guide

Hunter-Gathering: wild & fresh food - Hairy Bittercress Pesto

Hairy Bittercress, Cardamine hirsuta

All change as another tree comes down

For most of the 30 plus years we have been in this house we have had trees surrounding the back garden. When we moved in there were four sapling sycamores lining the footpath that runs along the back of the gardens in our terrace. Two of those were directly behind our boundary fence. As they grew they provided some welcome shade in hot summers and their autumn leaves helped add nutrients to our soil. Rather than gather up the fallen leaves and compost them we would leave them in situ, only moving those that were in danger of smothering the vegetables. By January/February they had usually rotted away.

Sycamore tree roots

As the trees grew the council would come and prune them every year and we were able to manage the branches that overhung our garden. About 10 years ago, the council stopped pruning and the trees began to get out of hand. Just over a year ago it was obvious that they were causing serious damage: the trunks were breaking through fences, the roots were damaging paths and the road, and on our side their extensive root system (see the photo on the left) was a barrier to planting anything in the rear third of the garden. Also, the heavy shade when the trees were in leaf meant that it took a long time for the soil in half of the garden to warm up in spring.

Eventually, the council chopped down all four trees. Although welcomed in some respects, we realised that the environment in our garden was going to alter significantly; we spent much of last season trying to get a feel of how the light and temperature had changed and the effect this would have on our vegetable plot. We have already planted two trees - a damson and a cherry plum - but there is another spot that could benefit from the shade of a third fruit tree. The place was soon identified simply by standing in the garden for a short time in the midday sun and getting well and truly sun burnt! (We have not yet decided on which fruit tree to plant). As for planting crops at the back of the garden we have been using grow bags, partly because of the remaining tree roots that are close to the surface but also so that we could move the bags if we got the location wrong and the conditions weren't ideal.

That was the situation until a few days ago. Now, another tree has gone and this is a massive one. It is, or rather was, a sycamore at least 75ft high and in a garden a few doors down from us. The garden belongs to a cottage that has not been lived in for a couple of years but now it is up for sale. There is a possibility that the land might be sold to developers although, as we are on a flood plain, a successful planning application is far from guaranteed. Anyway, we assume that in order to make this desirable plot even more attractive the tree surgeons moved in and the tree is now gone.

Removal of the sycamore begins

Tree surgeon at work

Almost gone

Gone

It is sad to see such a magnificent tree go, although I suspect that the people living either side of the property are probably delighted. It did cast heavy shade over their gardens and houses. We shall miss it, and in particular we shall miss watching and listening to the myriad birds that used it. And, again, the environment in our garden is bound to change. But time to move on, and think of possibly planting some extra trees in our garden to compensate. Our neighbours can be reassured, though, that these will be of a more modest size.