Erstwhile 70 year old father-in-law, who, along with 'er 'indoors have repaired two twenty foot lengths of fence over the last couple of months.
Bear, and he, forgot to tell me that he hates trees. Bushes. Plants. Compost bins. Despite being brought up in the countryside pre-and-post war, with a dad who's garden was effectively an allotment. He was brought up 'grow your own'. Nowadays, he's a concrete and lawn man. Anything else gets in the way.
I managed to rescue my trees. Albeit, much reduced. Two years worth of compost is now burying my onions, shallots, garlic, cabbage, romensco broccoli, potatoes, carrots and lots of herbs to a depth of 3 feet. It was hard enough trenching those, how the heck I'm going to rediscover my lost treasures, I dunno.
The race is going to be on to plant ABOVE them, in the rich compost, in August, to plant for winter veg. Maybe, just maybe, there's some shove in and go.
The herbs - well, I have lots windowsills, and lots of rich compost, so they can be resown. Lavender and Sage were in large pots - besides, their pretty indestructible, so their ok.
I'd welcome any idea's.
~~~~~
Luckily, I've a fair knowledge of hedgerow foods. It does take a while to get the hang of it, and it's real money saver. I would always recommend a good book, but they vary so much I wouldn't recommend any in particular. However, I have a particular fascination with Elizabethan through to Victorian (and earlier) illustrated foodstuffs books.
The trick is, from whatever era, to look for large, well detailed illustrations of plants, preferably with recipes. Watch it with fungi. I cheat. I ignore them :)
But there's always the common stuff. My next door neighbour has a blackberry bush which she considers a weed - it gets everywhere. Which is good for me, because it pokes through my front fence.
So I grabbed the ends of the branches, and buried them in my lawn. Because of the way they propagate, they've sprung up there. Good crop this year. I've got three litres of jam so far, and some delicious sauces for pork and chicken.
Lavender, that I've already mentioned. Tucked under my daughters pillow, and in her bedroom drawers, it smells nice, and helps her sleep. It's also a good substitute/addition to sage in soups, stews and pickles. I've no need to tell you how passionate I am about pickles :) Sage and Lavender are related, and cooked, taste much the same. The trick is not too much.
Hawthorne. Were you ever told as kid that Hawthorne is poisonous? The berries aren't, and neither are the leaves. The leaves can be used in salads, and were (if you're into that sort of thing) used as a tobacco substitute. As with most plants, for the best taste, young leaves.
If you remember Rosehip Syrup as a child, you'll remember it was good to sooth a sore throat. If you have enough roses to make it, and it does take a lot - then simply de-stone them, boil them briefly with a little sugar until thick, shove the lot through a fine sieve and bottle.
The same trick applies to Hawthorne Berries. Don't confuse them with Blackthorne. They're poisonous. Hawthorne berries are bright red, in clusters, and darn fiddly. They have a big, and bitter 'stone' in the middle. The trick is to get as many as you can, and force them through your fingers raw, until all the flesh is removed. Don't cook them first, otherwise the bitterness of the 'stone' or seed will come through.
Cook them in a little water for 5-15 mins, but no longer. The first thing you'll notice is that the mix will thicken rapidly. That's because they're high in pectin, a natural thickener. If you leave it to set, it sets into a little 'cake' and turn dark brown. Slice it, or roll into little balls, you have a tasty little sweet.
But more useful, if you put it into Jams and Chutneys, the high pectin will save you a fortune in specialist sugars (or 'bitter' apples, lemons or commercial pectin).
I've lots more to share, but I'll leave it there for now :)
Luckily, I've a fair knowledge of hedgerow foods. It does take a while to get the hang of it, and it's real money saver. I would always recommend a good book, but they vary so much I wouldn't recommend any in particular. However, I have a particular fascination with Elizabethan through to Victorian (and earlier) illustrated foodstuffs books.
The trick is, from whatever era, to look for large, well detailed illustrations of plants, preferably with recipes. Watch it with fungi. I cheat. I ignore them :)
But there's always the common stuff. My next door neighbour has a blackberry bush which she considers a weed - it gets everywhere. Which is good for me, because it pokes through my front fence.
So I grabbed the ends of the branches, and buried them in my lawn. Because of the way they propagate, they've sprung up there. Good crop this year. I've got three litres of jam so far, and some delicious sauces for pork and chicken.
Lavender, that I've already mentioned. Tucked under my daughters pillow, and in her bedroom drawers, it smells nice, and helps her sleep. It's also a good substitute/addition to sage in soups, stews and pickles. I've no need to tell you how passionate I am about pickles :) Sage and Lavender are related, and cooked, taste much the same. The trick is not too much.
Hawthorne. Were you ever told as kid that Hawthorne is poisonous? The berries aren't, and neither are the leaves. The leaves can be used in salads, and were (if you're into that sort of thing) used as a tobacco substitute. As with most plants, for the best taste, young leaves.
If you remember Rosehip Syrup as a child, you'll remember it was good to sooth a sore throat. If you have enough roses to make it, and it does take a lot - then simply de-stone them, boil them briefly with a little sugar until thick, shove the lot through a fine sieve and bottle.
The same trick applies to Hawthorne Berries. Don't confuse them with Blackthorne. They're poisonous. Hawthorne berries are bright red, in clusters, and darn fiddly. They have a big, and bitter 'stone' in the middle. The trick is to get as many as you can, and force them through your fingers raw, until all the flesh is removed. Don't cook them first, otherwise the bitterness of the 'stone' or seed will come through.
Cook them in a little water for 5-15 mins, but no longer. The first thing you'll notice is that the mix will thicken rapidly. That's because they're high in pectin, a natural thickener. If you leave it to set, it sets into a little 'cake' and turn dark brown. Slice it, or roll into little balls, you have a tasty little sweet.
But more useful, if you put it into Jams and Chutneys, the high pectin will save you a fortune in specialist sugars (or 'bitter' apples, lemons or commercial pectin).
I've lots more to share, but I'll leave it there for now :)
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