I like to grow my autumn plantings of the brassica family from seed rather than just buy generic seedlings. There are so many beautiful heirlooms to choose from: ‘Violet Sicilian’ cauliflower; ‘Red Winter’, ‘Cavolo Nero’ or ‘Blue Curled Scotch’ kale; vibrant red cabbage or ruffled savoy cabbage, indispensable broccoli, leaf mustards or Asian greens. The […]
Tags: pricking out, seed propagation, vegetables
Posted in Organic Gardening | 2 Comments »
Fennel is one of those vegetables that shouts Mediterranean cuisine to me. If you like aniseed flavour as I do, add some finely chopped to dishes such as ratatouille, or minestrone and you will find it improves the depth and richness of flavour. It’s a vegetable well worth growing yourself as it really should be […]
Tags: cooking, fennel, seeds, vegetables
Posted in Kitchen, Organic Gardening | 1 Comment »
I’ve just recently returned from a wonderful trip to Spain. My partner and I decided that the main aim of the trip was to eat and drink our way around this wonderful country. We even deliberately lost weight in preparation for the holiday! Well, we achieved what we set out to do – tasting some […]
Tags: asparagus, vegetables
Posted in Organic Gardening | 1 Comment »
With the last of the glorious, sweet summer tomatoes gracing our salad bowls, it’s time to save the seeds of our favourite types. If possible, save seed from the best-looking fruit on the healthiest plant. There are two simple methods for saving the seeds: the simplest “if I don’t do it now I won’t get […]
Tags: seed propagation, tomatoes, vegetables
Posted in Organic Gardening, Sustainability | 1 Comment »
Angled luffa is a very popular ingredient in Asian cooking, especially in Thai or Chinese dishes. There are lots of yummy-sounding stir-fries, soups and noodle dishes featuring this versatile vegetable, but it is its suitability as a warm-climate stand-in for zucchini that’s the subject of this blog. Whereas squash and zucchini plants tend to suffer […]
Tags: angled luffa, cooking, recipe, vegetables, vegetarian
Posted in Kitchen | 7 Comments »
Remember the soggy sandwich made of white bread, coloured by mum’s tinned beetroot, sitting in plastic wrap at the bottom of your lunchbox? That lunch box ‘treat’ almost succeeded in putting me off beetroot for life… however I’ve re-established my relationship with beetroot over the past few years, knowing that fresh is best and trying […]
Tags: beetroot, cooking, microgreens, roots, salad, vegetables
Posted in Kitchen, Organic Gardening | 3 Comments »
This festive season, why not roast a crown of thorns as part of your Christmas dinner? Or hunt down Red October to use as a table decoration? It’s not as strange as it sounds – they are both varieties of pumpkin. Pumpkins – what lovable plants! With an incredible array of fruit shapes, textures and […]
Tags: vegetables
Posted in Kitchen | 2 Comments »
It’s a very satisfying sight –you’ve just planted out a bed full of healthy, vital seedlings, beautiful and full of potential. You can already taste the delicious, crunchy salad greens! Then, after one hot and sunny day, you discover your young plants sick, wilted, dehydrated or just plain dead. I don’t think I’m alone in […]
Tags: seed propagation, transplanting, vegetables
Posted in Organic Gardening | 2 Comments »
Yacon – otherwise known as the Peruvian ground apple, strawberry jicama, Bolivian sunroot, llacon, sweet-root and ground pear – is ready to harvest now. We eat its sweet, juicy tubers raw, cooked or added to juices. I love this winter sweet treat with its great crunchy crispness; it tastes to me like nashi pear and […]
Tags: animal care, cooking, drinks, fruit, livestock, roots, vegetables
Posted in Kitchen | 13 Comments »
We have just had our first delivery of lovely organic garlic at Green Harvest this afternoon and we haven’t stopped talking about how to grow it! How to eat it! Best way to peel it! Garlic in olive oil, garlic in baked camembert! How to plant it! Is it really an allium or really a […]
Tags: garlic, roots, vegetables, vegetarian
Posted in Kitchen, Organic Gardening | 11 Comments »