After a failure due to over ambition with strawberry jam making, I am now doing 1kg at a time which also gives room for experimentation! I also bought some greengages to make some green jam, and might see if there are cheap apricots of the amber. Traffic light jam might work, make the three jams a day apart to allow for cooling in the fridge? I am also on the look out for gooseberries before the blackberry and apple season. Redcurrant jelly has set nicely – and is lovely and clear due to not squeezing the jelly bag.
BASIL
SHARING
In my road we all have (or had – my rewinding!) 5/6m sq front gardens which are lawns. Yet we all have a lawn mower which we use once a fortnight or longer. And then we have our power drills (used rarely) and so many other appliances like this. I would love to lend out the following pasta maker, yoghurt maker, ravioli maker, pizza stone, jam saucepan (big) and maybe even the food mixer although I do use it regularly, but many do not – and I never used to. I have offered to lend all these things, but no one takes me up? Does this make me a freak for making my own pasta and pizza and yoghurt? But we should share more!
GARDEN JULY 2021
Whoop, whoop, first 3 tomatoes. Hopefully I will be ok for next 3 months. Strawberry jam made yesterday has set and tastes good. I will need more jam jars, especially if I am going to dry herbs. Sun (dehydrator) dried tomatoes would be good, and then mix with different herbs, especially basil. My garlics are small but tasty. And I am getting enough raspberries to add to cereal every day (10-12). Nasturtiums ready for eating.
GARDEN
Thank you Martin for the strimming, and Holly for relieving me of parental responsibilities for quite a few plants. A little space on the table, and I will plant out salvia and marigolds in front now there is space. I will also dig out some of the former mint bed to make room for the 3 x sage (tangerine, pineapple and blackcurrant) and 3 x thyme (Doone valley, wild creeping, golden lemon) plants that I have ordered. Also keeping on top of the mown bits so that I can plant the 6 different lavenders once they are big enough.
All mints looking good- so just pennyroyal to go into former mint bit. And a couple more to look out for. Black Mitchum and Lavender, possibly orange and Tashkent?
I am also noticing the difference between the mints. Definitely an opportunity to do a connoisseurs bit! Cocktails, fruit cocktails, potatoes, tomatoes, chick peas, lentils, lamb, teas, list is endless, as in the supply of mint!
WILD GARDENS
It maybe the weather but some neighbours are definitely leaving their lawns for longer – result. If they leave them an extra week that is a 30% reduction in energy use, and flowers available for the pollinators.
My flowers are coming out now – Californian Poppies, flax, cosmos, begonias and soon nasturtiums. Thyme is always in flower and I have let the dill in the greenhouse go to seed as I do not eat much of it anyway. Fennel seems to be spreading along the road gutter to the east!
MINTS AND REWILDING
Only two weeks after receiving plug plants I am having to repot. Only a few are slow growing. But 22 species so far. Looking out for Black Mitchum! Also looking out for recipes. Reviews of cocktails using the mints should appear here soon – reviews are being scientifically done by others (hic!). Just added Buddleia mint, red mint and black peppermint. Oh and tangerine, pineapple and blackcurrant sage, and Doone Valley Thyme, Wild Creeping Thyme and Golden Lemon Thyme.
Inside and out
Garden things – mid-June 2021
More mints ordered – I must stop! But Spanish, Tashkent and Indian ordered and some more Moroccan in case mine present one succumbs to the slug attack! I also got 6 lavender, a Scented Geranium Lady Plymouth, and a Lemon Verbena Golden Wind. I have also taken some basil from the greenhouse to harden up so that it can replace the ones eaten by the enemy. So I reckon about 50 herbs, of which half are mint. the coming weather system does not look particularly strong (although t&l predicted/maybe, and then followed by more dry weather.
Martin is coming round to strim the grass in places on Saturday, so I plant out some pot marigold and salvias when the ground is cleared a bit. I am not sure the chicory has come back – but next autumn I will clear a raised bed and think about what to put in.
One water butt is empty, but the other 2 are doing ok – hopefully a fill up later today. The hanging baskets are looking lush but still green at the moment – begonias and cosmos and nasturtiums. We will see what they look like?
Some tomatoes are developing – I must remember to feed them! Possibly some by the weekend although more likely by the end of the month. Maybe some raspberries, probably just to munch, but jam making planed for maybe tomorrow – strawberries a definite, and maybe some apricots if I can get some cheap enough. Or any other fruits. Strawberry jam with elderflower could be good.
I just bought 240 ltr of compost so should be ok to transplant some of the mints and the verbena and others to bigger pots. When I put plants in the ground they seem to be consumed by slugs or whatever, and overgrown by grass (is this me being lazy arse and not weeding? But I am learning and next year will have chickory and flax in greater numbers.
I think I might have enough basil for pesto – so off to Scoop and Spice for some pine nuts.