Digging or building

I really need to get my act together as the growing season is growing! (sorry) ever nearer. I know it never really ends and never really starts but I want a full kitchen garden blooming this summer and thats what I've got in mind. The question is do i dig the plots or have raised beds. I cant help but think that raised beds would be easier to manage but digging just sounds like fun, well it does to me anyway because i like that sort of thing.

 Raised beds would be easier because weeds and grass could be managed better and the structure of the bed makes for an easier series of boundaries.

 Digging would be cheaper and more fun but the the constant weeding might get a bit annoying and time consuming.

 I think I've already decided that it will be a mixture of both!

Cider Sauce on Christmas Day

So even though my last post was about turkey, we're still not big fans so we thought it better to have a pork shoulder and some lamb chops on Christmas day. The pork was easy, rubbed with mustard and then cover in red wine and roasted. High heat for the first 20 minutes and then turned down low for another 3 and a half hours. It had crackling and was moist - Perfect!

 However, when having pork, its always good to have apple flavours with it, a match that has stood the test of time! I made a really easy cider sauce that was a little sweet and full of flavour.

 all you need is 1 and a half pints of cider ( I used strongbow, a really good everyday cider that you can buy in all supermarkets) 2 large onions, a cox apple and a golden delicous and table spoon of cream.

Roughly cut the onions up and put them in the cider in a pot on a low heat for 2 hours. Stir every now and then but thats just for your sake to make you feel like your cooking. After that time chop up the apples and put them in leaving the core and any seeds out. Turn up the heat to medium and leave for an hour - stir if you want to. After that just take off the heat, and blend. Then add the cream and stir - you need to stir this time.

This sauce is rustic and full of flavour. Use what ever cider you like, its like making a good whisky cream sauce, if there is a specific type you like then use it and and you'll get notes of what it is you like. For example some palates prefer islay whisky and others prefer Dalmore - like me. Whoever with the cider sauce remember, you might note want to share your stash with everyone your cooking for!

Enjoy

Roast turkey

So last night we had roast turkey. We're not really fans of turkey, we don't even eat it at Christmas! However the other day I picked up a huge turkey leg for only 1.50 so thought I'd take a chance on it and it was fantastic! I put plenty of though into how to cook the leg before I dived in. In truth I fined turkey is normally bland, like really dry chicken. However I dont like the thought of turkey with herb or citrus flavours and then thought that maybe cooking it with another meat was the solution. You often see mice in the supermarkets that is turkey mixed with pork or another meat so maybe this was the answer. However what should I pair it with? Beef isn't really the answer as i had bought the turkey in part because it was so cheap. Chicken and duck just seemed silly and lamb just didn't seem right. I did consider game but the price again put me off. Therefore it seemed like pork was the answer and I eventually decided on unsmoked bacon, a treat on it's own so even if the turkey doesn't work out we can have bacon sandwiches!

So to cook the turkey I took a large onion and cut it into a dozen thick circular slices. I then lay the onion on the bottom of a baking tray put the turkey leg on top of it. I then took some olive oil and rubbed it all over the leg and then took a sprinkling of sea salt and rubbed that into the meat. Finally I took the bacon and lay this over leg so it was completely covered. I then put it on to the middle shelf of a pre heated oven on a medium high heat and roast it for 80 - 90 minutes. I did have a remove some moisture at one point but other than that it was really easy.

I served the turkey with carrots, broccoli, green beans, roast pots, roast mushrooms, stuffing and gravy. I made the gravy literally at the last minute and took the onions from under the meat to the boiling mixture. Also with the veg I picked up a tip from Jamie plovers 30 minute meals. That was take the veg and once it's cook add a tea spoon of olive spread and a squeeze of lemon and lime and then mix it through the veg.

For anyone no a fan or turkey you should give this a try, it was really good!

Busy busy!!!

Well its been a while since my last post! Unfortunately we've had real problems with Internet connections and service providers but these are just the problems of modern living so I'll tell you the exciting stuff instead! On Friday the 11th of november Maxine gave birth to our baby boy Angus Malcolm Rose weighing in at 7.9 and he looks just like me! Also we got another compost bin, 420 litres and I'm in my element with it planning for the future of the garden! I've redesigned the garden on paper giving us 65 1 square meter plots for growing and finally we've decided it'll be pork for Christmas!

Planning for the Winter

So as winter approaches I must think about what can be done this year in preparation for the garden to get a good start next year.

 As we've been forecast a harder winter than last year (some how??) there is a benefit to the this as I'll be digging the soil up soon and hard winter frosts will help to break the soil that has been un used for years. This helps with drainage and also makes it easier to add in that lovely nutrient rich compost I'vve been working on!

 On the food front its time to think about the everything to hearty, warming soups and the biggest plateful of food of the year, Christmas Dinner! I'll update you on my ideas for this soon!

Plum Stir Fry

Before Maxine and me were together she wasn't really a fan of Chinese food, she was crazy for curry but the first time I suggest a stir fry i was met with some serious resistance! Luckily for me she now enjoys Chinese as well as a Saag masala!
Tonight I made a river cobbler plum stir fry and it's so simple to take make which makes it even better!
Get half a dozen plums, cut them up to either sixths or small and lightly fry them for ten minutes. Then take blend the the plums into a paste. Now take your river cobbler, hopefully a couple of good sized fillets and cut them into three inch long, inch wide slices and fry them on a medium heat until the fish is cooked through, it should take about 15 minutes. Then add a sprinkle of salt ( sea salt of possible) a table spoon of balsamic vinegar and a tea spoon on paprika. Not add a head of broccoli chopped to the smallest stem, 3 hot chilli peppers of your choice with out the seeds, grate a medium sized carrot into the pan and finish of with a finely chopped White onion. Fry this all of for 10 minutes. Now add the plums in finish cooking on high heat for a final 5 minutes.

Serve with rice and enjoy! If you lucky enough to have some Samfire then drop it in with the veg but don't add any salt that is on the original recipe and only a tea spoon of Balsamic vinegar, or a small squirt of balsamic glaze if you've got it.

Time for a Trim

I'm off work for 10 days at the moment and as your no doubt aware the UK has just seen an incredibly hot end to September. This was lucky as I need to get loads of gardening done before the winter comes. So I managed to give a trim to the bushes in the front garden,, down from 12 feet to 4 with my new trusty bow saw and also weeded the flower beds. I was hoping to get the vegetable patch dug out but the help I enlisted decided to go Go Karting instead so that was a big help! Fingers crossed I manage to get the patch dug out soon before the first frost. Frost helps to brake up solid ground which inturn makes it easier to use.

The All New Rose's Suburban Smallholding Webite!

So I've found another way to document our journey to smallholding and that is through a free website I've discovered and been working on. I need to add that its a working in progress but definitely worth a look. Also any feedback is more than welcome!

http://www.wix.com/malcr5/rssh


many thanks to whoever invented wix.com!

Websites

One of the best ways to get good advice is to search the internet for other websites and blogs about or related to small holdings. Often you'll find that these haven't been updated for whatever reason but every now and then you can come across ones that are updated regularly, are informative and a pleasure to read.

Here are 3 of  my favourite

Smiling Tree Farm is a small website about a 13 acre smallholing in south Shropshire. It includes good information (including a voice of experience) on organic farming and becoming self-sufficient. It is advert free and is very well written. 'It is the public face of a private journey'

http://www.smilingtreefarm.com/


Rosemary Champion AKA the Accidental Smallholder has a large, commerical style website busting at the seems with information for smallholders. There are articles and guides on many subjects, recommended reading lists, galleries, shop and events lists making this a fantastic online stop for anybody interested in smallholding. 'We provide help, support and advice for smallholders and aspiring smallholders'

http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/


The Smallholder Series - Practical guides of the serious smallholder isn't completely withour frills but  very straight to the point,as the tag line would suggest! Regular updates, expert articles, news flashes, Featured smallholdings and a things to do this month guide give this a real edge over many of the websites you might find on the web.

http://www.smallholderseries.co.uk/

Feeling Peckish?

If there is one truth about our garden it has to be that there are plenty of hungry birds about. We have a suet ball holder that even when full with 6 suet balls is empty in no more than 5 days! Therefore protecting our crops will have to be of  the upmost importance.

 The plan is to use a double layer of netting where ever possible at a high level to make it difficullt for the birds to get to them. Also I'll be having a scarecrow because as I wont have any animals the place will need a big touch of character!

Cash Crop

As you can see from the plan there is a real possiblity I'll be able to turn a cash crop as well as good, home grown food for my family. Of Course the plan is for the summer but I'll hopefully be growing from as soon as the fencing goes up to protect our veg.

Although it would be fantastic to not have to buy any veg at all i know thats not going to happen straight away. We've had small pots before and although it was a success, some things just aren't supposed to be grown in scotland and it was the sweetcorn that proved that!

When I say supposed to be grown, I'm literally talking of the most basic growning, in the ground an given a water, however if I can take a cash crop a poly tunnel may change the layout of our small holding. Also a decked eating area would be nice but it all takes money and like most people these days we're hardly rolling in it!

 Hopefully a cash crop will be on the cards but I'll keep you updated when it starts to happen. If push comes to shove and we need to eat everything we grow then that will just have to do!

Rough Plan

So here is my first rough draft of how the plot should look to turn it into our Smallholding. Although it looks a bit tight,it really wont be and for the first year this will be what I'll go with. There is loads of room for growth and for the time being Animals aren't allowed so i'll look at accommodating them later.

Across the top of the plot (on the left of the drawing) I've got a square meter each for the following:
Pumpkins
Lettuce
Swede
Turnip
Shallots
Leeks
Peppers
Chilllis
French Beans

Then in the middle I've got 2 square meters for each of the following:
Pak Choi
Broccoli
Beet Roots
Carrots
Asparagus
Onions
Celery
Parsnips
Tomatos with a Poly Top
Herbs

Then I'll Strawberries and Raspberries in the top left corner,9 rubble bags of potatos in the top right corner and compost bins and water buts in the bottom right corner. In the couple of days I'll mark out the plan and get some photos.

 Although digging it might take a while, especially as I keep snapping garden tools, maintaining it should be easy and given a half descent spring / summer there should be plenty of food to take from it! I'm excited to say the least!!

Tea Granita

Its Granny's birthday today (Lennox's Granny, Maxine's Mother) so Lennox and I thought we'd make her a wee treat to go with the cake. And what is it that goes best with cake? Tea! and what makes tea into a birthday treat? Tea Granita!

 I first time I saw Tea Granita was on River Cottage and was actually the dessert in a meal they called Brinner (breakfast turned into dinner) The idea is so simple, frozen tea, that it is just begging to be tried! I didn't follow any sort of set recipe the first time I made this, so what I did do is:

Boil 500mls of Water
Add 10 Tea Bags
Add 20 Tea Spoons of Sugar
Add Milk until its the colour you want!

Let it boil for another 2 minutes and then turn it down to a simmer for 6-8 minutes. Then just take it off the heat. Taste it at this point, if you think it needs more sugar or milk add it now! Once the mixute is cool, squeeze the tea bags and  take them out, remembering to put them on your compost! Then just put the tea into the freezer to set solid.

 To enjoy, simply scratch them top of the Granita

 Like I said its so simple, just frozen tea, well, super strong tea,  but the end result is a real treat, especially with cake!

Potato Salad

Made potato salad this evening, it was good but if it had been home grown it would of been so much better! The quality of your home grown products is down to how much effort you put into them BUT it has to be said that it not a mountain of effort, its just making sure you get into a good pattern of care for your vegetation!

 The recipe I used for the potato salad is easy, really easy. All you need is :
1kg of new potatoes
1 large red onion
salt
pepper
rosemary
Mayonnaise

Boil the new potatoes for 25 mins and then chop them into halfs or quarters for the bigger ones. Chop up the Onion into small chunks and put them on a baking tray and put oil, a little salt, a little pepper and a sprinkling of rosemary all over them. Put them is a hot oven (220c) for an hour but flip them at half time. Take them out and sieve the potatoes to get rid of any excess oil. Let the potatoes and onions cold down and then add as much or as little mayonnaise as you like. Enjoy! (I promise I'll get better at writing recipes!)

Compost

As it is an easy way to add nutritional value to the soil that you already have, compost is an absolute must for anyone trying to grow anything from plants to potatoes! Compost can be bought cheaply enough from any garden centre or DIY outlet and often enough you will see it in super markets.

The alternative to buying compost is to take the time to make your own. In 2007 the Food and Grocery Experts published a report on their website that stated that the UK wasted £8.3 million worth of food each year with an average of £250 - £400 per household. This doesn't include the cost landfilling which is were the majority of this food ends up.

http://www.igd.com/index.asp?id=1&fid=1&sid=17&tid=0&folid=0&cid=298

With this in mind it should be pretty easy to make your own compost. All you need is a container to keep it in and to follow some basic rules to make the process easy, enjoyable and successful! For my compost bin i was lucky enough to get an old discarded wheelie bin (don't just nick and old bin from somebody, they are the councils propety!) and simply cut a hole in the front at the bottom and drilled some small holes in the sides so the compost can breath. Then I just put a plank of wood in the front to cover the access hole and started filling it up! I'll put some pictures on when I get a chance!

 Remember not all waste can go on the heap. The biggest item not to us is meat as it can attract rats but sometimes things you might think will help it will actually cause you problems. I like to use a website called Compost This for advice on what to and what not to use.

http://www.compostthis.co.uk/

Garden Tea

We don't like to use anything that isn't natural in the garden if  we can avoid it and there are two reasons for this. Firstly, its cheaper, simple! Secondly its safer for us not to have chemicals around the place with the wee man on the scene and with his sibling due in less then 10 weeks. Therefore we need to know what is the natural answer to getting the most out of what your growing. Some of it is obvious, using homemade compost to add to the soil, collecting rain water for water but what about a homemade fertilizer? Recently I did an interenet search for this as some flowers Maxine had planted were recommended to use it. The answer came in the form of Garden Tea. At first I though at that was a bit of a stupid name, and I dont like tea, but as soon as you put the first batch together you see why folk call it that.

 The original recipe I found for this suggested filling any sort of water container with rain water and pulling up some weeds and putting them in the water. You then simply leave it for 2 weeks and hey presto! you have homemade fertilizer. I took an old 10 litre bottle and filled it a quarters full with loose weeds and then just filled it up with tap water - not the exact recipe but the idea is still the same. And the plants are looking great!

It works, of this there is no doubt but the other way I've found to make it is with grass clippings!As the plot has so much grass on it, it makes sense to do it this way!



The plot for our smallholding with our flat in the background (1st floor) 



The Plan

Well this is it. I've started this blog to chart the progress of my small holding, that currently, is a small patch of land disconnected to our flat but has virtually nothing in it, so its begging to be filled with fruit and veg and all things nice for me to use in my kitchen. As things change I'll be posting on this blog but I'll also be posting recipes, general stuff about life working towards a small holding and any thing else I think you might enjoy.  

The currently empty plot I intend to change!