I had a great time on holidays, but it’s nice being home again too, especially now that spring is in the air!
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New Year news!
New allotment plans, magazine articles, writing a new book and other plans for 2019.
Vegan “Bubble and Squeak” salad recipe – ideal for using up leftovers
This gorgeous, vegetable-filled salad is ideal for winter meals, a great way of using leftover vegetables from a roast dinner – just like “bubble and squeak”. A tasty way to make the most of a Thanksgiving, Christmas or other roast dinner leftovers! This recipe includes an oil free version, too.
allotment/autumn/back garden/blog/Bruton/front garden/gardening/Homeacres/homesteading/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/propagation/The Creative Kitchen
November in my No Dig Garden
It has been a busy time since my last blog post and how the garden has changed! The weather has been typically British, from unseasonably warm to icy cold (for Somerset) and back again. Mornings are misty, deciduous trees almost entirely without leaves now and anything frost tender has died.
The polytunnel has frozen a few times now, I love the patterns on the frozen polythene, although it is still reaching 30˚C in there some days. I have electronic thermometers in the greenhouse and polytunnel and it’s so interesting to see the extremes of temperatures undercover, compared with outside in the garden.
back garden/blog/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/recipes/seasonal cooking/The Creative Kitchen
How to make nasturtium salt & other nasturtium recipes
In my garden a bright jungle of colourful nasturtiums are rejoicing in the surprisingly warm sunshine-y October weather. After a summer of taking their prolific spiciness for granted, I’m keen to preserve what I can before the weather turns colder….
Changes….
Today I am updating the blog theme and carrying out various kinds of maintenance.
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On this harvest moon…
This week began with the Autumn Equinox, the festival of Mabon, which starts on September 21st
autumn/back garden/blog/Bruton/featured/gardening/Homeacres/homesteading/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/recipes/seasonal cooking/summer/The Creative Kitchen
September sowing, sweetcorn harvests and recipes
As summer mellows into autumn, the allotment and garden is full of ripening vegetables and fruit.
Open Day at Charles Dowding’s garden, Homeacres
I am here surrounded by piles of baking recipe books and have written a very long shopping list, in preparation for the annual cake baking marathon later this week for our open day at Homeacres. All kinds of cakes, including vegan and gluten free, and there’s Charles gorgeous no dig garden to explore too.
Garden Photography Workshop at Homeacres
Photography day course 10 – 4 on Thursday September 6th at Charles Dowding’s garden,
Homeacres, Alhampton, Somerset, BA4 6PZ.
allotment/back garden/blog/featured/front garden/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/nature/no dig gardening/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/real life/summer/two
It shouldn’t happen to a gardener!
The best laid plans do not always come to fruition! Gardening is a great leveller. Whether you are growing on an allotment, in a window box or own a huge private estate, nature always has the upper hand – and that is exactly as it should be.
A dry July update from my no dig garden
Like much of the country, Bruton has been very hot and dry for weeks and weeks. Frustratingly all of the recent rains have missed my small town.
Courgette, coconut and lemon basil muffins
It’s that time of year again, the days of delighting in the first few courgettes have transformed into a bewilderment of abundance. As fast as I pick them, more are growing – it’s wonderful.
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Two Summer Salads – Virgin Mojito Cucumbers and Roast Fennel with Beetroot
The vegetable gardens are filling up with gorgeous summer abundance, almost every day it seems we are welcoming back another seasonal delight.
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Elderflower extravaganza!
The hedgerows are filled with creamy elderflowers. It’s time to forage! Choose elderflower heads that are in full blossom and at their most fragrant to make delicious drinks, skin care and preserves.
I’ve been busy in the kitchen making elderflower champagne, liqueur, vinegar, sugar, oil and dried elderflowers too. Here are the recipes.
A day out in Wales
I’ve been hearing good things about the physic garden at Cowbridge for some time but have never visited, so when I heard that there was a food fair there, I just had to make the trip over the Severn Bridge to the Vale of Glamorgan.
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A quick update with a deeply chocolatey vegan rhubarb cake recipe
May is always a busy month for gardeners and it feels even more so this year here – is that the same for you?
A flying visit to Beechgrove
We celebrated the first day of May by flying from Bristol to Aberdeen, to visit Beechgrove Gardens.
How to Make a Spicy Multipurpose Cleaner
This fragrant, spicy versatile cleaning vinegar smells fantastic and cleans powerfully.
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New allotment plan and other experiments.
Every year I mulch my no dig allotment with an inch or two of composted manure or homemade compost, but this year I am trying something different!