November has been a month of contrasts so far: sparkling frosts, glorious sunrises and rather a lot of rain. It has been pouring down here all day.
Sad Sprout Story
Brussels Sprouts are one of my most favourite vegetables. It is a happy day when the first sprouts are ready to pick, I even like to eat them for breakfast! Every year I grow several varieties to extend the sprout harvesting season – but sadly this year, it hasn’t gone according to plan.
Roast squash salad with paprika tahini dressing
A nourishing, flavourful salad, autumn on a plate! I used Uchiki Kuri squash for this – easy to grow, sweet, nutty and you can eat the skin – but any firm fleshed squash or pumpkin is fine.
Mid October in my veg garden
October is such a busy time in my garden – harvesting, clearing, sowing, planting and getting everything ready for the winter months. Gardening plans have been hindered however by so much rain!
Recipe – kale hummus with crispy kale crisps
An easy to make delicious, seasonal, healthy, economical and very, very green hummus with a moreish crispy kale topping.
autumn/back garden/blog/Bruton/experiments/gardening/Homeacres/homesteading/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/permaculture/polytunnel
What to sow now for winter and spring harvests
Now is the ideal time to sow many different kinds of vegetables and herbs, for cropping through the winter and into next spring, and beyond!
Bring On Summer Spinach and Czar Bean Pate
Over wintered and some spring sown spinach is bolting in the garden – it’s the time of year for spinach to flower – so we have an abundance of it to use. Yesterday I made two quite different dishes featuring spinach for the lunch for our compost course at Homeacres: rich chocolatey spinach brownies and a spinach pate, with a rich depth of flavours.
allotment/autumn/back garden/blog/Bruton/featured/gardening/homesteading/nature/no dig gardening/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/recipes/seasonal cooking/spring/summer/The Creative Kitchen/winter
Kale – Root to Shoot: leaves, flowers, sprouts and more!
Kale, a nutrient dense vegetable high in vitamins, is well known for its many health benefits. Easy to grow and winter hardy in the UK, it’s a fantastic plant for the hungry home gardener. Kale’s delicious leaves make a tasty addition to all kinds of meals cooked and raw, but did you know that you can also eat other parts of this cruciferous vegetable and that growing it benefits wildlife too?!
Read More “Kale – Root to Shoot: leaves, flowers, sprouts and more!”
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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.
autumn/back garden/blog/Bruton/exploring/featured/front garden/gardening/Homeacres/homesteading/kitchen garden/mulching/nature/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/one/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/potions/preparing the soil/preserving/propagation/The Creative Kitchen/winter
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.
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allotment/autumn/blog/Bruton/countryside/featured/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/mulching/nature/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/organic/permaculture
No Dig Allotment November Update
My allotment has been quite neglected recently. All of my travels (Yorkshire for a wedding, then Thailand and Laos, with a work trip to Ireland just 2 days after returning), my work and autumnal weather suddenly arriving after a mild sunny spell – quite a shock after Thailand for me! – has meant that I am not quite where I would like to be for November 22nd. Nevermind though, it will all get done and I have had a lovely time.
allotment/autumn/back garden/blog/featured/front garden/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/nature/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/winter
(Almost!) last plantings of the year
This is the eighth in my series of blog posts, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find all of the blogs easily using the search facility.
autumn/back garden/blog/homesteading/no dig gardening/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/winter
Clearing the polytunnel for new plantings
This is the fifth in my series of blogs, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find all of the blogs easily using the search facility.
autumn/back garden/blog/front garden/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/preserving/winter
Planning the next stages for an abundant polytunnel
This is the fourth in my series of blog posts, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find all of the blogs easily using the search facility.
Read More “Planning the next stages for an abundant polytunnel”
autumn/back garden/blog/Bruton/homesteading/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel
Picking, propagation, preparing, preserving
This is the third blog of my series of blog posts, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find all of the blogs easily using the search facility.
autumn/blog/featured/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/spring/winter
Sow now! for winter and spring harvests
This is the second part of my series of blog posts, explaining how to grow vegetables and herbs which can be sown now to see you through the winter and spring – no hungry gap in 2018!
I have added the category No Hungry Gap, so you can find them easily using the search facility.
autumn/back garden/blog/Bruton/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/spring/winter
Growing for winter harvests: what to sow and when!
Now is the time to start planning and sowing for late autumn, winter and spring harvests, no hungry gap in 2018! Over the next few weeks I will be sharing my sowing, planting, soil preparation and other seasonal plans for growing under cover and outside.
Read More “Growing for winter harvests: what to sow and when!”
Spiced Elderberry Whisky Liqueur
A deep red, warmly spiced drink which tastes delicious drunk neat in tiny glasses (it is strong!) or as a nurturing hot toddy if you are feeling under the weather during the winter months. It makes a great cocktail too, try mixing with ginger beer.
autumn/blog/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/nature/no dig gardening/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/summer
Late summer polytunnel
It is the first day of September and autumn has been in the air now for a few weeks, earlier than usual here in Somerset. The garden is full of vegetables, fruit and flowers, bright with sunflowers and snapdragons, but now when I rise at 5 am the sky is still dark and the curtains remain drawn until almost 6 o’clock. I have ordered firewood…