no dig gardening, seasonal cooking, permaculture, preserving, foraging, storing, crafting, home life
A recent discussion on Twitter about homegrown harvests in January, has inspired me to write a blog about all of the lovely homegrown veggies I am cooking in my kitchen.
January may be a long, dark cold month but there’s still a lot of homegrown deliciousness. With planning, and some growing space, you could be making some almost entirely homegrown meals next January too. Alternatively, these are the kind of veggies that will have the fewest food miles in shops and markets.
It’s the last day of 2019 …. didn’t that pass quickly? I’m sure there are things on my “to do” list from February that I’m still meaning to get round to!
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.
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!”
I had a great time on holidays, but it’s nice being home again too, especially now that spring is in the air!
This week began with the Autumn Equinox, the festival of Mabon, which starts on September 21st
Every Monday I pour my morning coffee and plan my week. Last week was so busy with talks, writing, a course day on Saturday; there was little time for gardening at home, so I scheduled Sunday as a whole day of gardening at home.
Read More “Walking in a winter wonderland … in March… again!”
Usually the end of February and early March heralds a dramatic increase of activity in the greenhouse – but the unusually cold weather means last week was more about snowing than sowing!
It feels strange to be writing about heat loving plants like aubergines as Britain is gripped by unseasonally cold weather. Kitchen gardening is about always thinking ahead, anticipating and planning for what is to come, so I have been happy thinking about warm summer days as I wrap myself up in layers of thermals and woollens!
Read More “How to prick out seedlings (and other February gardening)”
I absolutely love growing aubergines. Incredibly versatile for so many different recipes, I love all of the different colours and shapes, how some are seriously spiky and of course the delicious taste.
Read More “Sowing aubergines, chillies and sweet peppers for summer and autumn harvests”
I am really looking forward to getting into to the swing of spring sowing, but as this morning’s weather demonstrated in no uncertain terms, it is still very much winter!
I’ve been working away for a week or so on Charles’ speaking tour. We had a fantastic time meeting keen gardeners across northern England and parts of Scotland, sharing ideas and enthusiasm for no dig methods. Some people were local to the talks, others had driven for several hours to hear Charles speak. It was wonderful exploring some spectacular locations and beautiful wild countryside.
Happy New Year! I haven’t blogged for a while because Charles and I have been away. Before dawn on Christmas day we were at Heathrow airport and spent the day flying across Africa, to Cape Town. See how quiet the airport is at 4 in the morning!
In the bleak mid-winter, frost made the earth stand hard as iron, water like a stone. No problem for no dig gardeners – Charles and I decided to make another bed at Homeacres!
Read More “Planning the next stages for an abundant polytunnel”
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!”