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Weeding for the Queen… and other gardening news!

Stephanie Hafferty 13 Comments

 

The Queen in Bruton

The Queen visited “my” work kitchen garden yesterday, so I spent time on Wednesday making sure it was all weeded and spruced up. Ok, so perhaps the purpose of her visit to Bruton wasn’t to gaze upon my herbs and veggies but it’s not every day that one of the most famous people in the world pops down my high street!

It was thirsty work, so I enjoyed a refreshing cup of tea sitting in the sunshine on the wide timbers of the raised beds.

The Queen was in Bruton to open a new music building at The Kings School, a public (ie: private and very expensive for my international readers) and celebrate 500 years since the school received its Royal Charter. HRH also took time to visit Hauser and Wirth Somerset – where I run the kitchen garden for Roth Bar and Grill – and local race horse owner, Paul Nicholls’ stables.

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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…

Stephanie Hafferty 6 Comments

This week began with the Autumn Equinox, the festival of Mabon, which starts on September 21st

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allotment/back garden/blog/Bruton/experiments/featured/gardening/Homeacres/homesteading/kitchen garden/making a no dig bed/mulching/nature/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/propagation/seasonal cooking/spring

New allotment plan and other experiments.

Stephanie Hafferty 2 Comments

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!

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Top 10 FAQ - How to start No Dig Gardening in the UK
blog/FAQ/featured/gardening/Homeacres/mulching/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/You tube

Top 10 FAQ – How to start your No Dig Garden

Stephanie Hafferty 33 Comments

We are often asked to start no dig gardens and so Charles, the admin team of our Facebook group and I have come up with the Top Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions.

If we haven’t covered your questions, please ask them in the comments here (or on the Facebook group if you are a member) and we will answer them as soon as we can.

There’s a lot more information in our (Award Winning!!) book, No Dig Organic Home and Garden, in Charles’ other books, on his website and his You Tube Channel.

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How to take tomato cuttings to plant out next year

Stephanie Hafferty 4 Comments
This is the seventh 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.

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back garden/blog/featured/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/mulching/no dig gardening/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/winter

Time to plant

Stephanie Hafferty 6 Comments

This is the sixth 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.

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autumn/back garden/blog/homesteading/no dig gardening/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/winter

Clearing the polytunnel for new plantings

Stephanie Hafferty 2 Comments

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.

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blog/homesteading/recipes/seasonal cooking

Roasted beetroot, carrot and onion hummus recipe

Stephanie Hafferty 8 Comments

Beetroot grows in my garden from April right through to the end of autumn, some in the polytunnel over winter too. This tasty root vegetable stores so well that I can make this hummus at any time of year, but there’s something especially autumnal and satisfying about the combination of roasted beetroot, carrot and onion.

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blog/featured/homesteading/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/recipes/seasonal cooking/summer

Thai influenced golden raw summer vegetable salad

Stephanie Hafferty Leave a comment

This gorgeous bright seasonal salad is almost a meal in itself and can easily be adapted to include other summer vegetables in your garden (and winter root veg later in the year). It is a zingy, delicious, colourful way to use up gluts.

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Crunchy Courgette Gardener’s Muffins

Stephanie Hafferty 7 Comments

I’ve been trying out a few variations of this seasonal muffin, using our course people as guinea pigs! Low in processed sugar, these satisfying baked treats are great to nibble on for an extra boost of energy when gardening. They also make a great breakfast muffin.

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Seasonal summer frugal feasting

Stephanie Hafferty 2 Comments

Regular readers of my blog will know that one of passions, and fortunately work, is harvesting seasonal homegrown vegetables, fruit and herbs and delicious food. For our no dig gardening day course at Homeacres on Saturday, I made lunch for 17 (including Charles and myself) using Charles’ gorgeous vegetables (plus some bought ingredients, things we can’t grow easily which I’ll explain later) for around £1 a head, including muffins.

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back garden/blog/Bruton/featured/kitchen garden/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/permaculture/potions/preserving/recipes/seasonal cooking/summer

A cornucopia of summer soft fruit … with recipes for homemade cassis and blackcurrant wine

Stephanie Hafferty 6 Comments

Perennial fruit bushes play a key role in my garden, producing an abundance of delicious berries during summer months. These I preserve, to enjoy year round: jewel coloured jams, cordials, liqueurs, chutneys and other delicious additions to my homegrown larder.

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blog/interviews/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/permaculture/You tube

You Tube No Dig Interview

Stephanie Hafferty 2 Comments

On Monday 3rd July, I was interviewed by Jen Gale about my work, in particular about the ethical aspects of it. This was the first interview for her new series entitled “Meet the Changemaker”. All of these interviews will be uploaded so anyone can view for free onto Jen’s You Tube channel Jen Gale – Ethical Business Coach, 

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blog/featured/gardening/homesteading/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/organic/permaculture/preparing the soil

Why grow No Dig?

Stephanie Hafferty 9 Comments

My first real introduction to no dig gardening was when I started working with Charles in his market garden at Lower Farm nine years or so ago. He lived in a nearby village, so I had heard of Charles and his methods (local shops sold his mixed salad leaves too) and borrowed his book Organic Gardening, the Natural No Dig Way from the library but didn’t see it in action until I visited his farm for the job interview – it looked amazing! Learning about Charles’ method through experiencing it, his way of working with the soil and nature felt natural and  I was soon wanting to apply the methods to my allotment and garden.

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