I’ve spent much of yesterday standing under the apple tree in the back garden where I have my outdoor potting bench, sowing seeds. Some are for cropping in autumn, others will be for winter and spring harvests. There is a list of everything I’m sowing at the end of this blog post.
Summer Raspberry and Apple Salad
Sweet, crisp and so fruity, this delicious salad makes use of summery gluts. The raspberry balsamic dressing is delicious poured over mixed leaves and roasted chicories, and is a great way to use less than perfect raspberries.
allotment/back garden/blog/events/front garden/Garden visits/gardening/Homeacres/homesteading/no dig gardening/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/summer/workshops and courses
No dig abundance in July
Hasn’t the month passed quickly? I can hardly believe that it is August on Thursday. Today I’ve been enjoying more of an indoor kind of day, catching up with things at my desk and general chores, because it has – finally, oh joy! – been raining. I love sunshine and warmth, but it has been very dry for my garden and the polytunnel has become so hot.
Courgette and Banana Muffins recipe (vegan)
What do you do when you have an abundance of courgettes and some over ripe bananas? Make muffins, of course!
back garden/blog/homesteading/no dig gardening/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/spring/summer
No Dig Polytunnel May Transformation
May: such a magical month in the garden. The growth is incredible and each day the garden reveals new delights! When the first strawberries ripen we know summer is on its way.
blog/Garden visits/magazines/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/no hungry gap/permaculture/The Creative Kitchen
Three delicious versatile veg to sow now for winter feasts!
Sow delicious easy to grow and store vegetables for a taste of something homegrown throughout the winter and into spring. Here are a few of my favourites. What do you like to grow for winter recipes?
Coming up! Talks and workshops in 2019
No dig gardening, Small Scale Homesteading and other talks and workshops booked so far this year.
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?!
allotment/blog/Bruton/Homeacres/mulching/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/preparing the soil/spring/workshops and courses
How to sow no dig parsnips, carrots and other root veg
It’s spring and I am thinking of winter vegetables! Root vegetables are surprisingly easy to grow using no dig methods. Yesterday I sowed parsnips, carrots, radish, Hamburg parsley and scorzonera into a recently applied mulch of compost on top of my heavy clay allotment soil.
back garden/blog/Books/exploring/featured/Garden visits/homesteading/kitchen garden/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/propagation/real life/spring/The Creative Kitchen
Weeding for the Queen… and other gardening news!
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.
blog/front garden/gardening/kitchen garden/magazines/No Dig Home/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/permaculture/polytunnel/spring/winter
Back home
I had a great time on holidays, but it’s nice being home again too, especially now that spring is in the air!
allotment/back garden/blog/Books/Bruton/featured/gardening/homesteading/kitchen garden/magazines/no dig gardening/permaculture/real life/The Creative Kitchen/writing
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….
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.
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.
blog/featured/homesteading/No Dig Organic Home and Garden/recipes/seasonal cooking/summer/The Creative Kitchen
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.
allotment/blog/Bruton/featured/Garden visits/gardening/Homeacres/homesteading/kitchen garden/mulching/no dig gardening/No Dig Home/no hungry gap/organic/permaculture/polytunnel/preparing the soil/recipes/seasonal cooking
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?