Guilty pleasures

I haven't posted for a month and I've missed it.  The reasons being that I took a couple of weeks holiday over the Easter/Royal Wedding/Bank Holiday period to see various family members, plus my internet connection has been a bit dodgy at home recently and, to be perfectly honest I've been too tired in the evenings after work to sit down in front of another computer screen and start typing again.

So it's going to be hard to write this one without it ending up being a small novel.  I'll do my very best not to waffle........but I'm making no promises! So, what shall I begin with? ah, yes, the plum wine.

A few weeks ago I finally bottled my plum wine. All 3 bottles! Yep, out of a gallon initially made I ended up with half a gallon which made the grand total of 3 bottles.  People had warned me that you get a lot of sediment in making plum wine but I wasn't prepared for how much.  Still, it's made a good wine and I'm pleased with the taste and the look of it.  I will make more in the future but

a) I'll make a much bigger batch and
b) remember to add more sugar (the initial tasting revealed an extremely sharp wine, so I added an extra 5ozs of sugar and went through the fermentation process again; making a total of 5 'racking' sessions)

It's slightly sweet, not too sickly though, and has a pale peach colour. I usually like my wines dry but this isn't a bad drink at all!  Slightly thicker - if that's the right word - in consistency than the elderberry I made last autumn, which apparently means it has a higher alcohol content. When I tip the glass there's a little delay in some of the liquid sliding back down; something to do with evaporation and surface tension?  Yeah, that's getting far too technical for me too.

Next on the list? I think I'm going to have a go at making carrot wine.  I've made wine from berries and fruit...now it's time to have a go at the root.






I began this blog mainly to keep a record of the development of my garden; alongside that I'll occasionally ramble on about other things - usually around the subject of outdoor spaces - that I feel like sharing.  So here's some ramblings about some places I visited whilst away.  I'll get to the status of the vegetables towards the end - something to look forward to.

During the two week break I did nothing in the garden.  Instead I took time out to visit various family members.  I did have a slight guilty feeling about not using the time to crack on with jobs outside, which lasted around half a day before being pushed firmly to the back of my mind. Sometimes it's not just work I need a break from.

First stop - Northamptonshire branch of the family; my younger brother and his girlfriend. We took a picnic to Stowe gardens, a National Trust property near Silverstone. If you've never been it's definitely worth a visit.  Although you pay an entry fee into the gardens, the parkland is free....oh and don't forget to take a picnic. Your food will definitely taste better in these surroundings! It's full of lakes, rivers, fabulous old trees, temples, ornate stone bridges, spectacular views...no, scratch that....... vistas is a better word to describe the vast open landscape of rolling hills, wide paths meandering through ancient woodlands and broad riverbanks where groups of families and friends sit chatting, eating or play games together.

A bottle of the plum wine had travelled with me and we opened it during an impromptu music session one afternoon.  I swear we played so much better after a couple of glasses each!

Surely, this has to have been in a film?

Mr. Darcy will be appearing out of the water,
any second now

A few days later I was in Exmoor with more family members, staying in a holiday cottage.  Lynton, Lynmouth, Dunster and the moor itself were all part of the itinerary.  I've never been to Dunster before and was seriously impressed with the castle and grounds which stands overlooking the town (you can see right out to the coast from its battlements). Not to mention the town itself (not a mobile phone shop, MacDonalds or Tescos in sight!) which has numerous places to eat and the best triple layer Victoria sponge cake I've tasted in a long time.

Oh and the second bottle of plum wine came to Exmoor and went down well with a large chocolate birthday cake. It seems to go with everything!

Dunster town viewed from the castle

Dunster Castle and the coast beyond

The first thing I did when I returned home was to plant out all my vegetables, except the tomato plants, in the raised beds. The leeks, sweetcorn, cauliflowers, broccoli and brussel sprouts are planted out with mats around the bases of the brassicaceae to prevent cabbage root fly getting in. I've also sown carrot, parsnip, red onion, beetroot, peas and dwarf bean seeds and sadly resorted to sprinkling slug pellets (safe to use around children and pets) sparingly in between all the plants.  I try not to use chemicals in the garden but broken egg shells and crockery only do so much to keep the pests at bay.

Two weeks on and there are signs that things are growing.  The peas were the first to show but now I can see tiny leaves along the rows of carrots and beetroot.  It looks like I'll have to do some thinning out soon too.

The leeks, sweetcorn, broccoli and brussel sprouts seem to enjoy being in the beds, however the cauliflowers aren't looking so happy...............wait for the bad pun......................... they're hearts just don't seem to be in it! And I mean that literally, joking aside.

Beetroot popping up

Mind your peas in queues!

                 

The leeks are doing well...

....as are the sweetcorn but.....

.....the cauliflowers? not so good

I have a little suggestion before I go. Are you looking for a good read? something a bit different from the usual '101 things to do with your parsnips'?  Add this on your birthday/Christmas/Anniversary wish lists....'Minding My Peas and Cucumbers'.  The author, Kay Sexton, takes you through her story of owning an allotment plot and all the ups and downs that go with it.  Full of humour, recipes, quirky characters,  handy tips and, of course, the trials and tribulations of growing crops, it's a great read.  A nice, easy read. In fact, you don't have to be into growing your own to enjoy this book. I was bought a copy by my sister for my birthday and I've enjoyed reading it 'in drips' in the evenings. If you don't receive it as a present then I suggest you treat yourself to a copy..........curl up on the sofa on a drizzly Saturday afternoon and enjoy the read; it's working for me!

Pallets and plums II

Two compost bins for the price of 7 tree stakes and a pack of wood screws - not bad.

Yes, I got out before the rain came today and built my second compost bin.  It's not pretty, or level but it'll do the job nicely and it's not like I'm going to be entering any 'Glamorous Garden' competitions in the near, or distant future!

Let's see if it stays up in a storm!

Each time I complete a task in the garden I feel just that bit closer to my goal of making a garden out of The Field.  Some weekends I don't get much done at all and I don't often ask for help from others if I think I can do it myself, so the going is slower than most garden makeovers.  But, I enjoy it when I'm outside, whether it's digging, cutting, planting, weeding or anything else that needs doing. Plus I get a huge sense of satisfaction when I can stand back and say "I did that".
                                                                            

February 2008 after brush-cutting

February 2011 and it's slowly taking shape

 These two photos show the garden as it was in February 2008 (about 7 months after I moved in) and as it is now, in February 2011.  Hmmm, looks like the fence needs another coat of weather-proofing; that's another job added to the list of many!    
                                                                                                                                               For the time being though the next task on my list is the fencing around the raised beds; those cauliflower seeds are growing quickly and the leeks are just beginning to pop their heads up.  Fingers crossed for good weather next weekend.



On the wine-making front, the plum wine is now in the fermentation jar.  Although I can clearly see the sediment on the bottom, the rest of it still looks a bit cloudy, and it's very pink!  Is it supposed to look like that? I have no idea. It's got a few weeks to clear up and I've added the Bentonite which helps speed up the process so I guess I'll just have to wait and see.  Hasn't anyone invented an 'Instant Wine' recipe yet?

A very pink plum wine fermenting in the kitchen corner

The rack of wine bottles was recently given to me by a friend and it's sitting in the kitchen waiting for me to find somewhere to put it.  It's not there in an attempt to make the picture look interesting - honest!

Pallets and plums

I've been bringing home pallets from work again. They're incredibly useful if you're trying to redevelop a garden and can be used for all sorts of projects such as raised beds (although I did buy mine in kit form), hen houses and even garden table and chairs.  Check out this great inspirational book called 'Build It.....with Pallets' if you're looking for ideas for your own garden or have some spare pallets you want to use for something other than firewood. Another great place to find ideas for projects in the garden is the Gardeners World website. I built my first compost bin using instructions from there; now it's time to build a second. The idea is to create one heap whilst having another that is ready for use.  In theory I should always have plenty of good compost ready for the garden. So, if you ever spot any pallets lying around in building sites, factory yards or garden centres it's worth asking if they're going spare.

On a serious note, I stress the importance of asking very strongly!  Some pallets belong to delivery companies who'll want them back so don't just take pallets if you see them lying around - always ask first!


Once the compost bin is done then I'll turn my attention to constructing a log store behind the shed. I've never done that before either but it can't be much harder than constructing the compost bin.  I bought logs from a local supplier this winter - good logs too, a mixture of soft and hard wood fully seasoned.  But with the winter we've had he was in short supply so I'm thinking about starting to collect wood earlier this year and storing it so that it can finish seasoning through the year ready for this winter.  Plus any additional pallets I get can be broken down and used as kindling instead of buying it in bags.  Hopefully I'll save money on heating next winter that way and if I can find a local gardener or tree surgeon whose looking to get rid of excess wood, then even better!

In the midst of all this pallet procurement, I've planted my first leek and cauliflower seeds in trays and they're growing on the windowsill in the spare bedroom at the moment.  I went to check on them the other day and the cauliflowers are just beginning to show tiny shoots above the compost.  Ok, so this probably isn't the most exciting news for people who've been growing veg for years but as it's my first attempt I'm full of anticipation to see if I can grow them successfully.  

fingers crossed! 

First things first though - the rabbit proof fence.  Not the brilliantly made Australian movie but the one that's got to secure the raised beds from rabbits and other such pests in the garden.  I need to crack on with this sooner rather than later and planting the seeds has given me the incentive I needed.  So this weekend I've put the posts in to mark the area, using the back edge of the raised beds as one boundary and leaving enough space so that once the wire is up I can still get in with a wheelbarrow.  Having measured it all out it looks like I'm going to need around 18.5m of wire mesh around the beds!  Think I'll do some research on costs on the internet this week!

I'll be putting a seed cloche/mini greenhouse  in this area too.  I bought one last year and it's been sitting in my shed ever since.  It's about time it came out of its box and was made use of!

posts marking position for wire mesh fencing

I'm going to use a thick wire mesh fence rather than chicken wire; I learnt a valuable lesson when I used wire mesh around my young apple trees to protect them against the rabbits.  I used normal sized wire mesh and something (maybe not a rabbit?) still had a go at biting through the wire, so I added a second layer which seems to have kept pests at bay so far.  This time I'll be buying thicker wire mesh.

Clearing back the hedgerow has also begun with the cutting back of an overgrown Box shrub. I'll cut it right back to just a few inches above the ground and hopefully it will come back without any problem so that I can re-shape it and maintain its growth. I won't do much more to the hedges in the garden at the moment, not with Spring just around the corner but I have future plans to add some flowering shrubs where there are large gaps in the hedge on the right side of the garden and lay the ash and hazel hedge on the left side. I've asked my neighbours if they mind me managing their boundary hedge and (funnily enough) there's no objection.

A new wine is on the go as well.  Last year I made my very first home made wine - elderberry. I don't usually blow my own trumpet but it was a lovely wine to drink - very light and fruity. I was very proud of it and it was lovely to give to family and friends as a Christmas present. I was given the recipe by a friend of mine who makes wine in gallons.  Then my 'Secret Santa' present  this Christmas was a wine book with 130 wine-making recipes which should keep me busy for years. So I decided to have a go at making plum wine; just a gallon in case it turns out to be undrinkable and more useful as a drain cleaner!  The instructions are quite different from my friend's so I'll see if the one in the book produces as good a wine.  I should have a verdict in about 3 months.

Oops! this post has been up for about 3 days before I realised that a whole paragraph had gone missing at the end.  Otherwise these final photos don't make any sense!  They're images taken of the garden redevelopment which is part of the dementia project I'm involved with at work.  I mentioned a short while ago that the contractor was starting the garden and after 3 weeks we're beginning to see the new layout take shape. It's really caught the attention of the staff and residents at the home.  With the transference of top soil from the front garden to this courtyard garden it's beginning to catch the eye of the public as they pass too.......the first time in almost 2 years that I've seen anyone look at the building!  So here are just a few images to show what's been going on so far.

First the conservatory came down to make room for a canopy

Then the overcrowding shrubs came out to open up the views

Next, the slabbed pavement was removed

In goes hardcore and top soil for new paths, lawn and borders

Phew..it's been a busy time both at work and at home. That's all folks!(for now)