Garden Diary17th August 2020

It is true to say that August is the month ofplenty as a vegetable grower. EveryWednesday my car is getting fuller for thedelivery into town and there is always a timearound this part of the year that I say “Ishould really get a van” but just seem to getthrough until September with just enoughroom in my car. Our market stall has beengreat for reducing deliveries as we get to selleverything right from the garden its grown.

This has been a fantastic year for beetroot sofar with a stand out variety called ‘Boldor’. It isan orange beetroot and is so much sweeterthan the others, a new favourite. We havegrown a lot more kale early in the sessionwhich has been extremely popular.

Dougal Dorman, Head Gardener, Colebrooke Walled Garden

Normally we save it for autumn and winter but with more demand we aresowing it all through the year. Cucumbers can almost be overwhelming withhow many they produce, I harvested 25 cucumbers from 8 plants last weekand feared they all would not find a home but at the market people startedtalking about how good they were and that was that, all sold! Word of mouthis the best way to sell produce, having people together sharing recipes,inspires people to try something new. Globe artichokes have always been ahard one to shift but at the last market there was one advocate who convincedthe crowd by singing their praises. Soon the last of this year’s artichokes weregone.

Another thing I notice about August is that there seems to be two sides to thegarden, depending on how you look at it. If I’m feeling positive, I will noticehow great the flower beds look, how many great looking cabbages there areready for harvest that week. If I wake up on the wrong side of bed, I will noticethe negatives. The peas haven’t been great with too much rain at a key time,our potatoes have blight so lots of work cutting the tops off and our appletrees are almost bare of fruit because of the early frost. The key thing toremember is that a vegetable garden is always a working garden and is notsupposed to look perfect. There is good and bad mixed in the whole thing andrealising that makes the whole place so much easier to enjoy.

CUTTINGROSEMARY

18TH AUGUST 2020

Cuttings are a great way to duplicate and multiple useful herbs such arosemary, thyme or bay. Success rates when it comes to cuttings canvary, so it is important to couple of cuttings to increase your chances ofsuccess. A video of Dougal cutting rosemary can be seen here!

How to increaseRosemary through

cuttings

Cut approx. 6 inches of a green stemof rosemary. Remove all of the leavesfrom the stem, leaving only a coupleat the tip. Prep a pot by filling with seedlingcompost and watering. It takes quitea lot of water to bed in the soil, andby check the before and after weightof the pot the amount of waterabsorb can be guessimated. Dip the end of the rosemary cuttinginto water and then into an organicroot hormone. This is not vital butwill encourage the cutting to formroots. Plant approx. 1/1.5 inches deepin the pot. Plant a number ofcuttings in each pot to assure moresuccessful propagation.

RHUBARB ANDORANGE

MARMALADE

INGREDIENTS

I appreciate it is a little early in the year for makingmarmalade, but when Alison (Brooke HouseAdministrator) provided me with a big bunch ofrhubarb, I couldn't resist making this firm favourite!

Chop up the rhubarb and place in a largesaucepan. Peel the oranges, and slice up therind and add to the rhubarb. Juice the oranges, and add the liquid to thesaucepan, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon. Heat the fruit and juices on a medium heatand add in your sugar gradually, dissolving it asyou go. I use granulated sugar. When all of the sugar is dissolved, simmeringboil the jam for 40 minutes.Be careful not to over boil the mixture, and if indoubt do the gel test (put a dish in the freezerfor about 15 minutes and the jam is ready if itgels when added to the dish). The mixtureshould not be boiled for more than minutestotal. Add to sterlized jars and seal immediately. Thismakes approx. 1.25 litres of marmalade.

As marmalade's go, this isn't difficult to make buttiming is everything. The setting point ofmarmlade is 104.3oC and if you have a cookingthermometer, it's good practice to use it to keepan eye on the cook. Granada made marmalade inour house, and did not need a thermometer. Hecould 'just tell!' I have not inherited his skill, andneed to time the boil to the wire and use thethermometer.

1kg of Oranges (approx 5)1kg of Rhubarb1.3kg of sugar

METHOD

Robyn Livingstone, Brooke House Administrator