October Gatherings

The last few weeks have been crazy and now that we are in Ocyober, the weather has turned cold, wet and stormy. In between rain and wind, I’ve been out collecting the last of the hazelnuts, haws, blackberries, elderberries and sloes.

I’ve been lucky enough to receive bags and bags of apples from a friend and have made dozens of pots of various jams and sauces, photos of which I will upload soon. I have also made apple pies, crumble and hope to make my own apple cider vingear and maybe dry some apple slices for the winter.

I’ve been drying my hazelnuts out on the stove and storing them in an airtight container as I plan to grind them down and make my own hazelnut chocolates as gifts for christmas so will let you know how that work out!

I will dash again but I will leave you with a suitable poem by Yeats.

The Song of Wandering Aengus

(1899)

I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire aflame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And some one called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.

Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among the long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.

September days

Just a quick post, I have been very busy harvesting the fruit and veg from my garden and now that the start of autumn is here, I have been out collecting the first of the elderberries and making summer harvest jam [the first apples, pears, last years elderberries and blackberries] and thanks to a friend, I have bags of apples waiting to be used. I plan on making apple jelly for the first time, as well as more jam.

 

The haws are incredible this year, I’m just waiting for them to get really plumb and soft before I pick them, while already the rose hips are turning red. Very few blackberries this year alas, a result of the lack of sun this summer I imagine.

My compost, which I’ve been turning all summer [an exhausting process] will soon be ready for spreading around my garden, the I continue to harvest lettuce and cucumbers from my little greenhouse.

While, I will write more soon!

 

 

New Beginnings

It is the last day of July and after the hectic last few months, I am finally able to tell you of the all the progress I’ve been making with my new garden, foraging and other efforts towards living a more sustainable life.

 

 

 

New Fruit, Veg and Herb Garden

With the help of a hired man, we cleared a large area of land for the new garden. It was an exhausting task as we fought with briar’s, poison ivy, barbed wire, blackthorn, tree stumps, rocks and various construction materials that had been dumped there by previous owners. After clearing all the top debris, the top sods of grass were removed to the bare earth. It took several long hard days over a number of weeks until the land was finally clear.

We brought up all the fruit trees, fruit bushes vegetables and herbs that we had bought over the last year and worked out where best to place everything, both visually and on paper. It is important when planting a new garden to consider things like where is the most sun, what sort of soil it is, is there any shelter from the wind…Other practical things to consider are the size of the plants you are putting in, how high and wide will they grow and cross pollination.

It took me a few weeks to dig in everything as the weather was either hot and dry causing the ground to split and go rock hard, or else it was poring rain! In the two photographs I have up, you can see the fruit trees and fruit bushes mark out the borders of the vegetable garden, while we used briquettes of turf to border the herb garden and soft fruit bed.

Here is the scary list of all that I have planted so far:

Fruit Trees

1 Peach

1 Apple

2 Plum

2 Conference Pear

Fruit Bushes

1 Blueberry

2 Cranberry

2 Raspberry

3 White current

4 Blackcurrant

4 Redcurrant

6 Gooseberry

Vegetables

Celery

Cauliflower

Red Onion

Ordinary Onion

Broccoli

Cabbage

Brussel Sprouts

Leeks

Sweetcorn

Courgette

Lollo Rosso

Pumpkin

Rhubarb

Potatoes

Radish

Cherry Tomato

Globe Artichoke

French Beans

Garlic

Soft Fruit

31 Strawberry plants

Herbs [Planting in pairs or threes usually]

Angelica

Comfrey

Thyme

Pink Evening Primrose

Chives

Sage

Lemon Balm

Spearmint

Borage

Lavender

Loveage

Feverfew

Sorrel

Green Fennel

Origimum

Applemint

Valerian

Phew! After writing that long list, I am tired just thinking about it, never mind how long it took me to dig them all in! I am almost finished my planting thank goodness, I want to get the ground dug over as quickly as possibly and plant crops before the weeds come back so I still want to plant:

Kale

Beetroot

Winter Carrots

More Radishes

More Potatoes

I am thrilled with all the progress over the last two months that has been made and how quickly the plants are adjusting to the soil and establishing themselves. It has been a nightmare to keep them watered as its been an unusually dry summer so far [not that I'm complaining!]and so every evening, I haul twenty liters at a time[ten in each watering can] up the hill to the new garden. It takes about ten trips before its well watered but this time next year, I wont have to water the trees, bushes and herbs, just the vegetables. I will have some muscles by the end of the season!

I was shocked to discover that withing two days of planting the fruit bushes, that the birds had stripped them entirely of all the fruit. I bought fine netting and covered all the fruit bushes and strawberry plants. To my horror, we came up one morning and found a blackbird stuck in the strawberry nets with the wire totally twisted around him. After grabbing gloves and scissors, I carefully held the bird in one hand while cutting off all the net. He was very stressed and I felt terrible but at last all the netting that we could see was gone and I released him into some bushes and he hopped off. I removed the strawberry nets and instead bought mini wind mills which make noise when they spin in the breeze. It seems to be working so will buy some more as want to keep any fruit that we can. I intend to buy fine mesh to place over the strawberry bed as a precaution. I also tied strips of tin foil to the fruit bushes as this is supposed to scare away birds also.

Apart from weeding and watering, I have a few more tasks to do in the garden, I need to get a fine mesh net to put over the cabbage to stop white butterflies landing and laying their eggs which hatch into hundreds of green caterpillars which devour the plants in days. I also need to get elastic bands and tie up all the celery plants to encourage them to grow up rather then out. My broccoli plants will need little collars to stop caterpillars and my brussel sprouts will need support sticks in a few weeks once they start growing tall. There is always something to do in a garden!

Its been terribly hard backbreaking work and my skin is now brown from the sun, my hands are calloused and rough from digging, while my back and shoulders are full of knots and strained muscles.

I have been out everyday I can and at times it feels like all I do is breathe, eat and sleep this garden but it will never be this hard again and it is so worth it. I have spent so long thinking about this and to see it come into existence is an incredible empowering feeling.

I am looking forward to finally been able to supply our kitchen with the majority of our food coming from the garden. I wont be using any chemicals, this will be an organic garden and so our food will freshly picked and pesticide free. Its going to be wonderful!:)

Wild Strawberry Rambles

Today is the first day of summer and to my delight, the weather which has been positively wintry the last few weeks has fled and the sun is back. Although the weather was unseasonably cold and wet, the country lanes and fields are awash with colour. Wildflowers such as delicately scented Lady’s Smock, bright golden buttercups, tall ox- eye daisies, pretty pinks, cream dog roses, purple vetch, yellow No Blame, midnight blue Bugle, wild Spotted Orchids dressed in frocks of lilacs and purples…Bees buzz happily amongst the flowers collecting nectar to make honey, birds sing and my dog dashes joyfully up and down the lanes on our daily walks.

I have been doing a lot of foraging in the last two months, researching all the while for information on wild flowers and plants and have been coming home with bunches of Horsetail for making into hair tonic, Wild Garlic leaves for cooking, young Dandelion leaves for salads and stuffing, Dandelion flowers for honey, young nettle tops for soup, Silverweed leaves and Wild Apple Mint for the bath, Red Clover for skin lotions, creams and as a blood cleansing tea, Ribwort Plantain to make into an tea and in the last few days, the delicate Wild Strawberries are coming into season.

I had hoped to make Elderflower wine this year and now is the time for collecting the blossoms, however the stormy conditions of late have burnt a lot of the blossoms and I am hesitant to take whats left in case it affects the production of berries in autumn, which are essential for making my tonic wine. I am waiting to see if they recover and hope to try making a small quantity of wine to try out different recipes.

All the storms have thrown down hundreds of pine cones of all sizes in the woods so I have been out collecting bags of them, bringing them home and drying them out for kindling. My foraging has become such a daily part of my life now that I almost never leave the house without a bag or two for collecting as you never know what you will find! Its a very rewarding and exciting journey of learning what is and isn’t edible, the traditional and modern uses of a plant, its folklore and mythology and then finding new ways of using these plants in my life to enhance the wellbeing of my family and friends and myself.

The majority of my foraging is down down a few select country lanes, more footpaths then anything and I dread to think of the profound loss, if these lanes were ever cemented over or destroyed. These treasure troves of hundreds of wild plants and flowers are irreplaceable, their contribution to biodiversity and a healthy Eco-system crucial. More and more species of wild plants and animals are becoming extinct every day and it is in places like these quiet country lanes, that the need to save our environment, to save our planet becomes crystal clear. So next time you are out for a walk, don’t just admire the beauty around you but think ‘What Can I Do to Protect This??

 

Ginger Ale

A friend of mine recently gave a recipe for making my own Ginger Ale so I tried it out a few weeks ago ad it was quite nice, very light and refreshing. I definitely intend making more for over the summer months.

 

 

Ingredients

1 sachet of dried Yeast

3 Lemons

1 large piece of raw Ginger

1 bag of brown Sugar

1 Jar of cheap honey

6 Sterilized bottles of 1 litre capacity [Large water bottles would be best]

1)Place 1 teaspoon of dried yeast in the end of each bottle.

2)Pour half a lemon’s worth of juice into the end of each bottle. Three lemons is enough for six bottles.

3)Pour a large generous tablespoon of honey into the end of each bottle to add sweetness to the final taste

4)Add a 100grams of sugar to each bottle

5)Peel and grate your ginger and then precook in a little water in a saucepan for a few minutes until it turns brown. Divide into 6 equal quantities and add to the bottles

6)Pour in enough filtered water into each bottle until they are 2/3 full and then shake well. Leave in a warm place for 48hrs

7)Filter each bottle using muslin over in a sieve and store in a dark cold place. Before serving, leave in the fridge for a few hours. Use up your batch of Ginger ale within two weeks as the yeast feeds on the sugar, the ale becomes bitter with time.

It is very important to leave some room for the mix to breathe as it will naturally expend, as I found out to my dismay, when one of my bottles exploded! I had used wine bottles rather then plastic water containers and was picking up shards of glass for ages after as the force of the explosion had sent glass and ale everywhere! Thankfully no one was hurt. I had also used white sugar instead of brown which turned the ale a pale creamy colour suggestive of a tropical drink rather then ale!, hence my suggesting brown sugar, which will turn the ale a lovely golden colour. Precooking the ginger in some water will also improve the colour. I will upload some photos of my new improved Ginger Ale over the next few weeks.

 

Peppermint and Rose Creams

I have always wanted to make my own sweets or confectionery as it is otherwise delightfully called! I always make my own truffles at Christmas and marzipan sweets but want to try my hand at things like fudge, nougat, boiled sweets and creams. Here is my recipe for Peppermint creams:

 

 

Ingredients

1 large white egg [save the yellow yolk for cooking again]

400grams of Icing sugar [about 2/3 of an average bag of icing sugar]

1 Teaspoon of Peppermint Extract [or homemade Peppermint oil]

Simply stir in the icing sugar gradually with the egg white. Add a teaspoon of peppermint extract at this stage [I used my own peppermint oil that I made about a month ago] and fold in until you have a firm dough. Roll out onto a board sprinkled with icing sugar and cut into shapes. Leave on greaseproof paper overnight, covering with a t- towel, turning occasionally until the creams are totally hard. Keep in a air-tight tin.

I made a batch of peppermints creams to start [this mix makes about two dozen] and then made Rose Creams by simply adding a tablespoon of Rosehip Syrup that I had made last autumn. These creams were much sweeter and slightly pink in colour and quite delicious.

 

Chamomile and Cucumber Lotion

I have recently begun learning how to make my new creams and lotions as since the skin is the largest organ in the body, I am careful about what I put on my skin and would rather use the less harmful chemicals the better. One recipe I found recently and then adapted is for Chamomile [a gentle soothing herb] and Cucumber [great for sensitive skin] lotion. It was incredibly easy to make and only needs three ingredients.

Half a Locally Grown ideally organic Cucumber [in view of the recent cucumber crisis]

A mug of strong freshly brewed Chamomile tea

70ml of Glycerine

Using a juicer, extract as much juice as possible from the cucumber and place in a bowl. Add the Chamomile tea when it is slightly cooled and then the glycerine. Mix well and when cool, pour into containers of your choice. I used the small bottle the glycerine came in. Keep in the fridge and use the same as you would any other lotion. I have been using this lotion twice a day now on my face and body and find it very refreshing, moisturizing and calming, and am quite delighted with it!

 

HorseTail Hair Tonic

Horsetail is one of the richest sources of Silica in nature, silica is a essential part of your hair, skin and nails and is found in plants but our modern diets can be often lacking in this nutrient leading to weak nails, brittle hair and pour skin quality. To make a simple yet effective tonic for your hair, I recommend collecting a dozen horsetail stems. Wash well and then bruise slightly crushing the stems between your fingers. Place in a large bowl and pour enough boiling water over the stems until the bowl is almost full. Leave for a few hours and then sieve. When cool, pour over your scalp the next time you are washing your hair. Easy as can be! I will leave you with a poem which Ive always liked and which seemed fitting for the first day of summer.

 

Poppies

Where Clover nestles, rich and nectar – blessed,

Among the murmuring wayside wilderness,

A blaze of blood – bright poppies Sprang to flame,

Vibrant and sweet as new – found happiness.

 

Dimming the blushing sorrel’s rosy warmth,

Melting the foam – cool clouds of meadowsweet,

Like fronds of fire they glimmered through

The green

And fell, a shower of sparks, among the wheat.

 

Joan Howes

Spring Delights

Its been a busy few weeks since I last wrote an entry here but they have been a very productive and satisfying few weeks. I have been trying out different recipes for using Dandelions, Wild Garlic and Nettles, as well as Red Clover and various mints. I have discovered so much lately about the great bounty that nature has to offer us for free and the incredible health benefits from plants found while out foraging.

However before I go any further, I need to advise you that before you use any plant, you must be 100% certain of its identity and usage. For those of you who have seen ‘Into the Wild’ [where a young man accidentally poisons himself and dies from eating the wrong plant], you will know that treble checking the identity of a plant is crucial and could save your life. So before you pick, be sure, be certain and then check again!

I would also like to stress that I am not an actual herbalist, just someone who enjoys foraging and learning about plants, so if you are on any medication, please check with a qualified medical herbalist or your doctor before trying new plants.

Ok, serious stuff over, I have been having so much fun finding new ways to use Dandelions, often seen as a weed but a wonderful plant for acting as a spring tonic. Below are some recipes that I tried and altered. Enjoy!

Dandelion Juice

Cool off with a refreshing glass of dandelion-pineapple juice. It’s easy to make, and loaded with the vitamins and anti-oxidants that your body needs.

Ingredients:

• 1 large handful fresh dandelion greens, washed
• 1 tin of pineapple juice
• 5-6 ice cubes

Preparation:

Place the dandelion greens and pineapple juice in a blender and puree. Add ice to the blender and serve in a tall glass.

Dandelion Honey

This is a very easy simple recipe and the results are divine. I use my honey on bread, in tea or in cooking and even just have a tablespoon if I need something sweet!

1. Gather the flowers when they’re fully open but before the full heat of the day. Remove the petals and rinse.

2. In a nonreactive pan, put the petals, water, lemon, and vanilla. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 30 minutes. Remove from burner.

3. Let flowers steep 6 hours. Strain, pressing juice out of the flowers.

Retain only the liquid; return to pan.

4. Bring the flower water to a boil, adding sugar a little at a time. Stir regularly. Reduce heat; simmer until you’re happy with the consistency.

5. Pour into a sterilized jam jar and cover

• INGREDIENTS
• 4 cups dandelion petals
• 4 cups water
• ½ lemon, sliced
• 1 teaspoons vanilla powder or extract
• 8 cups white sugar

Dandelion Oil:

1. Pick one glass container full of dandelion blossoms.
2. Pour olive oil over blossoms until they are fully covered.
3. Using a wooden handle of a kitchen utensil, or a chopstick, carefully poke the mixture to remove air bubbles.
4. Cover glass container with a breathable lid, such as a muslin cloth, held on with a rubber band.
5. Place in sun on a windowsill to steep for a minimum of 2 weeks.
6. Strain and keep in a cool, dark place.

What You Need:

• Glass container
• Breathable lid, such as a woven cloth
• Rubber band
• Olive oil
• Dandelion flowers to fill your container of choice.

I have been harvesting Wild Garlic which is in season at the moment and has many tasty uses. It only has a few months of growth so I made Wild Garlic Oil to preserve some for the year ahead.

1. Gather a good handful of wild garlic leaves
2. Wash throughly and bruise slightly to release the flavour
3. Put them in a clean jam jar, pour in enough Rapeseed oil to cover the leaves.
4. Stir to get rid of air bubbles and seal with a lid
5. Store in a dark place for a month
6. Strain and keep for using over salad or at the end of cooking a meal

Wild Garlic Chicken

I discovered a delicious way to incorporate wild garlic into your food, simply, wash, dry and wrap around bacon, pork or chicken to add a subtle garlic flavour. I put slight slits in my chicken fillets and stuff them with chopped garlic and butter and then wrap the leaves around and cover the chicken with foil like in the photo opposite.Make sure to cover or else the leaves will get burnt.  Roast for twenty/thirty minutes and serve with steamed potatoes and wild salad of dandelion, rocket and young garlic leaves. Yum!

Oh and in case you are not sure what wild garlic looks like, it has dark long leaves and beautiful star like flowers and of course smells of garlic but always make sure of the identity of the plant before you eat! Enjoy the bounty of spring!

I would like to finish this post with a favourite poem of mine which I thought of the other day eating my dandelion honey sitting on the front step of my cottage listening to the birds singing and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face…

Bread and Honey

Of all the meals you can buy for money,

Give me a meal of bread and honey!

A table of grass in the open air,

A green bank for an easy – chair,

The tablecloth inwrought with flowers,

And a grasshopper to tick the hours.

Between the courses birds to sing

To many a hidden shining string.

And neither man nor maid be seen,

But a great company of green,

Upon a hundred thousand stalks,

Talk to us its great green talks.

And when the merry meal is done,

To loither westward with the sun,

Dipping fingers ere we go

In the stream that runs below.

Of all the meals you can buy for money,

Give me a meal of bead and honey.

Richard Le Gallienne

Blackthorn Blossom

The Blackthorn blossom is out and the country lanes seem to be dressed in white and vibrant green for the marriage of the earth and the sun, and wild strawberries cast their dainty petals at your feet and your heart rejoices as you lift your face up to drink in the spring sunshine.

Its been a busy even hectic three weeks since I last updated my blog and great strides have been made. Its an exciting time as I see some of the seeds I planted start to sprout and I plan where all the different crops will go. This year I’m also diversifying into flowers, specifically flowers that are fragrant and that attract butterflies and bees to draw them into my garden. I’m also looking into creating a flower box of scented flowers and herbs that add colour and will be conveniently located for my cooking needs. I’m also growing some night time plants that will transform my bedroom from a place to rest my weary eyes at night into a fabulously scented exotic boudoir!

The Garden

I have been hard at work digging up the vegetable patches from last year, leaving them for a day to expose the turned soil to the sun and air to kill off any unhealthy bacteria and then removing any stones and weeds that have sprung up. Backbreaking work but essential. We are still having some shockingly cold nights so I’m been careful what I’m planting outside until I’m sure the last of the frost has gone, as it would be a shame to spend a fortune on seeds and have them rot.

To date, I have planted direct into the soil:

Peas – Early Onwards

Peas – Kelvedon Wonder

Peas – Petit Pois

Mangetout – Oregon Sugar Pod

Broad Bean – Giant Exhibition Longford

Broad Bean – The Sutton

Carrot – Early Nante x2

Parsnip – Hollow Crown x2

Onion – Stuttgarter Riesan

Onion – Rinjunsburger

Radish – Zlata

Radish – Mixed

Garlic – [to ward off greenfly attacking my broad beans]

Using my own compost, I enriched the soil of all the peas and beans as they require very rich soil and will benefit greatly from some extra nutrients if you supply them with these at the beginning of the growing season.

I have had very little success with my radishes last year so I have been adding the ashes from my stove to the soil for the radishes to change the composition of the soil from acidic to more alkaline and I shall be very interested to see what if any effect this will have on the seeds I planted in that patch.

The Greenhouse

I have crammed my greenhouse to the brim with trays of seed, the majority of which shall be transplanted outside the end of April, first for hardening off and then for planting directly into the soil in the garden. This what I have planted in the greenhouse since I last updated my blog:

Vegetables:

Celery – Pascal

Runner Beans – Scarlet Emperor x 2

Mixed Lettuce

Herbs:

Basil

Lemon Coriander

Oregano

Chives

Mint

Rocket

Coriander

Parsley

Rosemary

Thyme – common

Sage

Lavender

Flowers:

Larkspur – Giant Imperial Mixed

Delphinium – Pacific Giants

Sweet Peas – Spencer Mixed x 2

Lovage

Night Scented Stock

I have almost finished buying all the seed I need expect for a few more herbs I want to grow like Angelica and Borage, both of which have been used since medieval times for general cooking and for making sweets.

Composting

The awful winter has had a drastic effect on the contents of my compost bin I discovered last week, instead of rich dark wonderful compost, the bin was full of slimy mush and had an awful smell. So after removing the last of the good compost that was at the bottom, using a pitchfork, I turned the compost several times [mind your back doing this as the weight of compost is shocking] and then gradually added layers of torn up newspaper to dry out the mix and to help increase the temperature inside the bin. The higher the temperature, the faster you get good compost. I will continue to do this and next time we are at the sea, will collect some new seaweed which is a great activator for your composting. To get rid of the smell, I added a few handfuls of sea salt and this really helped things. Your compost shouldn’t smell bad and is a sure sign that its too wet. I also discovered that some vegetables and fruits which had been thrown in whole were not breaking down very well so from now, we are chopping everything up more finely that goes in.

Garden Sheds & Equipment:

Spring is a great time to update and maintain all your garden equipment and any out buildings you have. Took advantage of the few nice days we had and put new wood stain and wood protector on my garden shed, as well as our garden bench Our garden table and chairs, as well as fencing and gates all need new paint so plan to do those soon. The courtyard walls need to be scraped down and repainted with antimould paint as they suffered badly from the winter rains and snows and have gone all bubbly and discolored. The varnish on the back door has warped and we have decided to take it off and then instead of putting new varnish on, to simply paint it in a cheerful colour. The kennel and the turf shed could do with a lick of paint and again instead of the traditional black and white style, we are going to try out some bright colours this year. If you are in DIY centre, take home colour swathes so that you can decided in advance what shade of paint will work best in the area you want to do up. You can also buy little samples of paint if you want to test out a colour before buying a litre or more of paint.

Dandelion and Herb Stuffing

I have been looking into what herbs and plants I can forage on my walks and one of those is Dandelion. Commonly seen as a weed, this humble plant is a wonderful thing indeed, all parts of the plant can be used from using the young leaves in salads and stuffing, to making wine from the flowers to making coffee and tinctures with the roots. It is excellent for liver and kidney complaints and is a powerful diuretic. Today I decided to take Dandelion and herb stuffing, which was a big success and has many health benefits.

Ingredients:

4/5 young Dandelion leaves washed

1 Onion

Bread Crumbs

Margarine

Water

Tablespoon of Olive oil

2/3 Sage leaves

Thyme

Fresh Chives

A variety of Seeds

Finely chop the herbs and onion and add the breadcrumbs, seeds, margarine and oil. Add some boiling water and mix well. Cook in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes. Serve hot with roast turkey or chicken or cold in sandwiches.

New Horizons

On a final note, I would like to include two poems, one about the beauty of nature and a still warm day, and the other about that yearning, that need to explore, to set off every now and then in search of adventure. Around this time of year, I start to hear the call of the unknown, the open road, the lure of the high seas and that which lies just beyond the horizon. Soon I tell myself, soon, when the weather is better and we are in the month of marrying [June], soon I will shall pack my rucksack and reclaim the world as my own. To travel every once and then is as essential to my health as sunshine and green fields, it is to become alive, to remember what it is to be free, to rediscover joy, to live for the moment and to see the world anew.

In Nature’s Garden

It is the hour when from the boughs

The nightingale’s high note is heard;

It is the hour when lovers’ vows

Seem sweet in every whispered word;

And gentle winds, and waters near,

Make music to the lonely ear.

Each flower the dews have lightly wet,

And in the sky the stars are met,

And on the wave is deeper blue,

And on the leaf a browner hue,

And in the heaven that clear obscure,

So softly dark, and darkly pure,

Which follows the decline of day,

As twilight melts beneath the moon away.

Byron

 

Over the Hills And Far Away

Where forlorn sunsets flare and fade

On desolate sea and lonely sand,

Out of the silence and the shade

What is the voice of strange command

Calling you still, as friend calls friend,

With love that cannot brook delay,

To rise and follows the ways that wend

Over the hills and far away?

Hark in the city, street on street

A roaring reach of death and life,

Of vortices that clash and fleet

And ruin in appointed strife,

Hark to it calling, calling clear,

Clearing until you cannot stay

From dearer things than your own most dear

Over the hills and far away.

Out of the sound of the ebb-and-flow,

Out of the sight of lamp and star,

It calls you where the good winds blow,

And the unchanging meadows are:

From faded hopes and hopes agleam,

It calls you, calls you night and day

Beyond the dark into the dream

Over the hills and far away.

W . E . Henley

Dreams like petals

Its been a busy few weeks, I planted the majority of my seed last weekend and have them in the freshly cleaned greenhouse under panes of glass to encourage them to grow quickly, as its still quite chilly outside and they need all the heat they can get. It took a surprising amount of time to do this and used up a fair amount of potting compost but its great to get a head start on the planting. Last year, I started all of my seeds off in May which was much too late for most of the crops so I’m hopefully for much earlier and more productive crops this year. I am only going to water once as a week as I don’t want to encourage mold to grow in the greenhouse and that should be enough for now for the seeds.

So far, I’ve planted in trays:

Broccoli – Hybrid variety

Cucumber x 2 – Marketmore

Cherry Tomato – Cerise

Courgette – Black Beauty

Onion – Rinjunsburger

Sweet Pepper – Californian Wonder

All Round Lettuce

Turnip – Golden Ball

Aubergine – Listada de Gandia

Sweet Corn

Melon

Lemon Balm

Pumpkin – Ordinary Variety

Pumpkin – Hundred weight

I also planted a set of Onions -Stuttgartere Riesan Variety straight into the ground.I have some more seeds that I’m going to plant straight into beds but its been raining the last few days so it will have to wait until the next dry day.

We have drank the last of my Sloe Wine and Sloe Liqueur which went down a treat, so I was left with two pounds of sloes that had been soaked in wine [these were rather red and swollen in appearance but very soft] while I had about a pound of sloes that had been soaked in vodka which were now very hard and black and wizened in appearance curiously enough.

 

 

 

I decided to make straight Sloeberry Jam out of the vodka soaked sloes. To do this, you need:

 

1 Pound of Sloes

1 Pound of cooking apples

2 Pounds of white Sugar

Enough water to cover the fruit

I boiled up the sloes and the apples after first washing the apples and then simmered the fruit for about ¾ hours until it was totally soft.

I then sieved and strained the fruit using a muslin cloth [as you don't want the hard stones of the sloes in your jam] and put the mixture back into the pot and boiled it up again then.

When it was boiling nicely, I slowly stirred in the sugar and kept stirring until all the sugar was dissolved and let it boil for about 15/20 minutes.

I then did the cold saucer test to see if my jam was setting, where by I place a saucer in the freezer for three minutes or so then put a spoon of the hot jam onto the saucer and see if it slides off when moved and if it sticks to the plate, the jam is done!

Have enough jam jars cleaned and sterilized [which you can done by placing in a warm, not hot, oven for a few minutes]. Carefully pour into the jars, then quickly seal with waxed covers and then place your jam pot covers on top with a elastic band or a ribbon if you are giving them as a gift. When they are cold, don’t forget to label them with the name and date they were bottled.

I ended up making half a dozen small pots of Sloeberry Jam, which was a pleasant dark red colour and tasted bitter sweet, quite plain but tasty!

I then made half a dozen large pots of :

Tipsy Hedgegrove Jam

2 Pounds of Sloeberries

1 pound of cooking Apples

3 Pounds of Sugar

A cup of Rowan Berries

A cup of Blackberries

A cup of Elderberries

A little water

I placed the sloeberries, Rowan berries and apples in the pot with enough water to cover the fruit and boiled for ¾ hours until soft.

I then sieved and strained using a muslin cloth [this is particularly important as Rowan seeds are toxic if ingested but the fruit has antibiotic properties].

I placed the washed Elderberries and Blackberries into the pot and boiled up until it was time to stir in the sugar.

I then boiled up the jam for another fifteen/twenty minutes, did the cold saucer test to check if it was setting and then bottled my jam.

This jam was the most glorious luminous purple/red colour which seemed to glow in the morning light and tasted quite spectacular.

 

I made ten large pots of Blood Orange and Pineapple Marmalade on Monday which was fun and surprisingly easy to make. I had distilled off the last of my Pineapple liqueur that I made last September and had a pound of brandy soaked pineapple left over. To make this marmalade, you need:

 

1 pound of pineapple

1 pound of blood oranges

2 Lemons [don't use the rind]

2 and a half Pounds of sugar

I chopped everything up apart and boiled up the mix with enough water again to cover the fruit and after a hour, when the fruit was soft, I added the sugar and boiled for 20 – 30 minutes. I did the set test and then bottled as before.

This made a lovely bright golden marmalade, medium cut, but quite subtle in taste next time, I will try using the famous Seville Oranges which have a stronger flavour.

I will leave you with a short favourite poem of mine:

Mary to Martha

You haunted the hot kitchen

Through the summer’s warmest days,

Preserving fruits and berries

In a dozen novel ways.

 

Your task was very tiresome,

But you couldn’t let things spoil;

And now these bright, sweet – laden jars

Repay you for your toil.

 

I wandered up the hillsides,

Arm in arm with some slim breeze,

Or lay and heard the woodthrush

Pay his tribute to old trees.

 

I watched the flowers’ shadows

Weaving patterns, cool and kind,

And these and more things lovely

Are preserved now in my mind.

 

When winter days are frosty,

You will have this peach preserve,

And I’ll have dreams, like petals,

Falling in a swift, white curve.

 

And you will serve me peaches

With iced cakes at suppertime,

While, of the petal memories,

I’ll make for you a rhyme.

 

Violet Alleyn Storey

 

Daffodil Sunshine

The rain is here again but thats okay, I can feel it washing away the debris of the winter allowing fresh growth to spring up in its place. I’ve been busy getting ready for the new planting season. I finally devoted an afternoon to cleaning out my greenhouse which turned out to be an exhausting but satisfying job. If you own a greenhouse, I recommend you do the same as soon as you can as a clean greenhouse means healthy plants. It was only when I was inside the greenhouse, bucket of hot water, foaming cleaner and scrubbing bushes in one hand, that I realised just how bad it was. There was green mold on one of the plastic walls, remains of plants stuck to another, dead leaves and slugs…I washed everything down and scrubbed away all dirt and plant remains, washed away the suds with clean water and then did the same to the outside. I was disturbed to say that there was a long tear on one panel so going to buy some heavy duty cello tape and seal that as soon as I can. The metal frame of the greenhouse had become slightly twisted and joints had shifted out of place so I pushed everything back together as if the frame gets out of place, it puts pressure on the plastic which could cause it to tear. I scrubbed down all the plastic trays for holding water and the long wooden shelves. Finally I dried everything with a old towel as too much moisture will encourage mold and harmful bacteria. Its great to see it looking all shiny and new and ready for a new season of planting.

I was delighted to discover that Aldi had 5 foot fruit trees for sale at the incredible price of 4.99 each so I bought four:

1 Conference Pear

1 Opal Plum

1 Morello Cherry

1 Red Haven Peach

This means that I now have seven fruit trees for the start of my orchard as I already have:

1 Doyenne De Comice Pear

1 Conference Pear

1 Julian Graves Apple Tree

I also have:

7 Blackcurrant Bushes

6 Raspberry Sticks

1 Raspberry Plant

4 Gooseberry Bushes

3 Redcurrant Bushes

2 White currant Bushes

1 large Blueberry bush

Rhubarb

12 Strawberry Plants

So, doing pretty well as regards fruit, of course I don’t expect to have fruit this year but in another year or two, I am very hopeful of large harvests of many types of fruit which will be heavenly!

I want to buy some more apple trees, another fig tree, 2 Golden Hornet trees and maybe some more peach and plum trees. I also want to buy 2 Cherry Blossom trees for the front garden to replace our three large clumps of palm trees which were killed off by the snow need to be cut down and their roots dug out. We never liked the palm trees anyways as they look out of place in an Irish garden but they had been planted by a previous person and we don’t like to cut down anything living but its now time for them to go. The Cherry Blossom trees will look gorgeous in the front garden.

I still have quite a lot of work to do to get ready for spring, I have to dig over my vegetable beds, plant all the new fruit trees and bushes, buy some potting compost and work out what seeds I have and what I need to buy before march.

I decided yesterday to try out a new hair treatment that I came across in my book on natural beauty which involved putting half a bottle [about 100g] of melted coconut oil into my hair and scalp. I left it on for a hour and then rubbed in shampoo first [apparently it helps remove the oil faster this way], rinsed it out and then shampooed it again. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to remove all the oil and my hair looks distinctly oily this morning so not thrilled with that so will be washing it out again tonight and hopefully that does the trick. To be fair, my hair does feel softer and maybe with regular treatments, it will make a big difference to the shine and texture of ones hair but from now, I’m only going to do such treatments at the weekend when I know I’m not going anywhere!

I managed to tear some muscles across my lower back a few days ago which was seriously painful, so rather then use Deep Heat or something similar from a chemist, I rubbed in some St John’s Wort Oil which was quite cheap at about e6 for a small bottle and is amazing for muscle injuries, arthritis and general aches and pains. Its the most lovely shade of red and has a pleasant scent and even better it doesn’t stain your clothes!

This is what I’d recommend you would include if you wanted to make your own first aid kit:

Natural First Aid Kit

• For mild burns: cool first with lots of cold water, apply neat st. Johns Wort oil or Lavender, distilled Witch Hazel, Calendula tincture or fresh Aloe Vera Juice
• For Cuts and Grazes: clean first then apply neat Tea Tree Oil or Lavender Oil or diluted tincture of St John’s Wort. Bandage if necessary.
• For Insect Bites and Stings: bicarbonate of soda made into a paste with a little water is great for neutralizing bee stings or ant venom. Cider Vinegar or Lemon juice is great for wasp stings, horsefly and mosquito bites. Antihistamines will also help but if you or the person is starting to have a severe reaction, get to a doctor or hospital straight away.

• For Sunburn: use Aloe Vera juice on burnt skin several times a day, take 2-3 cool baths a day adding up to 8 tablespoons of cider vinegar to help soothe the skin and cool it down.

• For Muscular Strain: place a cold compress on the area until the swelling has subsided. Baths with Epsom or Sea Salt after will help speed up the healing process. St John Wort’s oil rubbed in afterwards is great too. Comfrey oil is great for after you have broken a bone [once you have the cast off] but NEVER take this internally as it is highly poisonous if swallowed. Don’t forget the skin is your largest organ and by rubbing oil onto the affected area above the bone, the oil is harmlessly absorbed though the skin and aids recovery. I have found it very helpful for the time I cracked three ribs, or more recently when I broke a bone in my wrist doing yoga!

Make sure you have lots of plasters, bandages in a wide variety of sizes, lint, muslin, antihistamines, painkillers, first aid cream and a good pair of sharp scissors for your first aid kit. Keep the number of your doctor or emergency doctor on your fridge where it is easily seen. A bottle of Rescue Remedy is invaluable for any kind of shock or trauma and is essential for any first aid kit.

I recommend that you attend some basic first aid classes or at least learn CPR and remember the signs of a heart attack or stroke. You many never need this knowledge but it could save someones life someday. In a serious emergency, remember to keep your calm, ring 999 and make sure to state the situation clearly and give your location as distinctly as possible. If you have to give CPR, don’t stop doing what you are doing but make sure someone else rings 999 and keep doing CPR until the ambulance arrives. Remember to keep checking for signs of life and consciousness. There is so much I could say about this but the best thing I can say is do a course and always call 999.

I hope this helps you to create your own first kit, if one with a more natural focus. Every home and every car should have some sort of first kit. You may not need it today but chances are you or someone you care about will need it someday. If you live in the countryside many miles from a hospital, my advice is to be as self sufficient as possible, to be prepared for the worst and to have a plan ready for emergencies. Lastly, make sure to keep your Tetanus vaccinations up to date, wear gloves when handling rusty metal, cover any cuts if working in the garden or with animals and if you are trekking over mountains or in remote areas, bring your mobile phone fully charged with credit and let someone know where you are going.

I will have more on camping and hill walking later in the year when the weather gets better and I can finally break out all my new camping gear!

To get you in the mood for spring, here is a poem by William Wordsworth

Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth

 

 

Natural Beauty

I recently decided it was time to switch from buying beauty products in the shop, most of which contain harmful ingredients and harsh chemicals to homemade natural treatments. What with it being almost spring, I decided to go for a new look and change the colour of my hair. I have natural chestnut hair with red and gold tints but wanted to go for a stronger auburn look so I bought a packet of dried powdered henna [which cost just under 2 euro!] and following the directions of a new natural beauty book by Neal’s Yard, which are as follows:

Red Henna Dye

Mix the powder [about 100g] with a cup of brewed black tea and two tablespoons of grapeseed oil.

Apply some vaseline to the hairline [very important so they dye doesn't go onto your skin and stain it]

Wrap a towel around your shoulders and wear old clothing as henna is almost impossible to get out of clothes

Spoon the mixture into a smooth paste and using plastic gloves, carefully apply to to your scalp and hair. Rub in well

Wrap some cling film or a plastic bag around your head. Cover with a layer of tin foil [and yes I did feel silly doing this but the heat collected helps bring out the colour!] Wrap a warm towel over this

Leave on for three hours and then throughly wash out with a mild shampoo. Follow up with an intensive conditioning treatment

I had hoped for a more dramatic result but the effect is quite pleasing and it is a change. Don’t be concerned if you don’t notice a difference for a few hours after washing out the henna, unlike shop bought hair dyes, henna [which is a plant usually from India] takes time to develop. One of the best things I like about henna, besides the fact that it harmless and incredibly cheap, is the fact that every time I wash my hair, it changes colour slightly. It will fade with time, I usually get 2-3months out of a henna rinse but you can do it more often. There is also two other types of henna to dye your hair either brown or black. The only word of caution I would give is that it doesn’t work very well on grey hair apparently. It is quite a surreal and fun experience using henna, the green powder has a tendency to bubble delightfully when mixed with water or tea like some sort of witches cauldron and the strong distinctive scent makes me think of rainforest floors, a deep rich earthy damp smell. If you are not keen on the scent, you could always add a drop or two of some essential oil like lavender or rose to make it more floral. I had read that tea added to henna turns your hair bright red while coffee turns it dark, I used the tea this time and to be honest didn’t notice much difference from when I usually colour it with plain henna and water, so next time, I will try coffee and let you know how it works out!

I was feeling adventurous and decided that even though I had two inches taken off my hair a few days ago, that it was time to tackle those split ends and give my hair a treat! So, I once again looked up the Neal’s yard book and found a recipe for a moisturizing Hair mask.

It was wonderfully simple, mash a banana and add two or three tablespoons of grapeseed or olive oil, mix into a paste and apply to your hair. The book then recommends you once again cover your hair with cling film and a warm towel, leave on for thirty minutes and then wash out with a light shampoo. I loved the scent of the banana and felt like my head was some sort of exotic island! However, when it came to time to wash it out, the banana refused to come out and was sticking to my hair like barnacles on a rock! I washed it out twice with shampoo and then conditioner in desperation but still I had so much banana in my hair! I brushed it out and then combed it out which was a horrible painful tangled experience, I must have pulled out copious amounts of hair with the tangles caused by the banana. When my hair finally dried, I was able to comb out the rest and then rewashed my hair the next day to fully cleanse it! What an unfortunate experience! So I do NOT recommend this hair mask! I will be brave at the weekend and maybe try a coconut oil mask recipe and will let you know how that goes!

Besides treating my poor neglected tresses, I decided to see what other natural beauty treatments I could make. I regard my bubble baths as one of my favourite luxuries and have used the Body Shop products for years which are not tested on animals and are sourced fair trade usually. I wanted to see what could I find that was natural, beneficial, affordable and easy to use for baths. These are a few of the things I have tried so far:

Epsom salts or Rock salt is a great way to detoxify the body when placed in a hot bath.

Rose petals add a lovely scent and improve skin tone

Calendula flowers or Marigold as it is otherwise known, help with sensitive skin

Cider Vineger is wonderful for so many things, itchy skin, sunburn, heat rashes, thrush, chicken pox and shingles, allergic reactions…it also helps restore the PH of your skin.

Oats are fantastic for eczema or delicate skin, simple place a handful of oats in some old tights, tie underneath the tap and let the water run over it as you fill up the bath

Baking Soda is also great for calming the skin and as a bonus, it cuts through grease and stains and will leave your bathtub shining!

Essential oils such as lavender or tea tree are great for insect bites and minor cuts and scratches. However, if you are pregnant it is best not to use essential oils to be on the safe side

If you are not lactose intolerant, adding a cup of full fat milk to your bath can help the complexion. Goats milk can also be used this way.

Seaweed washed and placed in a muslin bag and put under a running faucet will help detoxify the body and supply your skin with essential nutrients. If you are collecting it yourself, make sure to take it from a unpolluted beach

Well, I hope that has given you some ideas! Unwind and relax the natural way!

Snowdrops

The start of Spring is almost here, just another few weeks to go. I am already planning what work needs to be done and what crops I want to grow this year. I was astonished to discover that some of the carrots I planted last autumn had survived the arctic conditions and are actually doing quite well, so well that we had some baby carrots for dinner a few nights ago. Its amazing the difference between home grown and shop bought, these carrots were full of flavour and so juicy but at the same time had a good crunch to them. The onion sets I planted last autumn are finally coming up, although not as quickly as I had hoped but still it will be lovely to have fresh scallions in another month or two. Scallions are lovely in so many dishes from champ to potato salad to spring soups and salads. They are also extremely good for you too! Unfortunately all my other winter crops were destroyed, the broccoli, celery and cabbage all have perished. Still I will know next year to cover them in time with fleece material. I have been placing layers of ash from our fire over the carrots and onions to help protect them from the cold and so they wouldn’t rot and so far it seems to be working. The only thing is that it is quite ugly to look at but it will make the soil lighter to work with when it comes to turning it later in the year.

Its not a great time of the year for foraging for edible stuffs but given all the stormy weather we have had later, now is a great time to go out with some bags and collect any fallen pine cones. Pine cones first and foremost make for excellent kindling for starting your fire, they look lovely once dried out and place in a basket by the fireplace. You could paint them and use them for arts and crafts with children or using a bit of jewelery wire, you can make candle and napkin rings of small cones and suddenly you have something different and original. I always bring a heavy duty bag as cones can be surprisingly heavy particularly if they are wet. Make sure to dry them out before using them. Talking of fires, if any trees fall in your garden, don’t just have them removed. You could chop them up for firewood [in this case, store them somewhere dry for a while to remove moisture] or use the logs to create a Eco log pile which insects and small mammals will love. Just put it somewhere shady and in a quiet part of the garden and you will be helping the environment by sustaining local wildlife. Don’t forget to chop up your Christmas tree if you haven’t already taken it to a recycling facility to have it made into bark chips. I know it sounds awful but I like the idea that something which gave us such pleasure and delight during the Christmas will continue to keep on giving by providing us with heat. Also once its been burnt, you can spread the ashes in your garden adding nutrients to the soil.

I was browsing through the magazine section of a newsagent the other day and was surprised at how many publications there are out there on sustainable living so I thought I’d buy one every few weeks and review it here. I was disappointed not to find any Irish magazines but I will try Easons next week who would have a much larger selection. The magazine I did buy in the end is called ‘Home Farmer, for dreamers and realists’ which caught my eye. At just over five euro, it was affordable and has lovely glossy photos and very well written articles on everything to do with sustainable living from keeping geese, growing vegetables, wine making, foraging to building your own log shed! It had an amazing amount of useful, clear and well laid out information. I would recommend it to anyone and will definitely buy it again.

I have been thinking about keeping goats for a well, so have been doing some research on the topic. I even went so far as to buy some books on goats and now know a lot more then I used to! As much as I love the idea of fresh goats milk, as someone who is lactose intolerant I cant drink cows milk but have always loved goats milk and goats cheese and really quite fancied the idea of making my own cheese or using my own goats milk to make beauty products like soap. However, there is the problem of having to breed your goats every year, the problem of what to do with the offspring, vaccinations, housing, diseases, pasture and other costs and complications which would quickly work out to unworkable. Unless you have several fields[so you can rotate their pasture] and can afford to build proper housing for goats as well as look after them correctly, I don’t recommend you try it. It was very disappointing to realise that since I only have one acre and a very strict budget, that it wouldn’t work for me to keep two goats but never mind. For now, I will just buy my Glenisk goats milk from the shop!

I am looking into keeping hens however and this looks a lot more promising and possible. On the whole, hens don’t need too much space in comparison to goats, their needs are few and simple and you don’t need to worry about breeding them unless you want to expend your flock. The benefits are considerable from a fresh free range organic egg for your breakfast or for cooking something yummy to their desire for any kitchen leftovers like bits of salad or potato peel to then using their waste in your garden. If you buy them young as pullets, you can hand tame them so they become used to humans and make nice pets. All you really need is a nice hen house, a good long run with strong wiring to keep foxes out, fresh water, bedding and a variety of food. Once you have those things set up, it seems to just a question of looking after them and keeping them clean and healthy. You could also let them loose for a run each day if you had a walled garden but unless their wings are clipped [which doesn't hurt I've been reassured] they might fly away and get lost or eaten. I haven’t decided where I will put the hen house yet, ideally it should be close to the actual house but space is at a shortage there so it will probably have to be up in my garden. I want to do some more research about the different varieties and there are so many types before I buy so I don’t see myself getting hens until early summer realistically. I am excited by the idea however. I don’t think we will get a rooster as they are quite loud and might upset the neighbours but half a dozen hens would be perfect. More on this again!

One last comment before I go, now is the time to by buying your seeds for sowing in early march. Perpare any beds you have now and plan carefully. Remember not to plant the same crop where you planted it last year! A lot of stores like Aldi and Lidal are selling seeds and fruit sticks cheaply right now, so it is a good time to buy. Its been a long winter but winter is on its way out.The first catkins have come out and very beautiful they look like golden waterfalls hanging from the trees, the willow trees are budding silver tassels and soon snowdrops, daffodils and tulips will be coming out to delight the senses.