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This week in the herb garden

Posted On 29-06-2010 , 14:10

The honeysuckle is intoxicating! It is not, in fact mine, but tumbles exuberantly over the fence from my neighbour's garden. I think I may even have the bigger share of it! I only have to step out of the back door in June and the air is filled with its perfume.
The European honeysuckle, sometimes called woodbine, was traditionally used to treat asthma and urinary complaints. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years and is considered important for clearing heat from the body.
The flowers are expectorant when infused as a tea and can also be made into a syrup to treat coughs.

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle Flower

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This week in the herb garden

Posted On 02-05-2010 , 14:44

The fruit cage is fixed!
Thanks to some expert help, the fruit cage is now fully functional again…
The first job was to examine and straighten up the poles a bit to establish how many would need to be replaced.
Some new connectors were also required. The order was placed and then came a wait of ten days
for the parts to arrive.
Those poles which did not require to be replaced were straightened and the new ones were put in place.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the netting was still in one piece and it was a fairly simple job to clip it back in place.
The red currants, black currants and raspberries are now safe from the birds!!
Next year I will pay more attention to the long range weather forecast before pegging the roof back in place!

the fruit cage

the fruit cage and the view!

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This week in the herb garden

Posted On 04-04-2010 , 06:30

Devastation…
This week we had a late snowstorm. Heavy snow this late in the year is very unusual, but around 30cm fell over 14 hours.
I managed to clear enough snow off the roofs of the greenhouses to prevent any cracked or broken panes of glass, but was too late to save the fruit cage. The roof had gone back on only a couple of weeks ago as the bushes were budding and the birds were beginning to show an interest, but, of course the weight of the snow on this was too much and the poles buckled and bent. I am hopeful of some assistance this week to see what can be salvaged and reused and then I will know how many new poles will be required. Some of the netting may also have to be replaced. Add to that the replacement of the two water butts which burst during the freezing temperatures of December/January and the four panes of glass already replaced in the greenhouses and it is an expensive start to the gardening year.



late snow

fruit cage

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This week in the herb garden

Posted On 20-02-2010 , 13:21

I have been pruning…
Finally got into the garden again now that all the snow has gone! First job was to cut away all last year's fruited raspberry canes and tie in the new ones. Then on to the pruning of the redcurrant and blackcurrant bushes. I know this should have been done earlier, but I am hoping that it is not too late…
As I had the secateurs in my hand I also cut away the dead stems of the golden hop and was heartened to see that new shoots are coming out from the base! That and the snowdrops in the woodland garden tell me that spring is really on the way!

snowdrops

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This week in the herb garden

Posted On 14-11-2009 , 11:40

I have been making crab apple and chilli jelly. I harvested the crab apples a few weeks ago, cooked them and strained them through a jelly bag to obtain the juice. I ran out of time at this point however and the juice went into the freezer!
Last night I eventually found the time to get the jelly made.
I had a smaller quantity of crab apples than usual this year, probably weather related, but as I had still some plain jelly left from last year I decided to add some chill to spice up this batch. I started with 500ml of juice to which I added 500g of sugar and 2 chillies. I used dried 'Joe's Long' chillies from this year's harvest as, from previous experience fresh chopped chilli always seems to rise to the top of the jars. The dried chilli worked well and is evenly dispersed throughout the jelly.
It was sampled today with some French bread, cheese and olives and pronounced delicious!
I am sorry that I have only two jars of it, but am planning some apple, herb and chilli jelly using cooking apples, rosemary and thyme.

Crab Apple Jelly

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This week in the herb garden

Posted On 26-10-2009 , 15:07

I have started off the damson gin!
This should be started as soon as the damsons are ready. I have to confess that this year i was so busy around that time that it didn't get done.
I put the damsons in the freezer (no bad thing as it helps to split the skin, which saves time picking them all with a fork). This weekend it was raining and windy - not weather for gardening - and so I was able to find the time to retrieve the damsons and get this wonderful drink started.
I am hoping it will still be ready for Christmas - though it will be even better if allowed to mature a few months longer.
If you are interested in making this yourself you will find out how here.

Damson Gin

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This week in the herb garden

Posted On 16-09-2009 , 13:59

I have been looking at the grapes...
It was always going to be a challenge to produce grapes from an outdoor vine at over 800 feet above sea level! The vine is now in its sixth year and, though it produces flowers every year, they have never before developed into anything properly resembling grapes.
Although these fruits are small it is encouraging to think what might be possible if we ever again get a good summer! There is not now enough time for these grapes to develop much further - the nights are getting cold and it will not be long before we see the first frost.
So - nothing worth eating this year, but given some better weather, it would seem possible that this vine can produce a crop under these very challenging conditions.

Grapes

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This week in the herb garden

Posted On 29-08-2009 , 13:35

I have made 57 bird feed balls!
I used bird seed and suet and the rowan berry pulp left over from making the jelly last weekend.
This is my first attempt and I was a bit unsure of the quantities to use. So - guesswork and a bit of adjustment to the mixture in the pan - and so far so good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they don't fall apart!
If they work then I might make more, using the crab apple pulp when I make that jelly in a few weeks time.
Hopefully I will then have a supply that will keep the birds going throughout the winter.

Bird Feed Balls

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This week in the herb garden

Posted On 20-08-2009 , 10:40

I have been picking marigolds to make marigold oil. To do this take two large handfuls of the flowers and put in a glass or stainless steel double boiler. Heat, but take care that the oil does not reach boiling point (around 150 degrees is good). Keep at this temperature for an hour or two stirring regularly. It is done when the flowers start to feel a bit crispy. Strain through a filter into a sealable container, label and date. Using the fresh herb will mean that some water from the flowers will be present in the oil and its shelf life will only be a few weeks. If you want your oil to last a year or more then dry the flowers first.
I use this oil to make skin moisturisers and lip salves. It is particularly good in a hand cream for gardeners!

Marigolds

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This week in the herb garden

Posted On 07-08-2009 , 14:40

I cut down the comfrey and added it to the compost heap.
You can do this several times in a season and it will come back with another flush of leaves and flowers. Comfrey is great in compost - it rots down quickly and encourages the decomposition of the rest of the heap.
You can also use comfrey as a mulch around plants. It will slow the evaporation of moisture and provide nutrients for the plants as it decomposes. It is rich in potassium and so makes great feed for tomatoes, gooseberries and other fruiting plants. You can make a liquid feed from comfrey by filling a container with the leaves and topping it up with water. Leave this for a week or two - but be warned - it smells really bad so don't leave it anywhere near where you want to sit and enjoy your garden! Strain out the liquid and put it in a lidded container. This is your liquid feed and should be diluted before use - 1 part feed to 10 parts water is about right. You can throw the decomposed leaves on to your compost heap.
So, comfrey is a useful plant, but it is also an attractive one and bees love its deep purple flowers. I wouldn't be without it in the garden. Read more about comfrey here.