Monty's favourite fruit - Plant features: Fruit & veg - gardenersworld.com:
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Tuesday 2 July 2013
How to Grow Your Own Food
Kitchen Gardening 101: How to Grow Your Own Food | Kitchen Gardeners International:
Choosing Garden Crops
The most important recommendation after “start small” is “start with what you like to eat.” This may go without saying, but I have seen first-year gardens that don’t reflect the eating habits of their growers — a recipe for disappointment. That said, I believe in experimenting with one or two new crops per year that aren’t necessarily favorites for the sake of having diversity in the garden and on our plates.
One of the easiest and most rewarding kitchen gardens is a simple salad garden. Lettuces and other greens don’t require much space or maintenance, and grow quickly. Consequently, they can produce multiple harvests in most parts of the country. If you plant a “cut-and-come-again” salad mix, you can grow five to 10 different salad varieties in a single row. And if you construct a cold frame (which can be cheap and easy if you use salvaged storm windows), you can grow some hearty salad greens year-round.
When it comes to natural flavor enhancers, nothing beats culinary herbs. Every year I grow standbys such as parsley, chives, sage, basil, tarragon, mint, rosemary and thyme, but I also make an effort to try one or two new ones. One consequence of this approach is that I end up expanding my garden a little bit each year, but that’s OK, because my skills and gastronomy are expanding in equal measure, as are my sense of satisfaction and food security.
'via Blog this'
Choosing Garden Crops
The most important recommendation after “start small” is “start with what you like to eat.” This may go without saying, but I have seen first-year gardens that don’t reflect the eating habits of their growers — a recipe for disappointment. That said, I believe in experimenting with one or two new crops per year that aren’t necessarily favorites for the sake of having diversity in the garden and on our plates.
One of the easiest and most rewarding kitchen gardens is a simple salad garden. Lettuces and other greens don’t require much space or maintenance, and grow quickly. Consequently, they can produce multiple harvests in most parts of the country. If you plant a “cut-and-come-again” salad mix, you can grow five to 10 different salad varieties in a single row. And if you construct a cold frame (which can be cheap and easy if you use salvaged storm windows), you can grow some hearty salad greens year-round.
When it comes to natural flavor enhancers, nothing beats culinary herbs. Every year I grow standbys such as parsley, chives, sage, basil, tarragon, mint, rosemary and thyme, but I also make an effort to try one or two new ones. One consequence of this approach is that I end up expanding my garden a little bit each year, but that’s OK, because my skills and gastronomy are expanding in equal measure, as are my sense of satisfaction and food security.
'via Blog this'
Monday 1 July 2013
Richard Sandford.
A former chef (with a Michelin star) and wine merchant, he has turned half an acre of his Berkshire farm into a productive plot.
The immaculate plants are defended against deer and rabbits by a tall fence and the garden contains a polytunnel, large fruit cage and a central flower bed.
Espaliered pears and apples edge beds that rotate tightly packed crops of brassicas, herbs, salad and garlic, while great pylons of scrambling vines produce shelling beans for year-round use.
“Apparently, to grow good asparagus you must add 20 tons of manure per acre."
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, which is believed to fight damaging free radicals in the body. Richard chooses dark-skinned varieties as the colour is an indication of high levels of antioxidants.
Parsley contains vitamins A and C and is believed to help prevent macular degeneration (i.e. loss of eyesight).
Onions are rich in the flavonoid quercetin, which has a variety of health benefits, while preliminary scientific studies at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York suggest that garlic prevents breast and prostate cells from dividing, thus limiting tumour growth.
Horseradish contains thiocyanates which have been shown to provide some protection against cancer, while marjoram and thyme are respectively antioxidant and antiseptic.
So Richard produces the greenest chard, the most orange carrots, purple chillies, blueberries, blackberries, kale and asparagus, all to make up a richly coloured and flavoured diet.
The polytunnel is home to over 70 chillies including 'Hungarian Hot Wax’ and 'Aurora’.
It produces in excess of 250kg of tomatoes, such as 'Black Krim’, 'Purple Russian’ and 'Red Zebra’, which are eaten fresh, dried and preserved.
Home-made passata is a favourite, using 'Jersey Devil’ and 'Speckled Roman’ tomatoes. “We cook the tomatoes and strain off the juice to make tomato stock – nothing is wasted. And we also reduce passata with chilli and spice to make harissa paste,” he explains.
Roast tomato and garlic sauce, and tomato and chilli jam are favourites (see right). Sugar and salt are kept to a minimum while flavour is added with horseradish, black cumin and fresh herbs.
Japanese wineberry is the perfect example, the fruit tastes nice but you generally don’t get much of it. I put 12in (30cm) of seaweed and compost and clover mulch around the plants each year so I get sensible size fruit and lots of them.”
A gardener since the Seventies, Richard still regards the activity as fun. “I don’t plod away from year-to-year. I like to try out new things and experiment. One year I’ll plant 10 varieties of carrot, another I’ll do 10 different heritage shelling beans. Usually only a couple will be any good, but those I will grow again and I collect a lot of my own seeds as well.
The immaculate plants are defended against deer and rabbits by a tall fence and the garden contains a polytunnel, large fruit cage and a central flower bed.
Espaliered pears and apples edge beds that rotate tightly packed crops of brassicas, herbs, salad and garlic, while great pylons of scrambling vines produce shelling beans for year-round use.
“Apparently, to grow good asparagus you must add 20 tons of manure per acre."
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, which is believed to fight damaging free radicals in the body. Richard chooses dark-skinned varieties as the colour is an indication of high levels of antioxidants.
Parsley contains vitamins A and C and is believed to help prevent macular degeneration (i.e. loss of eyesight).
Onions are rich in the flavonoid quercetin, which has a variety of health benefits, while preliminary scientific studies at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York suggest that garlic prevents breast and prostate cells from dividing, thus limiting tumour growth.
Horseradish contains thiocyanates which have been shown to provide some protection against cancer, while marjoram and thyme are respectively antioxidant and antiseptic.
So Richard produces the greenest chard, the most orange carrots, purple chillies, blueberries, blackberries, kale and asparagus, all to make up a richly coloured and flavoured diet.
The polytunnel is home to over 70 chillies including 'Hungarian Hot Wax’ and 'Aurora’.
It produces in excess of 250kg of tomatoes, such as 'Black Krim’, 'Purple Russian’ and 'Red Zebra’, which are eaten fresh, dried and preserved.
Home-made passata is a favourite, using 'Jersey Devil’ and 'Speckled Roman’ tomatoes. “We cook the tomatoes and strain off the juice to make tomato stock – nothing is wasted. And we also reduce passata with chilli and spice to make harissa paste,” he explains.
Roast tomato and garlic sauce, and tomato and chilli jam are favourites (see right). Sugar and salt are kept to a minimum while flavour is added with horseradish, black cumin and fresh herbs.
Japanese wineberry is the perfect example, the fruit tastes nice but you generally don’t get much of it. I put 12in (30cm) of seaweed and compost and clover mulch around the plants each year so I get sensible size fruit and lots of them.”
A gardener since the Seventies, Richard still regards the activity as fun. “I don’t plod away from year-to-year. I like to try out new things and experiment. One year I’ll plant 10 varieties of carrot, another I’ll do 10 different heritage shelling beans. Usually only a couple will be any good, but those I will grow again and I collect a lot of my own seeds as well.
Saturday 29 June 2013
Friday 28 June 2013
Thursday 27 June 2013
Во саду ли, в огороде.
- The most popular veggie that people grow in their gardens is tomatoes. Then cucumbers, then bell peppers.
- If you grow the veggie for its leaves (spinach, lettuce, kale) you need partial shade. Everything else can use full sun.
- Carrots hate to grow near strawberries. Beets like to grow near anything. And more.
- An easy way to practice crop rotation: for each area of your garden choose root, fruit, or leaf. Swap them each year. So the root section would grow onions, carrots, etc; fruit would grow broccoli, bell peppers, etc; and leaf would grow all greens.
- If you grow the veggie for its leaves (spinach, lettuce, kale) you need partial shade. Everything else can use full sun.
- Carrots hate to grow near strawberries. Beets like to grow near anything. And more.
- An easy way to practice crop rotation: for each area of your garden choose root, fruit, or leaf. Swap them each year. So the root section would grow onions, carrots, etc; fruit would grow broccoli, bell peppers, etc; and leaf would grow all greens.
The varieties of tomatoes.
There are two basic types of tomato
The first are called ‘Determinate’ or Bush types.
The second type are called ‘Indeterminate’ commonly called Cordon or Vine tomatoes.
Cooking
Jersey Devil*
Romany Striped
'Normal'
(For me that's (1) not large (2) Not too dark (black/purple) in color. I do not grow Supermarket type tomatoes i.e. red golf ball size)
The first are called ‘Determinate’ or Bush types.
The second type are called ‘Indeterminate’ commonly called Cordon or Vine tomatoes.
Cooking
Jersey Devil*
Romany Striped
'Normal'
(For me that's (1) not large (2) Not too dark (black/purple) in color. I do not grow Supermarket type tomatoes i.e. red golf ball size)
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