• Parsley has grown well in this mild winter.
• It benefits from constant clipping.
• Cut off the outer stems.
• Discard any that are not perfect - green and young

• Wash well under cold water
• Shake dry
• Place in a freezer bag & seal
• Label ‘parsley’
• Put in freezer to freeze
• Crush bag when frozen
• Fine, chopped parsley comes out of the crushed bag.
• Just take the amount required from the bag & place the remainder back in the freezer.
• Use as a garnish, or in soups, sauces or casseroles - no need to defrost first.

• The onion plot has been covered to keep the rain off
• now the sheets are lifted to let the wind blow in & dry the soil

• the soil was raked & lifted to dry it

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• The rhubarb is ready to produce shoots.
• Force it up, by creating a dark environment.
• Cover it with a chimneypot, dustbin, or straw.

• forced rhubarb has long, tender, light coloured shoots

National Potato Day was celebrated on 28 January 2007.�

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Garden centers all over the UK celebrated the huge number of varieties of potatoes grown in this country.�

Different varieties suit different purposes - such as:

• baking
• mashing
• chips
• salads

Rosemary

• evergreen herb
• medicinal & culinary uses
• prefers light soil, sunny position
• protect from frost
• perenial
• prune to keep plenty of young wood
• dry pruned shoots for use in kitchen
• 
• leaves flavour soups, stews, stuffings, tomato salads & roast lamb Read More »

Winter digging

The time to dig the garden has changed. Recently we have had wetter autumns. So the garden is often very wet in November and too wet to dig. The soil structure is damaged, if it is paddled (stood on) when wet. Now we dig just after Christmas to prepare for onion sets.

Parsley:

• 2 varieties of parsley: curled - for garnish; flat-leaved - better flavour
• rich in vitamin C - has 3 times more than oranges
• has almost as much vitamin A as cod liver oil
• stems contain more flavour + vitamins than the foliage
• harvest stems from the outside of the plant so young growth in the centre can flourish
• prefers semi-shade & rich, well-worked soil
• sow seeds at any time throughout the year
• germination is slow, helped by bruising the seed or covering with boiling water
• over-winters well

• 

Frost is forecast, and it looks as though we will have some seriously cold temperatures in the next few days.
Young seedlings are tender, and vulnerable to the frost.� At worst, they will be killed.� Otherwise the frost will damage their cells, slow down their growth, and reduce their potential. They will not yield so much.
Return on effort is one of our guiding principles - so do not allow the frost to affect potential yield, & reduce the return on all the effort put in so far.

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Protect the plants by covering them over.� Use

• � polythene sheets
• � horticultural fleece
• � or similar light materials.�
• � in Switzerland they use conifer branches, which are placed over the plants to produce warm air pockets protected from the frost.

Snowy day, bored gardener, who disappears & returns with bounty!

• Sharpe’s Express early potatoes
• red onions
• white onions
• shallots
• garlic

Still rather early for planting, but the benefits of covering the plot will now be revealed.�

The strip has been covered for 8 weeks, so is quite dry and slightly warmer than the uncovered plot.� The shallots will soon be in.�

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5 a day is good for your health & the environment�

Jeff Rooker, Minister for Sustainable Food and Farming, said:

“These healthier trends in food purchases are promising, but we cannot be complacent, and must continue to encourage these trends, through healthy eating initiatives, like the 5 a day programme.

“Consumers must remember that the food choices they make can have a big difference not only to their health, but to their environment, and our countryside.”
http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2007/food-0118.htm