Sowing and Growing: March

Hello everyone,
I've had quite a busy few days cooking in the kitchen, making lots of nice chutneys for you all such as a Mixed Fruit Chutney and a Banana and Date Chutney, which is surprisingly moreish! I've also done some experimenting: I made some chilli pickled garlic which will look really nice once I've worked out how to stop the garlic from turning bright blue... Apparently, this is due to the natural sulphur in the garlic reacting to the acidity in the vinegar. It's still edible though! Anyway, I'm going to try it again making some slight alterations to the garlic used, the vinegar used and I might distill the water in the recipe before adding it to the vinegar, see if any of this makes a difference. I also read online that some garlic would turn pink! Wouldn't mind that...

So, next month is going to be a busy month in the garden. There are lots of seeds to sow and I have a lovely new plastic greenhouse I need to build. Did I mention that my glass greenhouse got pulverised in the recent storms? Absolutely demolished, it's looks like a scrunched up paper ball. So sad, my little heart broke when I saw it.

Here are some of the seeds that I will be sowing next month.

Indoors

Aubergines
The variety I'll be sowing is Black Beauty which will produce large, flavoursome fruits around August-October time. I'll germinate them in a propagator and then transplant them into individual 3" pots until they're big enough to handle and move into bigger pots. I'll be wanting around 12 plants or so, and these will live quite happily in my greenhouse (if I get another glass one before then) or even in a super sunny spot. Last year my aubergine plants got devoured by slugs, so I'll be sure to grow a few "decoy" ones which I'll spare to the slugs.
The aubergines will be used to make Aubergine Relish and Grilled Aubergines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Chillies
I wrote about the chillies I was going to grow in a previous blog entry called "Some Like It Hot" (23rd January, 2014). Have a read if you'd like, but if you can't be bothered to flick back then I will tell you again!
The varieties I'm growing this year are Jalapeno, Serrano and Cayenne, which aren't scaldingly hot chillies but do have a tasty tingle to them. I'll also be growing more daring (and face meltingly hot) chillies such as Padron, Paper Lantern and Bulgarian Carrot. I might even get some Scotch Bonnet seeds because I prefer doing things in odd numbers.
The chillies will be used in chilli jams, chilli sauces, and as fresh chillies in different chutneys and preserves.

Tomatoes
Gardener's Delight and Moneymaker are the two tomato varieties I will be sowing in March. They're heavy croppers and taste delicious, which is exactly the fruits I will be wanting during the summer. I will be needed about 50 tomato plants so will need a fair few seeds to germinate.
My trick with germinating tomato seeds is to scatter the seeds, approx. 25-30, on a damp piece of kitchen paper placed inside an empty plastic food container. I cover the seeds with another damp piece of kitchen paper, put on the lid and place in the airing cupboard. After a few days the seeds will be sprouting little white roots and stems and then I will move them into 3" pots and sit them on a windowsill to continue growing. It's a much quicker way to get lots and lots of seeds to germinate in one go.
Tomatoes will be used for chutneys, relishes and to make Sundried Tomatoes with Garlic and Chilli, or with Lemon and Thyme.

Cucumbers
Cornichon de Paris are the sublime little gherkins found on charcuterie boards. I absolutely love them, completely obsessed. When I go out to France one of the first things I buy (apart from Hoegaarden Rose) is a jar of cornichons and I'll eat them with everything; cured meats, bread, cheeses, salads, eggs and pate. And sometimes on their own. I can't wait to grow these plants and have my own little cornichons to pickle!

Globe Artichokes
Green Globe produce large green heads which are beautiful to look at and divine to eat.
Violetto di Romagna produces purple headed artichokes which are very tender.
Artichoke plants take two years to mature before the flower heads appear and can be eaten. Smaller ones will grow in the first year, but I will remove these as soon as they appear so to ensure a bumper crop next year. I'm a bit artichoke obsessed, love the things, so this will be a test of my patience having to wait two years until I can harvest them and cook them.
These wonderful artichokes will be used to make Grilled Artichokes preserved in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.


Outdoors

Beetroot
Detroit is a good cropper and produces good sized beetroots. I used this variety last year and it was such a winner, I'm definitely going to use it again. When I grew it last year, every single seed started growing which meant I really needed to thin the plants out. However, I allowed them to all grow together (truth be told this was laziness, I hate thinning plants as it's the most mundane task in the modern world) and only "thinned" them when the plants had formed baby plants. I then lifted several of the baby beets (probably 2 out of every 5) and ate them, and they were delicious! This year I'm going to use them to make Pickled Baby Beets.
Boltardy is perfect for early sowing which means I can sow these from next month to start my beetroot harvest from May onwards. I'll sow a few lines of beetroot every month to ensure a steady supply throughout the summer and until winter.
Burpees Golden is a stunning, golden (obviously) coloured beetroot which is a really vibrant addition to the kitchen.

Beetroots will used to make Pickled Baby Beets, Beetroot Chutney and the golden beetroot will be made into Golden Beetroot Chutney.

Garlic
I will be planting a dozen garlic plants each month throughout the year (hopefully, if my memory serves me well) to ensure a year round supply to make my Chilli Pickled Garlic and to add flavour to other pickles and preserves in oil.

Peas and Broad Beas
I saw a fabulous trick on a gardening blog that I follow which shows how sowing pea and broad bean seeds in plastic guttering works a treat! And they can continue growing in there until a reasonable size and then be transplanted to their permanent growing place. Ingenious! Am definitely going to give this a go, I'm sure my father has some spare guttering lying around somewhere.
These two beauties or for personal use; I don't think there's anything nicer than fresh peas on a summer's day.
I'm tempted to grow some soya beans too... Will look into this.


I will be posting pictures of all these little plants and their progress as it happens.

Have a great day/evening,

Ruth

Plants and Trees Wishlist...

Good morning,

It's freezing cold in Swansea at the moment, so to make myself feel warmer and more joyous, I've been reading up about what exciting fruits and veggies I'm going to grow in the summer to liven up the garden (and my plate!)

I love growing fruit and vegetables; tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, fennel, beetroot, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries et cetera. I love the whole process of nurturing the plant, watching it grow and develop, the excitement of the first flower and finally the fruits. Its a beautiful, natural process with a brilliant end result: food.
This year, I want to broaden my garden horizon. I would like to grow more exotic and interesting plants along with more unusual varieties of vegetables and colourful fruits in order to bring different shades to the garden. Whilst looking around for trees and plants I could grow in the UK, I was incredibly surprised to see the variety of tropical plants which were hardy enough for our cold Welsh winters and relatively non-existant summers.

Figs
I already have a fig tree in the garden, "Brown Turkey". I bought it last year on a spontaneous spree and I had about 12 fruits from it. I'm not completely sure how old it is, but I imagine it's a few years old. I was pretty chuffed with the fact that I could walk out of my french doors and pick sun-ripened figs off my own tree! This year I'm going to buy another tree but a different variety; it's called "Gustissimo Two Timer". It can produce two crops in a single year with a little bit of TLC, which I can an abundance of when it comes to my garden.

Pomegranate
"Provence" is a variety of pomegranate which is suitable to grow in the UK. Therefore, I'm going to get one for the garden. Why not? In the back garden, where all the other fruit trees are, there is a brick foundation of an old summer house which was built with the rest of the house back in 1834. The walls have since fallen down and just the base and a small surrounding wall remain, which, incidentally, has become the perfect place for my greenhouse and other plants as the location in the garden is a great big fat sun-trap.

Kiwi
Up until I googled kiwi plants the other day, I had no idea how they grew. They're such weird little fruits that grow on these vines, and although they sound (to me) like the diva's of the fruit world - they require vigourous pruning and only last a few years - I think it would be flippin' awesome to have a kiwi vine in the garden. "Jenny" is a self-fertile plant which will do good in the garden. I will either grow it (her?) on a south facing trellis or I will grow her inside my greenhouse. Either way, I think she will fit in to my fruit menagerie quite well.

Blueberry
"Pink Lemonade." As if. A pink variety of blueberry! Who wouldn't want a pink blueberry bush?! I don't think anything else needs to be said on this...


Ruth x

P.S Oscar, the little blighter, had a funny 5 minutes on the weekend, darting around the house with huge pupils, jumping in the air for no reason and chasing his tail. He ran upstairs and after a few seconds I could hear some pathetic mewwing. I ran upstairs to make sure he hadn't hurt himself and found him like this...

Growing Through the Winter

What weather we've been having lately! I was (naively) hopeful for a sunny day so I could get out the garden, but I think the weather has truly taken a turn for the worse. It's blowing a gale and the trees are bending at frightening angles; my windows are shaking and I cannot warm up. And I'm pretty sure the wind has moved my car, although that could just be me being dramatic.
Oscar is thoroughly hating this weather and being unable to go outside (he hates outdoors at the best of times) he's roaming the house and being bothersome and naughty and rummaging through the recycling bin for empty cat food sachets.

However, just because the weather has turned apocalyptic, doesn't mean we can't be growing some delicious veggies and salads in the garden, or containers if the garden is waterlogged.
Here are some vegetables that will grow through the winter...

In the Garden...

Onions and Shallots
Spring onions grow well throughout the winter. "White Lisbon" is a hardy variety which is champion in the colder months. I grew these last summer and had a huge crop of them in only a few weeks time, which makes them perfect for successional growing. Pair this with their ability to survive in the cold, and spring onions will be available from your own garden all year round.
I grew mine in the garden with the leeks and some beetroot. This year, however, I'm going to grow them in one of my larger containers and save the space they took up in the garden for more beetroots or leeks.

Funny story: I sowed the spring onions seeds in a tray and allowed them to grow a few inches before transplanting them to their little patch of heaven in the back garden. I'd go up every day and water (or my mother would, she likes watering) and they'd all be standing there like little tufts of green hair. One day, I went up and noticed that something had pulled up a few of the tiny little onions and just placed them next to the hole they'd come from. I put them back in, firmed the soil around them and left them alone. This happened for a few days in a row and I put it down to the birds in the garden pulling them out and then not wanting to eat them. After a few weeks of this happening, I finally caught the culprit red-handed: my labrador, who is singlehandedly the dumbest creature to have ever been created, was walking up and down the row of spring onions and pulling them out, ever so gently may I add, with her teeth, and laying them back down again. And when she was happy with what she'd done, she'd totter off to find some apples.

Onion sets and shallots will happily grow through the winter also.

Garlic
I planted my garlic last week. 18 cloves went in, and their little green tips are poking through and it's all very exciting! I have another 2 bulbs to plant but I'll plant those in a months time which will mean I have a relatively continuous supply of garlic through the late summer and autumn, and last us well through the winter. Hopefully.

Leeks
I grew my leeks form seed last year in September/October. They've been growing beautifully throughout the winter since then, and I picked my first few homegrown leeks last week to be turned into my mothers infamous leek and potato soup. I will admit that they didn't grow into the monsters I'd envisaged, but it has been a particularly cold winter so that has most likely been a factor. Still, they were healthy sized leeks and there are some continuing to grow in the garden, ready to be picked another day.

Perpetual Spinach
Spinach, in our family, is as much of a necessity as milk. We love the stuff, whether it's in a salad, fried, steamed, in a stir-fry, curry or in our all-time favourite dish, eggs florentine. The miracle green leaf is notoriously easy to grow and will be quite content in a container. I actually grew mine in a hanging basket last year, which I won't do again as I kept forgetting it was there. If you have a better memory than me, this is a great way to grow it as it takes up no space whatsoever.

Carrots
Again, if these happy little fella's have been planted in the autumn and have nice long green stems and leaves, then they can survive the cold months with one simple method: cover the earth with black plastic (this will keep the ground warm and stop it from freezing) and the cover this with hay to add extra warmth. Through the winter the carrots will put all their energy into growing fat orange roots, suitable for harvesting through the winter and into spring. This is how British farmers grow carrots through the winter; if it works for them, it works for us.
Whether most root vegetables will be able to sustain a cold climate and continue to grow, I am not sure as I've not tried it. I will most certainly be putting this on my to-do list and let you know how it goes.


In the Greenhouse...

Winter Salads
Rocket, mizuna, mibuna and mustard greens are all suitable leaves to grow under cover through the winter. Also, radicchio, cos, endive, corn salad (or lamb's lettuce) and chicory are all suitable for winter growing. Chicory can also be forced once the plant is established and has a good root system. The variety I've grown for leaves is Witloof. I haven't forced any yet, that is also on my to-do list. I may do that tomorrow morning actually...

Pak Choi
Amazing stuff. You can't go wrong with these plants, they are that simple to grow. Plants are "cut and come again" so are long lasting, completely delicious either steamed or fried, and full of that good nutritional stuff. However, less is more. I grew about 12 plants last year and that was TOO MUCH; we probably would've only needed around 3 or 4 plants to keep us all fed.

Herbs
Parsley, chives, thyme, oregano and even mint can survive the cold months if brought inside your greenhouse or even kitchen. They'll live happily with a bit of warmth and sun and can be moved back out into the garden in spring once the frosts have passed.
The herbs are in my grandmothers greenhouse from plants she bought from a supermarket. I think even she is amazed at how well they've grown. She moved the plants from the garden into the greenhouse around October and they've thrived!
The lettuce she has in the greenhouse, which have been used throughout the winter, is actually Little Gem which was grown from seed in the summer. Instead of cutting off the whole head, she simply takes the leaves she wants and allows the plant to re-grow.

These can also be grown throughout the year, but are hardy enough to survive even this ridiculous Welsh weather.

Hoping that you are all safe and dry,

Ruth and her very distressed cat
x

Renovated Wine Box

I use a lot of props for my markets and events: homemade trays for the tasters, turned wood bowls for the crackers, vintage leather suitcases for the jars; hampers, boxes and church footstools all come together to create an artistic display of my products.

My parents came back from France a few weeks ago with some bottles of wine neatly tucked away in a wooden box. For those of you who know me, you'll be astonished to hear that I was far more interested in the wooden box than I was in the wine. I was given the box, and was as happy as a lamb. Simple things...

It was quite shiny so I gave it a jolly good sanding until it was quite rough and the lettering on the front had started to look quite worn and old.

Ta-dah.

This disgusting concoction is a Kilner jar of malt vinegar and a handful of steel wool. It looks hideous and smells horrendous - I would recommend using this outside or wearing a spacesuit if its raining and you're stuck indoors.









Alternatively, you can do it in your parents house.

Let this rancid mixture sit for a few days. I made mine on the Friday and used it on the Monday, and my box turned out pretty fantastic.


I put on some thick black gloves, pulled the steel wool out of the vinegar, gave it a good squeeze and then painted the box with the wool. It didn't do all too much, it just looked wet. But when it dried...

...it looked like this!

And that's the finished product (although it still smells a bit funky, but I imagine that will disappear in a few days). But I'm super chuffed with how it looks and can't wait to use it!
















Ruth x

DIY: I Nailed It!

For the past two weeks, our local craft shop has been having a little bit of TLC.

Crefftau y Bont, meaning Crafts of Pontardulais, has had a beautiful revamp over the past fortnight. The magnolia walls are show shades of grey and lilac; the once glossed furniture has been stripped and whitewashes; new furniture has arrived and been chalk painted and distressed; and all new products are coming in ready to celebrate Valentine's and Mother's Day.

This is some of the work I've done.

I started sanding the top of the cabinet and found that the gloss was in fact peeling off. So I got a little metal scraper and started scraping the gloss off. It didn't take long to finish the top and sand it back to its original condition. 

It was really nice wood, so well worth a little effort of taking the gloss off. 

Myself and a few of the ladies from the craft shop went for a drive up to Ystradgynlais (Swansea Valleys) to visit a beautiful little shop which sold a houseful of beautiful cushions, blankets, jewellery, candles and soaps, clothes, cards and home products. We went for inspiration for a colour scheme for our little shop and we most definitely inspired. 

As we were leaving, we happened to mention that we were also looking for some furniture for our shop as we were lacking some larger pieces. We were guided to a furniture recycling warehouse just outside of the village so off we went in search of this place and when we finally found it, we were quite unimpressed by the small front of shop that was filled with sofas. Until, that is, the volunteer worker took us through to the warehouse FULL of old furniture, cupboards, chests, dressers, chairs, tools and tons and tons of wood. 

Safe to say we all got quite excited and the situation escalated quicker than any of us anticipated. With only a Ford Fiesta to carry us home, we opted to have our 3 large dressers, a 6-foot cabinet and 2 chairs delivered to the shop the following week. 

I bought this huge dressers (below) and it was decided that it was too dark for a shop environment and it was in need of a bit of TLC (Turps/Love/Chalk-paint) in order to make it a lighter piece of furniture for displaying my chutneys and pickles and whatnot. 

This is what I did...

I sanded back the top surface area and the middle surface area in front of the lead windows. The plan was to have these white-washed so that the natural wood would still show through, or to varnish them and keep it natural. 

After I'd finished sanding it back I noticed that the wood was quite stained and wasn't perfect, so I used Annie Sloan "Old White" on these sections. 

The rest of the cabinet is Annie Sloan "Duck Egg."

Ta-dah! The final product (apart from the draws not being in, it's finished!)

When all of that was done, I had two final mini-projects to finish.

I had these chairs from the furniture recycling place in Ystradgynlais. They were very dirty; the wood was covered in grime and dust the fabric on the seats had rotted. I removed the seats, tore the fabric off and threw it in the bin along with the foam. I bought new, thicker foam so they'll be much comfier seats from now on.

I washed them with sugar soap to get all the dirt and grease off and let them dry. Then I applied two coats of chalk paint which went straight on to the gloss without having to sand or prime! Big time saver.

The paint is Annie Sloan chalk paint and the colour is Old White.

This is the fabric I've use for the seats. It's curtain fabric rather than upholstery fabric; its much thicker and more durable. It was also in the sale at £10 a meter so you can't really go wrong with that. Oh, and it's from Laura Ashley so it's really nice fabric. Chuffed. 

 Et voila! C'est fini.

I think I'm going to start upcycling and fixing furniture as a hobby. After I've finished all my cooking and gardening and and writing and general business bits and bobs for the day. It's a very therapeutic thing, making something old and tattered into something new and beautiful; and, of course, it serves a purpose!

Ruth x

Crefftau Y Bont: The New and Improved Shop

Good evening!

Monday was the grand opening of our new and improved shop!

Here are some snaps of the wonderful crafts we have in store...

Handcrafted silver jewellery by Louise Burman of Lagoon

Left: semi-precious beaded jewllery by Paula van Haarlem of Avalon

Right: wire-work silver and beaded jewellery by Margaret Jones of Liliwen

Homemade preserves by Ruth Miles (me) of Oscar's Kitchen (and my awesome new cabinet which I am totally chuffed with and can't stop talking about. Brag brag).

Laura Ashley and Cath Kidson fabric cushions and hearts by Shirley Price of Millie's Market

Unique fused glass clocks, cheeseboards, candles-holders, mirrors, jewellery and coasters by Mel Jones of Melta

Chocolates made from Belgian and Swiss chocolate, handcrafted by Sarah-Jane Sharman of SJ Chocolates

Beautiful 50's inspired aprons, for adults and children, along with peg bags made by Natalie Dennis of Booty's Loote

Personalised engraved Welsh slate by Nigel Waters

Artistic and personalised craft cards by Fiona Stirling of The Shabby Sheep

  

This is our centre table. The contents vary throughout the year, sculpted around themes, holidays and seasons. This months theme is Valentines! 

Crocheted blankets with matching cushions by Maria Morgan...

...along with her wardrobe of gorgeous cardigans, jumpers and bags for adults and children. 

Left: crocheted baby blankets and baby clothes by Maria Morgan

Right: ribbon scarves by Margaret Thomas and knitted sets of hats, gloves and scarves by Paula van Haarlem

Personalised and framed prints by Fiona Stirling of The Shabby Sheep

 

If you would like any more information on Crefftau Y Bont or any of the individual crafters, please feel free to e-mail us at crefftauybont@gmail.com and check out our blog at www.crefftauybont.blogspot.co.uk
Our shop is open Mon-Fri 9.30 - 4pm and we are at 28 Dulais Road, Pontardulais, Swansea, SA4 0UN. We would love to have you visit us.