Food Forest with Stefan Sobkowiak visiting New Zealand.

Here is a link to a really interesting story on Stefan Sobkowiak and his gorgeous piece of Eden near Montreal.  

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/20170904/stefan-sobkowiak-recreating-eden

Check out what is happening near you. 

Damson Plum Jelly

I can’t believe I haven’t put anything on the blog since January! Sorry about that. Been busy gardening and working and preserving. 

This is the first year that we have had some crops on our fruit trees and plums are a favourite –especially the Damson.  It is a very old cultivar of the plum tree and too sour to eat fresh but high in pectin.  The fruit is used traditionally to make Damson Cheese – a sort of fruit paste that is truly divine with cheese. This is a little lighter than a paste and more of a delicate jelly but equally precious.

Damson Plum Jelly.

Wash the fruit to remove any dirt etc, remove stalks or leaves. Place in your big preserving pan, just cover with water and then gently bring to boil. Simmer until the fruit is well cooked and broken right down – about 45 minutes or so.   You can mash with the potato masher if you want to make sure it is well broken down.

Let cool slightly then put into a muslin jelly bag and hang over a bowl to allow the juice to drip out. Do not squeeze or your jelly will be cloudy.

The next day, measure out the juice by the cup and put back into the preserving pan. Allow one cup of sugar per cup of juice. (or a little less) Bring the juice slowly to the boil then add the sugar and stir until dissolved.   You can add a knob of butter with the sugar as well to reduce any scum. Once dissolved bring to full rolling boil for about 5 minutes or so.  Test by putting a little on a cold saucer to see if it has set.  If not, boil a little longer.

Once set point has been reached carefully pour into sterilized jars and seal as per your usual method.  Look up the recipe for blackcurrant jelly from January last year for more detailed instructions on jelly making if you are a beginner.

This is a very elegant and delicious jelly to have on toast, scones, with cheese, add to sauces etc.

Potatoes.

We have been enjoying our early potatoes since Christmas and there is nothing nicer than digging up a delicious kidney shaped potato and putting it straight into the pot. We camped in our garden for Christmas day and as I hadn’t checked the potatoes I wasn’t sure what to expect.  So on Christmas Eve my father in law, Colin and I went and  put the fork into the ground. Oh what beautiful potatoes we found! So they were on the menu for dinner and breakfast for the next few days. Fried up cooked new potatoes with fresh eggs and bacon for breakfast cooked on the BBQ. Yum.

Sorry to go on, but after my first disappointing foray last year in that garden I was so happy to have them. There’s been talk of a potato shortage (not a famine of course) in this area since before Christmas so I have planted more in early January. Will see how they go. Here in North East Otago we are experiencing very dry conditions so carefully watering and mulching to conserve what we have.

Watched an interesting story on the Jersey Royal potatoes so famously grown on the steep slopes of the Isle of Jersey.  They have actually been growing them in the same place for 120 years!  And they select their own seed. It was Sarah Raven who was fronting the show and she asked why we are encouraged to buy certified seen and yet these farmers can select their own? Well we probably can ourselves if we select good size, clean growing potatoes.  The other points to note are as follows.  As the ground is steep, they can’t get tractors onto it so there is no compaction of soil.  They use a traditional style plow using human guidance but with a tractor at the top of the hill with a winch to help pull the plow up. Then people have to get in there and hand harvest.  They used traditional manuring methods including seaweed from the local beaches. They also practice a form of crop rotation where just before harvest someone walks through and sows a green crop of barley. The act of plowing helps that seed to get into the soil and they use that to rest and improve the soil before the next year.

Of course it has also been the same families’ following tried and true methods for those 120 years. Truly sustainable in the sense that they are mindful of the soil, the plants, the people and still have a premium product.

I have been lucky enough to get some straw to cover my mounded up spuds and have been collecting cow poo to go down the rows in between. (Making sure any fresh poo does not come into contact with the potatoes). If I can get seaweed I put that down the rows as well. So when they are all dug up I can dig those delicious carbon mineral nutritious (delicious) goodies back into the soil ready to bed down for winter. 

Storing.

Eat and enjoy your early potatoes. If it’s not too wet dig them up as you need them.  For your maincrop potatoes such as Agria you need to let them flower and the foliage die down. You want them to “cure’ a bit.  Some people leave them in the ground rather than store them in a sack or a clamp. If you do this you will need to put some kind of waterproof cover over them as moisture is your enemy.  I am going to try that this year.

Coping with Drought

As much of the East Coastof NZ has been experiencing very dry conditions I thought this story on Radio NZ National was a good one.  It's not very long but worth a listen. He is going to be doing a road show throughout NZ starting in Balclutha on 14 Feb 2015 so once I find out about that I will post that link as well.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/20164300/drought-conditions-in-canterbury

Originally aired on Nine To Noon, Wednesday 21 January 2015

Canterbury farmers are urging the government to declare a drought, and want to be able to take water from Lake Tekapo. A South Island Farmer who has changed his practices to withstand continuing droughts says farmers need to adapt to climate change, and more irrigation is not the answer. Doug Avery of Grassmere, in Marlborough, says droughts nearly ruined him, but he changed the way he farms and managed to improve profitability on his farm despite 12 years of below average rainfall.

How to make an Icebowl for the Summer Table.

As I was making elderflower champagne and cordial this year I was thinking how pretty the flowers were and how I should freeze some in iceblocks to make a pretty addition to our summer drinks.  Then I remembered how back last century I used to make icebowls for the festive table – a simple but stunning look.  I could make an ice bowl using elderflowers and match it with gooseberries for example. What a great way to serve any cold food, fruit, salad, icecream or even cold soups.

I have made one with elderflowers but you can use any edible flower, herb or plant or slices of orange or lemon.  You can get really creative and mix and match colours and shapes.  Some plants you can use are; violas, pansies, borage flowers, herbs, chive flowers, cucumber slices, calendula, lavender, oranges, lemons  and so on.   A great idea for the summer Christmas table for those of us in the southern hemisphere.   If you are eating outdoors this will keep your salads and deserts cool for as long as the course is on but of course the bowl will be melting. No extra dishes to wash though.  Another advantage is that you can make it ahead of time and make as many as you can fit in the freezer.  There are so many combinations you can use so get creative and try this.

What you will need.

Two  bowls - one that will fit inside the other. I used a 25cm enamel bowl with a 21 cm smaller bowl fitted inside. 

Strong sticky tape.   

Tin of beans or similar to weigh second bowl down. 

Skewer to push flowers into position.                                    A couple of ice blocks.

A  jug of water.

Directions.

Clear a space in the freezer first so you can place your bowl on the level until it freezes.

Collect the flowers or herbs that you want to use and rinse them clean.

Place your flower arrangement starting on the bottom of the bowl – arranging out from the centre. 

Lay down the ice blocks on the base of the big bowl so you can sit the second bowl on them. You don’t need to do this but it is a helpful  to keep the bowl in place and stop your plants from floating where you don’t want them.

Tape the 2 bowls together in position. Make the gap about 1 inch or about 2.5 cm apart. The thicker the ice the longer it will last. Experiment to find the size you prefer.

Carefully pour the cold water into the bowl.  Weight top bowl down.  Add more flowers into the sides of the bowls and use your skewer to place them in position.

Freeze overnight.

Once frozen, take out and pop the bowl briefly into a sink of warm water until it comes loose. Same with the top bowl if you need to.   Put into a plastic bag and pop back into the freezer until you need it.

If you want your bowl to be clear boil your water first then cool. 

Some more ideas;

Individual bowls for kids. Get them to make their own. Great for children’s parties with icecream jelly or berries in.  (Imagine lavender icecream served in lavender decorated ice bowls!)

I saw somewhere an icebucket bowl – will try that for my elderflower bubbly. 

Use flowers and decorate to go with your colour theme.

Use cucumber slices and herbs or other vegetables to make ones for salad.

https://www.pinterest.com/cabbagemackay/icebowl-inspiration/  

Garden Notes for the Family Vegetable Garden December

Abundance in the Kitchen Garden

   You should be well into eating from your garden this month – a reward for all the hard work you put in!  Keep picking and eating your fresh produce and keep sowing and planting to ensure a good long season.  Be observant this month too for signs of water stress – it’s better to give the ground a good deep watering once a week than a lot of little sprinkles.  Mulching will continue to be important to keep the weeds at bay and keep any moisture in the soil in.

     Mound up potatoes and if you have access to seaweed, mulch down the rows with seaweed, manure and straw. The beauty of this is that once you have harvested those spuds, you can dig all that mulch into the ground and the soil will  love you for it.  There are so many good things about mulching – it does its job for the season and is then dug into the soil helping to create good structure and adding vital nutrients.   

     If you planted early enough you should have some delicious new potatoes for Christmas – even if you have to bandicoot them by reaching your hand into the row and pinching a few off the main plant, leaving it to continue to grow. New potatoes are different to main crop ones in that they are ready once they start to flower. Pink flowers indicates red varieties and white flowers, white.  Peas traditionally make an appearance at Christmas as well with the oldest and the youngest family members assigned the task of shelling the fesh peas.

    There’s so much going on in the December garden and it’s a busy time. Keep an eye on your plants to watch they don’t get stressed by either too much or too little water.  If you are away over Christmas think about how you can manage the garden. Avoid having seedlings ready to be planted during this time unless you can get them in. Ask a neighbour or a friend to check on the garden in return for some of the harvest. Put pot plants into the shade and make sure they have plenty of water.

Jobs for this Month

Sow:  Keep up succession sowing. Beans, carrots, lettuces, Swedes, turnips, spinach, radishes etc.

Plant: Cabbage, Cauli, corn, celery, leeks, lettuces, spinach, courgettes, pumpkins, capsicums, chillies, tomatoes in a warm spot.

Stake: beans and peas.

Cultivate: Thin beetroot to 15 cm apart. Mound up main crop potatoes. Liquid manure green and fruiting crops such as courgettes, tomatoes etc but hold off on roots and tubers like garlic, onions and potatoes to allow them to start drying off.

Harvest: Garlic – traditionally starts on the longest day (21^st Dec). Stop watering now and harvest when still 6 green leaves per plant.  Pick peas and beans regularly to keep them producing. Eat lots of lettuces, herbs, spinach, potatoes, asparagus (until mid-Dec), strawberries and other soft fruits.