Blues and Reds

For years now, about 12 actually, the OH has been wanting to try Salad Blue and Salad Red potatoes. Ever since we visited Helligan for the first time.

Because they’re only available as microplants* and therefore very expensive, I’ve wanted to make sure of growing conditions before investing in some. This has taken a number of years due to various moves and changes of growing locations, but this year we have Salad Blue and Highland Red Burgundy:

We steamed then and had them with a very colourful salad!

* I heard just last week, that both Salad Blue and Highland Burgundy Red have now been approved to be sold as tubers.

Learn something new

I believe that every day we have the opportunity to learn something new. Whether it’s something as mundane as the name of the person we sit next to on the train to work everyday or rather more heavyweight, like how to build a combustion engine from little more than empty baked bean tins.

Today, inspired by a comment I received on an older post, I learned how to use a scythe. I only have a scythette – but it’s something to learn with. I found a really good bit of video to show me how to use it and away I went.

While not the neatest job I’ve ever done, it did allow me to deal with those areas that get a little overgrown, but aren’t accessible with a mower and aren’t worth dragging out the brushcutter for (except they usually are by the time I’ve got round to dealing with them!).

So thanks to Stonhead for the inspiration, and the video can be found at:
http://www.scytheconnection.com/adp/video/index.html

The long hot summer et al…

Sorry for the lack of posts for the last month – it’s purely summeritus (too much to do and too little time – something has to give).

The latest project was a temporary residence for the new arrivals:

I’m really please with it for a number of reasons – made in an hour or so, fit for purpose, just the right size, will get one of the veg beds nicely scratched and manured – but mostly, because it’s made  entirely from recycled/reclaimed materials, including:
Disguarded tree protectors
Used bailer twine
Old cardboard boxes
Plastic that covered a new sofa (3 years ago – I knew it would come in handy!)
Timber off-cuts (a few leftover bits from edging the floor and old wall framing)
Some delta sheeting (The white knobbly stuff in pic 2. Off-cuts of stuff used to damp-proof our house. Not technically recycled, but the builders had thrown it in the skip and I hooked it out – again, 3 years ago now )
Water pipe (never used for water, but previously used as cloche supports)
Bamboo canes (previously used for tomato support)

I like that kind of afternoon!