Well we have a garden causulty of the lovely wildlife - the tops of all our peas appear to have been eaten by the deer - oh well. We may still be able to get a crop still - maybe 🙁
Still we have been doing extensive weeding of the veggi patch! I'm afriad we had to cull most of the fat hen and transplant the potatoes which were attacking the veg we actually planted! Still ther is some fat hen left which I'm thinking of freezing and using from frozen. This will only work for curries and the like - it being a spinache substitute!
Talking of spinache - it too is growing out of control - sigh - I wish I liked the stuff - still it goes nice in curries and the salads (as long as it has a salad dressing - dont get me wrong its nice spinache its just I dont like it or brussels for that matter - oh well its good for me and Al loves the stuff!).
Also we have loads of cherry tomartoe plants as Babara gave us her spare ones - all of which have survived - we've given some to mum and dad and some to Babaras friend Maureen. I've planted some out in grow bags out the front of the house in the 'gully' bit infront of the window. There is a grow bag either side of the morning glory the Babara is training up our drainpipe - Al keeps making hungry eyes at it and muttering about Ti cooking - Babara said she'd notice if he eats it whilst she's away!
Still I need to put some more tomatoes in pots out the front here and some in the veg patch - I have a feeling if they dont all get eaten by deer, rabbits, slugs and catapillars that we are definatly going to have surplus! Still theres always relish and chutney to be made 🙂
We also planted a second parsley plant out yesturday as a complimentary planbt to the curley parsley that was in the veg plot when we moved here! - As it was just a Tesco's one we bought to cook with which has continued to grow - I doubt it will survive but its worth a shot!
Babara (Al's aunt) gave us some of her asperagus which grows in abundence in the garden - I was about enough to serve steamed as a starter for one and a half people so i decided to soup it!
I boiled it up then poured it and and the boiling water into the blender, adding a veggi stock cube and a paint of milk (goats milk becuase thats what I had in the fridge at the time). I then cheated and use dried chopped garlic - about a tea spoon fall and crushed fennel seeeds, again about 1 teaspoon fall to flavour it with. It was however a thin insubstantial soup so out came the corn flour and a a rapid thickening of the soup.
It was lovely and filling and as always I had accidently made enough for four people - oh well Jean loves it to which is good as shes getting it again tomorrow!
Jean is now regularly laying at least three sticky smelly eggs a day - they never end and they are foul!!!!
This is a change to the norm, one we are hoping is temporary after the virus infection she had.
Al tends to wear gas masks when chaning her - sigh.
The tea appears to be working, mum even took Jean for a couple of walks up and down the drive which with gout should have been too painful. Then she decided she wouldnt drink anymore becuase it made her need the loo (somethingt dad suffered too but me and didnt?) as a result the next day she was in lots of pain 🙁 from her gout flaring up becuase she hadnt drunk the tea (edit to make things clear).
I found that the best tasting brew was created by chopping the dried roots up but leaving the eaves whole. The leaves were dried too. I put the eqivalent of a 5cm long by 5mm(sorry about the units) diameter root into a tea pot per person. This is 2/3rds of the mix the remaining third being the leaves.
It needs quiet alot of breing/steeping so a tea cosy is useful (I have a rasterfarian looking one that Als aunt gave us - I love it!) honey is also good as a sweetner in it. I only served small coffee cups of the stuff.
I now have awaiting list for the stuff!
I suppose I'd best dig up a lot more dandilions!
Mum and dadsefforts to get Jean clapping worked - today she clapped her hands instead of just getting too interested in the adults hands that were clapping 🙂
Gardening | sarah | 
Fri 9th Jun 2006 12:26 pm | 
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