Author Archives: Steve Jones

Kale Crisps And How To Make Them

Kale

One of my friends told me how to make these the other week and after trying them I must say just how nice they are. I’ll definitely be making these again. Kale Crisps Ingredients All you need is:- Kale Olive oil Salt Method Cut the middle vein out of the leaves of Kale , then cut the pieces into bite size lengths, then place them on a microwavable plate, sprinkle with olive oil, add a touch of sea salt then microwave on full power for three and a half minutes. Pat with kitchen paper to dry excess oil and enjoy…. → Read More

Successful seed germination

In all the years I have been growing vegetables seed germination has been somewhat sporadic, but I have discovered a successful seed germination technique which so far has a 100% germination rate. I have only tried this with tomato seeds so far but I used 13 seeds and I have 13 seedlings. So now I am trying many different seeds in the hope that they will be as successful. Parsnips are always a seed that I have a problem germinating( last year I managed 12 parsnips out of 36 seeds) so I have now applied the following technique to my… → Read More

Don’t dismiss the Dandelions

Dandelions

Don’t dismiss Dandelions as just another problem weed to get rid of. Like Comfrey ,Dandelions have long tap roots which allow them to absorb minerals that other shallow rooted plants can’t reach. All parts of the Dandelion are edible, flowers, leaves, and roots. Dandelions contain the following:- Vitamin A Vitamin B Vitamin C Vitamin D Vitamin E Vitamin K Vitamin P Iron Potassium Zinc Calcium Lecithin Magnesium Niacin Phosphorus Boron Young Dandelion leaves can be used in salads and are quite sweet but older, fully grown leaves tend to be bitter and should be stripped from the central stem as the… → Read More

How to make a yew hedge

recently planted yew hedge

At the Big Garden we have been getting battered by the strong winds recently and as a result of this quite a few of the hurdle fence panels around the herb garden have been severely damaged. So it was decided to replace them with a living fence (yew hedge). The first step is to remove fence panels, once this is done, dig a trench roughly a spades depth keeping it as straight as possible (we used a string stretched between two stakes) and mix in some compost then water thoroughly then place each plant approximately one foot (30cms) apart. Spread the roots out… → Read More

Growing parsnips

parsnips

The season for growing parsnips starts in February. I start mine off in toilet roll middles filled with compost in the greenhouse. I use toilet roll middles as the ends are open and this allows the roots to grow without being disturbed(parsnips will fail or become twisted or split if the roots are disturbed). Once the seedlings have established I transfer them (still in the toilet roll middle) to the allotment having forked the area to a depth of two forks. Then using a dibber I make a hole large enough to place the toilet roll middle into the ground… → Read More

Growing tomatoes

Tomatoes are one of the easiest plants to grow in my opinion. When growing tomatoes you have two choices either bush or cordon type. If you decide to grow bush type tomatoes you just leave all the growth to develop. Cordon tomatoes just have one main stem and you will need to take off growing spurs as they appear, this is quite simple to do as you can pinch them out with just your fingers. The growing spurs will grow between the main stem and the side branches at the “y” point. Growing Tomatoes Start your tomato seeds off in… → Read More

Stroke recovery encouraging words

The following was sent to me recently and I wanted to share it here as it has helped me to understand what’s happening to me and I hope it will help others. There is a chapter in a Book on Stroke by Wallace Sife, a New Yorker ‘poet, humanist and psychologist’. “The intense sense of personal loss parallels the psychological reactions one has when grieving the death of a loved one. Indeed, there is a bereavement; in a sense, the old self has died. The loss is intense and traumatic. But this too will pass, if one’s potential courage and… → Read More

Making a wild flower meadow

Wildflower meadow

After a conversation I had with my mate Wayne at the Big Garden on Wednesday I’ve been doing some research into creating a wild flower meadow. Any garden will benefit from allowing even a small area to become a haven for wildlife. It’s good for bio-diversity, and it’s good to encourage pollinators onto your plot. So if you have even a small grass area and you want to convert it to a wildflower meadow start by clearing the grass, then ensure that you sow some yellow rattle ( Rhinanthus minor) this is a hemi parasite that fixes its roots onto the root systems of adjacent grasses… → Read More

The new season begins

Leeks

This morning I planted some peas that I’d had soaking indoors they’re now in individual pots in the greenhouse. In a few weeks I’ll transplant them onto the plot to replace the ones that rotted. I also sowed some leek seeds (Musselburgh) in a seed tray in the greenhouse, these will be grown on until they are roughly pencil size and then I will plant them in the raised bed that is already prepared for them on the allotment. My seed potatoes have arrived and my shallot sets. I will be chitting the potatoes over the next six weeks and… → Read More

Tomato and garlic baguette

Ingredients

This is a particularly flavoursome combination that I first tasted in Italy about twelve years ago and as both garlic and tomatoes are available at the same time it works really well. It is also one of the simplest recipes I have ever made, I believe the tomato and garlic baguette is one of my favourite tastes of summer. Tomato and Garlic Baguette Ingredients Tomatoes Garlic Olive oil Baguette or ciabatta or similar Fresh basil (optional) Method Place a small amount of olive oil into a fairly deep bowl chop three cloves of garlic and mix into oil, chop… → Read More