Herbs at home
I’ve sown some herbs for my containers [window boxes] at home…
Basil
Dark opal and Sweet Genovese – most will be turned into pesto later on – usually I get 4/5 jars from the plants I grow, along with a good few handfuls that I dry to use in winter.
My ‘must haves’ to put in window boxes on the sunny side of my home include chives, lemon balm, [ I make a herb tea with the lemon balm] coriander and basil… On the shady side [north facing] I have salad herb window boxes that includes wild rocket, French parsley and Japanese red mustard, all these like a little shade to stop them from bolting.. My salad boxes are re sown so I have a continuous supply from March till Autumn..
Two tips on growing herbs in containers…
The first is to use a soil-based compost, either organic or John Innes potting compost. This is because there are very few herbs that grow in peat, and a soil-based compost retains moisture which is a must to stop the containers drying out. I also water in the morning rather than the evening because this helps the plants if it gets too hot during the day [she says optimistically]
The second tip is to feed container plants weekly from March till September. This keeps the plants healthy. I use a seaweed feed…
And lastly pick a few leaves from each plant [top most]
OK..that was three!
I’ll post a few recipes when I get time. For now here are a few tips and ideas on using home made pesto..
I never buy shop bought [cant stand the stuff ] so this is a seasonal treat for me!!
Tips and ideas for pesto…
Fresh basil will turn brown if it gets too hot Many cooks use fresh spinach as well as basil in their pesto to help maintain its brilliant green colour.
When mixing pesto with soup, pasta, potatoes, or risotto, stir it in at the last minute, just before serving.
Store pesto in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for a fortnight or in the freezer for about six months..
A good way to freeze pesto into portion sizes is to freeze it in an ice cube tray, and transfer the cubes to a heavy duty plastic freezer bag…
Serving Suggestions for Pesto..
On pizza in place of or mixed with the tomato sauce
Stirred into mashed potatoes
Stirred into risotto
Dolloped onto soup before serving [tomatoes a good choice]
Whisked into scrambled eggs or folded into omelette’s
In pasta salads as dressing and potato salads
Mixed with cream cheese and spread on a bagel.. Yum!
in Domestic Dee | 7 Commentsgrowing peas/beans my way
The first year I grew peas was a total disaster!
I started the seeds off in loo roll inners and everything was going well – nice little healthy plants at home, then the time came to plant them out and it was down hill from there. They slowed down growth wise and the pods were far and few between [ all that effort for a very small meal] The following year I sowed direct [ roughly the same amount of two 5ft rows] and was sick of eating them. I put down the previous years failure to the cardboard loo roll inners and heavy clay soil, even though the bed had copious amounts of compost dug into the bed to break the soil up. I’m convinced the two didn’t give ideal growing conditions – I also had a problem with my squash started off the same way, though in little peat pots [the idea of just plant everything pot as well just doesn't work on my soil]
I grow two types of peas
# dwarf- A early pea, enabling me to cover them until the weather warms up – they don’t need any support..
Followed by a main crop climber ..
Remember to soak peas overnight before sowing!
Early March through to April..
I sow my dwarf peas three to four weeks apart. – I completely ignore the spacing advice on the packet and grow in blocks close together so they support themselves
April
I put up the support for my climbing peas and fork in some bone meal
End of April/May
Depending on the weather I direct sow my climbing peas – delaying if the ground is too wet..
April/ May..
I sow my beans direct around the end of April/May
[runners, broad, etc. ]
Adding compost and bone meal to the bed in March..
leaving the more tender varieties
[French beans asparagus beans ]
until June…
in Allotment Dee, Garden Guides Dee | 2 Comments
