Hannah Stothard » allotment

Tempura Broccoli

Hannah — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 23:17:48 +0000

A quick snack to use up some of our broccoli…

Recipe for Tempura Batter : http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/451626/tempura-batter

Broccoli and Cucumbers

Hannah — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:35:29 +0000

Our latest pickings include Broccoli and Cucumbers…

We are struggling to get our broccoli to have large heads though. There must be some trick to it! But it tastes great all the same

Garlic Plaiting

Hannah — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:31:16 +0000

We got a little eager and harvested our garlics too early because we had a couple showing signs of mould. Luckily only a few were affected so the survivors were hung up in the shed to dry out for a couple of weeks. Once they were all dry I plaited them together and here is the final product. Hopefully these will store well for the next few months.

Latest Pickings

Hannah — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:44:53 +0000

Its the time of year when all the hard work starts to pay off. Below is our latest harvest.

Carrots and Turnips

Different varieties of Marrows and Courgettes

Charlotte New Potatoes

Broad Bean, Courgette & Potato Salad

Hannah — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 19:33:50 +0000

Using only the freshest picked ingredients of course, I put together a small salad using seasonal produce.

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients:
- broad beans cooked and podded,
- handful of new potatoes,
- a couple of slices of bacon,
- 1/2 a courgette,
- 1 x small red onion,
- 1 x garlic clove
- freshly chopped parsley for garnish

Dressing Ingredients:
- white wine vinegar
- extra virgin olive oil
- lemon juice
- pepper

Instructions
1. Fry the garlic, bacon and courgette in a little olive oil.
2. Boil the new potatoes
3. Cut up the red onion finely and mix with the cooked ingredients
4. Mix together the dressing ingredients and drizzle over the top
5. Garnish with a little parsley

Ladybird Pupa

Hannah — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:17:45 +0000

I came across this funny looking orange and brown bug attached to one of my leek leaves.

After a lot of googling, I finally found out that it’s a ladybird in its final stages of development. You find out more about the lifecycle of a ladybird here

Plums

Hannah — Sat, 21 May 2011 14:13:11 +0000

I planted a little plum tree back in March so I wasn’t really expecting any fruit this year. However look what I found… 2 little plums

Attempt #2 at growing an Avocado Tree

Hannah — Sun, 15 May 2011 22:07:37 +0000

Whilst Avocado tree attempt #1 gets underway in its plant pot, I thought I would hedge my bets and start off a second using one of the other methods described on the fruit expert website.
Fingers crossed one of these will produce a little tree for me!

Jack Frost came to visit!

Hannah — Sun, 08 May 2011 22:41:25 +0000

Everything seemed to be going so well. My tomatoes and runner beans were dominating my cold frames and what with peppers, chillies, aubergines and cucumbers all demanding room, I decided to take a calculated risk and plant some outside. After all it has been the hottest April on record.

But the calculated risk didn’t pay off… 2 days after planting them out and only a few weeks after sun damage. Frost sneaked up on me and claimed them. So I thought I’d share a pic or two of what frost damage looks like. Guess I need to exercise a little more patience and wait a few more weeks before planting any more out.

Tomatoes on the left, Runner Beans on the right.

Attempt #1 at growing an Avocado Tree

Hannah — Sun, 08 May 2011 22:31:58 +0000

England doesnt exactly have the ideal climate for growing an Avocado tree. However i’ve been assured by several articles that it is possible to get one to grow here, it just takes a little patience… upto 10 years apparently!!

So armed with a little advice, i’ve selected 1 of the 3 listed methods of getting an Avocado seed to germinate.

“leave the seed in direct sunlight until it starts to split. Then pot it up”

Sounds simple enough.. lets see how it goes!