Medlar Mash Up

We had another good harvest from our medlar tree this year. This is my favourite tree in the orchard with its spreading, gnarled branches bearing fantastic white blossoms in the spring followed by the most unusual fruits. In fact, I like the tree so much that I've planted another five, even though I don't really need them.

One of the great things about growing your own food is that you get to taste things which are just not available in the shops, medlars being an excellent example of this.

Medlars are probably most well known for the need to 'blet' them, which basically means letting them begin to rot. But this is not as disgusting as it sounds.
There are two choices here - either pick them early and store them until bletted or, what Sue and I do, let them blet on the tree. The weather has been a bit funny this year (isn't it every year?) and things have been slow to ripen. Quite a few crops just didn't quite make it before a decidedly damp November led to them rotting off.
So we held off on picking the medlars. Other things got in the way too. Last year I'm pretty sure the leaves were still on the tree when we picked them, but this year the leaves have well and truly gone.
This last weekend I noticed that the fruits were much thinner and on closer inspection most of them had fallen onto the ground. There they lay on the leaf litter, nicely bletted.

Basically each medlar fruit looks like a giant brown rosehip, each containing seven stones. What's not stone is a spicy, aromatic, peary, apply mush. That's the best way I can describe it.
I collected just over 100 fruits from the tree and more than 300 from the ground. I left some windfalls for the birds and insects.
In all they weighed 10.2kg.

Sue makes an amazing medlar jelly which does not involve the need to extract the flesh from the fruits. She basically boils them up with a couple of apples for pectin until mushy and then strains them through jam bags.

To keep the liquid perfectly clear, it is important not to press the fruit mush but just let the juice drain. The juice then gets turned into an amazingly pink-hued jelly. It's a popular seller, but we like to keep a fair bit for ourselves.

In theory, the left-over pulp can be used to make chutney, but this would mean extracting all those stones. Besides, we have chutneys of various descriptions coming out of our ears!

This year we were keen to expand on our medlar repertoire and Sue found a recipe for a ginger, medlar and apricot cake. Only problem was that it required 250g of medlar flesh and it fell to me to extract it. Normally this would have been a doddle as I have a mouli which I use for making things like tomato passata, but this was not an option because of the stones. I tried pushing the medlars through a sieve, but the sieve was not strong enough and the holes not big enough. Eventually we ended up impovising with a metal steamer. It was a long, messy job though. The resulting mash did not look appetising but the aroma was beautifully spicy and exotic.
Sue took her 250g of mashed medlar which was a very small proportion of the 3+ kg I had prepared. The rest was portioned up and frozen, so there'll be no need for more medlar mashing for quite some time.

The cake, unsurprisingly, tastes amazing. And I won't be sharing it in case you're wondering.

A Pear Treat

Last year we got our first ever pear harvest. I have several varieties, but star of the show was the Concorde, an established cross between Comice and Conference. One young tree kept us supplied with delicious pears for a couple of weeks.
So over the winter in our forays to the plant auctions I purchased a further four Concorde pear trees. Well, you can guess what's happened this year. Not a single pear, not even from the more established tree! Some fruits seem to work like this, plums especially, one year a bumper crop and the next year nothing.
But the Beth and the Williams in the chicken enclosure have come to the fore instead. These pears are different in that they need to be picked before they are fully ripe. If you leave then on the tree they go grainy.
I picked most of the Beths a couple of weeks ago and they have now been eaten. Delicious they were too.
The ones growing on the lower branches fell victim to jumping chickens, who very much appreciate a pear to play with.

The Williams weren't quite ready, but when I cleaned out the chickens last weekend I noticed that three of them had committed suicide by falling off the tree straight into the chickens' water. So I picked out the rest, enough to fill a basket. It's not much, but it makes a welcome contribution to our diet and I anticipate ever increasing yields from all of our orchard trees.

Now, a week later, the Williams are ripe and very juicy. There are 9 trays drying in the dehydrator and almost ready as I type. I tried a slice and the flavour just kept increasing in waves.

I expect next year we'll have no Williams or Beths but five trees full of Concorde pears. I won't be complaining.

Today I brutted my laterals and pruned my plums

I read on Facebook the other day that someone was harvesting their cobnuts. Is it time already? I checked my spreadsheet of tasks to be performed through the year (yes, I know, it's sad) and there were the words "brut laterals on cobnuts". I remember typing this, but never actually got round to finding out what it meant. I had decided to leave it till I needed to find out... which brings me to today.
Basically the laterals are the sideshoots. Brutting means snapping them and letting them hang. I'm not sure this is a technique used on any other crops, but it has its own word. By snapping the 'twigs' half way along this year's growth, it stops the tree producing more growth and instead makes it produce more flowers, more nuts next year.
It also has other benefits such as opening up the tree and increasing airflow. It will be interesting to see the results next year.

One of my freshly brutted cobnuts

As I performed the brutting operation, I was surprised to see next year's catkins already beginning to form, even before this year's fruit is fully ready.

Tiny catkins already forming along the laterals

 My other job today was to attempt to prune my plum trees and cherry trees. These fruits must be pruned before the sap is withdrawing, otherwise they are very vulnerable to disease. Silverleaf disease is bad news for plums. The job had been delayed a week while I waited for an order of wound compound to arrive. I've not used this before, but it is essential when pruning stone fruits to seal up the cut ends of wood. I don't know why, but I was expecting a powder, so when I opened up the small tub I was surprised to find a gloopy substance which I swear is just a mix of mud and rubber. Anyway, it seemed to do a good job of sealing the wounds and now that I have it I can take more care when pruning other trees too.
The pruning is mostly just taking out damaged or crossing branches, opening up the middle of the tree and balancing the tree, I took the opportunity to remove and shorten some of the drooping branches which would struggle under the weight of a good harvest. The aforesaid good harvest seems totally unpredicatable when it comes to plums. Trees which did brilliantly last year had not a plum on them, whereas others such as my Imperial Gage were literally dripping with fruits.
At least I have a few varieties, so there will always be one or two trees which produce well.

These plums are still too firm to pick.
I'm keeping a close eye on them though so I can get them before the wasps move in.

One tree which produced fairly well last year was one of my Victoria plums. However, half of its branches seemed devoid of fruit and were adorned with treacherous thorns. I presumed that a few shoots had risen up from below the graft, but the source was hidden by the tree protector.
However this year the spiny impostor was rampant. It has formed a lovely looking tree, but the Victoria Plum part of it is right in the middle, amply protected by the spiny forest.
So today I removed the tree protector, intending to lop off all thorny interlopers. But what I found was worse than I thought.

The plum tree proper is the small stem on the left!

The main trunk of the tree led up to thick, spiky branches. The Victoria Plum was coming a poor second. I decided to leave it be. Maybe we'll get a surprise crop in the future, but what? Sloes? Bullaces? Mirabelles? Or just a nice looking tree.

Friendly Garden Sprays

My armoury - The most harmless of ingredients.

Not every insect needs to be obliterated in order to protect our crops. If we do that, we eventually obliterate most of our wonderful natural world.
But I can't deny that there are some insects (general term, even if they don't strictly all have six legs) which are bad news. Whilst it may be possible to control them by encouraging their predators, such as birds, hoverflies, ladybirds into the garden, this noble aim is sometimes a little idealistic in the real world. Not that we shouldn't try.
Besides, it's not just insects which threaten. I've probably had more trouble from fungal organisms - mould, rust, blight... than from creatures. Then there are bacteria and viruses, which we can't even see until their effects are all too obvious.

So, to cut to the chase, I know that I should probably spray my orchard trees and I know that I ignored spider mite at my peril in the polytunnel last year. But I really am not willing to smother everything with nasty chemicals. I may as well give up what I do and go buy it all from the shop if I take that approach.

We are therefore looking at home-made sprays. There has been a huge reduction in the number of sprays which can be used by gardeners in recent times. It's probably mostly good news as far as sensible, organic gardening goes, but the problem is the red tape. Apparently it costs in the region of £3million to get all the data required by European Law to license a pesticide. The effect of this is disastrous (similar to rules they have tried to push through about licences for selling seeds). It effectively means that the big multinational corporations gain a stranglehold on the market and many traditional organic remedies have fallen by the wayside. Unfortunately, I cannot help but think that yet again politicians have, inadvertently or not, allowed corporate lobbyists to tread all over the common people. All these rules which are allegedly to protect the consumer (labelling laws being another example) inevitably punish the small producer and rarely actually achieve what they set out to achieve.

I, however, am a man of principle, and am not about to be forced into supporting multinationals who care less about the fate of the planet than about lining their pockets and controlling peoples spending patterns.
Therefore I have determined to make my own sprays. I have seen it written that any home-made spray is illegal to use, even if it's in your own garden and you don't sell any produce. However, even if this were true, I would ignore it since it is plainly unjust and bonkers. But it appears not to be true anyway. Here is the link to the Health and Safety Executive's advice on this matter. I've also copied the relevant text at the end of this document, in blue.

Health and Safety Executive Advice On Using Pesticides In The Garden

Gardener's have been making up their own concoctions for years. We're a thrifty lot. But these have traditionally included some rather dodgy ingredients such as tar and tobacco. I am not even really comfortable with something like rhubarb leaf soup. Just because you can make your own nasty chemicals does not necessarily mean that you should. And many nasty chemicals have natural origins.

But the main ingredient necessary to fight off insects is... soap. And not just any old soap, but pure vegetable soap. They are not allowed to call it insecticidal soap anymore. You can guess why. £3 million.
I researched a lot and ended up buying a container of castile soap over the internet. Compared to Fairy Liquid or Palmolive, it's not cheap. But you only need a tablespoon or two in a 5 litre sprayer, so it goes a very long way and most definitely ends up much cheaper than any commercial alternatives.
It's worth bearing in mind that soap will not just kill the insects you want it to, so sparing and targeted use is still necessary.
In with the soap goes some vegetable oil, to make it cling to the leaves and stems.You can use any, but rape oil (the American sites seem to refer to it as Canola) is particularly good as it's very thin and doesn't clog the sprayer.
If you search the supermarket shelves, you'll find it not too expensive. Again, you don't use much.

And that's basically it.

There are things you can add. Chilli and garlic are commonly recommended (also supposed to ward off rabbits and maybe deer).
Hydrogen Peroxide is a very natural substance to use too, though you need to know what concentration to use. It's also good against fungi. I know you're thinking "bleach" but it's actually just the H2O with an extra O!
And bicarbonate of soda is good if you're main concern is fungal diseases.

So, with the exception of the hydrogen peroxide, we're basically talking common cookery ingredients that you'd be quite happy to put in your mouth (maybe not the chilli!), so I am quite happy that when I spray I am harming as little as possible.

As for the red spider mites, which decimated my indoor climbing beans last year, I've removed all the places where they might be able to hide away for the winter and added a little essential oil to the mix - lemon eucalyptus in this case, though there are several others which would be just as effective.

See here for more detail.

I spent ages searching the internet for my spray recipes, so here's what I have settled on:
Apologies for the strange mix of imperial/metric. It's my age.

My orchard winter wash recipe:

250ml Vegetable Oil
2 tbsp. liquid soap
1 gallon (4.5l) warm water

Just shake to mix, then spray each tree to coat the bark as much as possible. Choose a nice still day, but preferably not when there will be rain in the next 24 hours or a frosty night. Easier said than done in January and February. Be patient and wait for the right time, as long as you spray while the trees are still dormant.
Don't use on walnuts (I've no idea why! I read it somewhere.)

My red spider mite recipe:
As above, but with the addition of 10 drops of Lemon Eucalyptus Oil (bit of a guess really).

You may want to scale this down, as it will make 5 litres. Spray on all leaf surfaces (not so easy getting at the undersides, but do the best you can). I also sprayed all nooks, crannies and crevices in the tunnel. Don't spray on a really hot, sunny day (unlikely at this time of year, but quite possible once your polytunnel is full of greenery) otherwise the soap may damage the leaves.




I'll let you know if they work.
Meanwhile, here's the text of that HSE advice. I think I'm safe,

Can I use home-made remedies to control pests, diseases and weeds in my (home) garden?
HSE are aware that some gardeners routinely use home-made remedies that are not authorised to control pests, diseases and weeds. In some cases these remedies are simple physical barriers and are outside the scope of UK and EU regulations. In other cases these remedies involve the use of chemicals either from foodstuffs, like coffee grounds, or from household products which are not normally intended to be used as pesticides.
Part of the legal definition of a plant protection product takes into account the intended use of the product. For example garlic extract sold as a foodstuff doesn’t require authorisation under plant protection product regulations but garlic extract sold as an insecticide does. In practice this means a number of own use home-made remedies such as beer traps or coffee grounds fall outside the scope of regulations.
However this does not mean that use of these remedies including use of common household chemicals as a pesticide is without risk or that it is always legal. For example in circumstances where a home-made remedy was supplied to another user (whether free of charge or not) this may fall in scope of the regulations ,and if so would be illegal without an authorisation. In this sort of circumstance, where HSE (or other enforcing authorities) obtain evidence of such a supply or use we would need to consider appropriate and proportionate enforcement action.
HSE’s policy on enforcement and the circumstances in which enforcement is appropriate is set out in more detail in our Enforcement Policy Statement .

The Plant Auctions - My New Favourite Place

Now I know how the kid feels who's just been let loose in the proverbial sweet shop.

For every Wednesday and Saturday morning there is a plant auction in a little group of buildings tucked away in a quiet corner of Wisbech. I had heard talk of it, but it has taken me four years to get round to visiting... and boy do I regret the wasted years!



The travelling auction begins

They have just about everything you could find in a garden centre, but at rock bottom prices. In some cases you could knock a zero off the garden centre price. Granted, you have to buy plants in lots, but when you can get a whole tray or a group of pots for the same price as one normally costs, then that's got to be good news. In my case, with rather a lot of land to play with, purchasing one plant at a time has no impact whatsoever, so this way of buying is absolutely perfect.

If I'd discovered the auctions a couple of years ago, there would be a lot more shrubs, flowers, fruits and trees in my garden, veg plot, soft fruit patch and orchard. Anyway, my last two visits to the auction have seen me making up for lost time.
I've been quite restrained actually. The focus has been on topping up the orchard, though I have let myself be tempted by a few ornamentals too.



Bare root fruit trees galore.

The bare root tree section is amazing. It comes at the end of the auction, so most people have gone by then. There's not really even any bidding. The auctioneer just calls out what the reserve prices are and which varieties are available. All you have to do is tell him which ones you want. Most fruit trees come in fives, but I like to peruse the ranks of trees before the auction and count the stems in each bundle, for there are twos and threes to be found here and there. If I end up buying five, I can often sell a couple on to fellow smallholders and then everyone benefits.



Click here to read my post on Concorde Pears

So the outcome of my last two visits has been the acquisition of approximately fifty new fruit trees, which has doubled the size of my orchard.
I was especially delighted to find Pear Concorde at £3 per tree (+ 12% commission). This is the pear which did so well last year and I was prepared to pay a lot more to add to my stock.

I've also added to my range of apples. I now have Egremont Russet, Kidd's Orange Red, Laxton Superb, Scrumptious, more Discovery, Blenheim Orange and Ashmead's Kernel.

There are more plum trees, crab apples and cherries too, but I've saved the very best find till last. For my favourite tree in the orchard is my medlar. Even as a young tree it has taken on the appearance of a gnarled, old specimen. It puts on a stunning display of blossom in the spring and produces an intriguing and luxurious crop late in the autumn. The delightful pink tone of medlar jelly provides the final pleasant surprise.

So when, hidden amongst the serried ranks of trees, I discovered the label "Nottingham Medlar" I was very excited. But when I heard the price - £2!!! - yes, that's right, I said TWO POUNDS - I bought five immediately. I think my first medlar tree cost me over £20.

Click here to read my post on medlars, including a recipe for medlar jelly.

All this happened last Saturday, so I have been a busy bee during the week and all my fruit trees are now planted and labelled in the orchard. I've still got some raspberry canes,rhubarb plants and gunneras to go in, but I managed to get the orange contorted willows planted as well as the grasses, the aconites, the snowdrops and the conifers. I told you I showed restraint!

I plan to visit the auction once a month from now. That way, I'll end up with a selection of plants with interest throughout the year. Priority for my next visit are laurel plants and blueberries, though quite what I'll come back with is anyone's guess.



As you can see, I showed considerable restraint and didn't buy too much.

 Wait till I tell you about my other new favourite place! 

Peroxide orchard

I wrote this two weeks ago but forgot to publish it! Anyway, here's a little bit of orchard management for you.

It could be a beauty parlour. Hydrogen peroxide, essential oils, castile soap, rapeseed oil, bicarbonate of soda...
Well, maybe the last two ingredients give away that I am not actually branching out into beauty therapy.
Rather I have been winter washing my fruit trees. Growing fruit is a steep learning curve for me. I put lots of trees in when we first moved in and this year the investment started to pay off with what resembled an actual crop. Not everything went well, as it was a tough year with long periods of hot, dry weather interspersed with some decidedly soggy and cold periods. All this played havoc with the apples and all the leaves on one of the plum trees shrivelled at one point. However, we got medlars, almonds, our first cobnuts, quite a few plums and damsons and some rather delicious pears.

But now that our trees are in their fruiting phase, I need to get my head around looking after them more carefully and protecting them from all the nasty pests and diseases. From most of my previous reading, I've probably totally wrecked all my trees with bad pruning and I need to instigate a strict regime of spraying nasty chemicals if I am to end up with any fruit. It'll end up costing me a fortune and the fruit won't be any different to what I can buy in the shops.

Of course, this is not what is going to be happening!

For the pruning, I read and read, then read some more. I think I sort of know what I'm doing, at least enough to not totally wreck the trees. I still have to look it up every time though, but in time I'll become an expert.

As for the spraying, I figured there must be an alternative so started researching. During the winter it is a good idea to apply a dormant tree wash. I found a tin of tar oil in the shed - no idea when I bought it. However, this is one of the substances which has now been banned. I rather suspect it's more to do with protecting the sprayer than anything else, but I decided not to use it anyway.
The idea of a dormant wash is that it effectively seals in small bugs and suffocates them. As such, it really consists solely of oil, soap and water. The soap should not contain detergents though. I purchased some castile soap, enough to go a long way. The oil can be any vegetable oil. Rape oil is one of the best, but sunflower oil will do fine. A soap spray is a pretty effective pesticide all around the garden and the oil helps it stick to the plants and not wash straight off.

Back to the orchard trees. They ideally need spraying a couple of times during the winter. I read somewhere about an alternative to the oil and soap solution which included hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. These have a different effect on the small bugs which overwinter in the nooks and crannies of the trees' bark. It basically attacks their coating and leaves them open to the elements. The hydrogen peroxide and bicarb of soda have a fungicidal effect too, which is the reason why I chose to use this spray mix for the first spray of the winter. I'll use the other for the second. If one doesn't get 'em, the other will!
Now, hydrogen peroxide sounds a bit nasty doesn't it? I looked into it though and it's actually very safe. It's just water with some extra oxygen attached and is a very organic way of dealing with things.

I pruned the trees (not the stone fruits, which need pruning later in the winter, when the sap is rising) and the plan was to spray soon after. However, every day the forecast said strong breezes. Every day, these failed to materialise until late afternoon. Eventually I got fed up with this and mixed up my concoction anyway. There was a beautiful, winter blue sky. When the breeze did pick up, I just stopped for a while and enjoyed where I was. The spraying didn't take too long and it was easier than I thought to cover every surface of the branches. I felt like a proper fruit grower! Except that I knew that what I was spraying would only harm what I wanted it to.

Next up should be grease bands.However, I've looked into them and they seem an awful faff, and a reasonable expense. They are designed to stop critter, particularly wingless moths which overwinter in the soil beneath the tree, crawling up into the tree. However, they don't stop the codling oths, the ones responsible for most maggots, as these can fly. So instead, I've opted for encouraging the chickens to peck about in the orchard. I reckon there won't be many flightless moths or their larvae left in the soil after they've been at it all winter.

So for the moment, that's my orchard management taken care of. The next job will be the second winter spray and pruning the plums and cherries.

Let's hope it works and we will be overflowing with delicious fruits next year. If all else fails, we'll just have to go scrumping in Don's orchard over the fence. He doesn't mind at all. Our geese and chickens have already found his windfalls to their liking, as do the winter thrush flocks which are so abundant this year.

What a Nice Pear!

We finally have enough fruit to just about constitute a crop! An unlikely star has emerged this year, for at the far end of the orchard a little pear tree has been flourishing.

Pear Concorde

It's not unknown for a chicken or guinea fowl to spend a few minutes jumping up and down to reach the pears. So it was that the lowest three pears on this tree had little chinks missing from them. I thought that if the poultry were enjoying them so much, I had better try one. I got a real surprise. Not only were the pears ready to eat but they were completely without blemish and tasted delicious. I'm not sure if I should really divulge my secret, but the variety is Concorde, a cross between Conference and Comice. Well done to whoever came up with that idea!

Unfortunately, Sue has also discovered how tasty these are so it doesn't look as if this year's harvest of about thirty pears is going to last very long. She doesn't even usually like pears. However, there are a few gaps need filling in the orchard so I will most definitely be looking out for more of this variety.

Nuts about Almonds

The almond tree in blossom on a foggy morning

The first fruit tree to come into blossom each year is the almond. But the problem is that it usually manages to coincide with early spring cold and windy weather. The wind blows the blossom straight across the Fens and the cold keeps the bees from venturing out to pollenate the flowers.



Last year we got two almonds, which was double the year before. So this year I was ready with the rabbit's tail scavenged from one of Gerry's kills, ready to do the bee's job myself by tickling each flower with the soft fur.
We've now had a week of fine weather with blues skies, soaring temperatures and only the occasional breeze. The almond tree is looking magnificent. Better than that though, the bees have been out and about and it's good to see them returning to the hive, legs laden with pollen. And some of that pollen is coming from the almond tree!

So fingers crossed for the almonds this year. There could be home-made marzipan, bakewell tarts and Christmas nuts for 2014!

Medlar Magic

Of all the fruit trees I have planted, my favourite just has to be the Medlar tree. Only planted for three years, it already looks old, with twisting branches and thick, lush foliage. Add to this a wonderful display of simple, white flowers in the spring time followed by a bountiful crop of intriguing fruits.

 

Now, medlars will not be familiar to most people these days, and even fewer will know what on earth to do with one, or for that matter what one tastes like.
So when I tell you they have to be bletted to make them edible, you're probably still none the wiser.
When I explain that bletting is the process of letting them go soft and mushy (almost rotten), you'll probably be well and truly put off... as was I.

I was quite happy just to grow a medlar tree as a curiosity, but when I saw quite how many fruits the young tree bore, I kept thinking just what a waste of a unique resource it would be just to let them rot away.
When I noticed that a few of them had bletted on the tree, I decided to close my eyes and taste. For medlars are supposed to be quite a delicacy. Having said that, I do find that people claim all sorts of food to be just the tastiest, the more unusual, the more trendy.

When I say that I decided to close my eyes and taste, I actually let Sue take the first nibble. Then I followed. The flesh inside the fruit was like an apple and pear paste with a little sweet spice, perfectly edible, quite pleasant but nothing to rave about.

 

But the delight of medlars is, supposedly, when they are turned into a jelly or a cheese.

The folk at ashmeadtrees.co.uk from whom I purchased many of my trees when I first moved onto the smallholding, have the following to say about medlar jelly:

 

Well made medlar jelly is a true delight. It is beautiful to look at – amber with pink highlights and very glossy.
And medlar jelly is joyous to taste; some say it is like sweet cider infused with cinnamon and a touch of allspice. Whatever your adjectives it is utterly delicious, wondrously fragrant and gives a lift to game and cold meats like no other jelly. Add a spoonful to your gravy and you will never be without it again.

Ingredients (for 6 large jam jars)

• 3 small, sharp apples or 20-25 crab apples
• 2.5kg bletted medlars(see below)
• 600g firm medlars
• 4 lemons
• 3 litres water
• 1.2kg granulated sugar

(Optionally, you can add about 20 cloves at the beginning which are removed when you strain. They make the jelly a bit more Christmassy.)

Instructions

* The bletted medlars should be dark and soft before you start. Clean them by removing any stalks and leaves and chopping them in half. Remove any really obvious rotten bits.

* Cut the lemons and apples into quarters (just halve crab apples if you are using those instead). Then put all the fruit into a maslin or large saucepan, such as you would use for jam making.

* Pour all the water over the fruit and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and cover with a lid. Leave to simmer gently for about an hour.



It still doesn't look appetising, but be patient!

* Don’t boil hard, and keep covered so the water doesn’t evaporate.

* Every 10-15 minutes squash the fruit with a wooden spoon. Don’t over squash or stir the whole time as your jelly will end up cloudy (the taste is unaffected though).

* Pour the whole mess into a jelly bag hung over a large bowl. Bathroom taps are great for the job although we have a hook on a beam in the garage. Just let the juice drip into the bowl.

A beautiful juice emerges

* For the clearest jelly, do not squeeze at all. If you leave the bag there for 12 hours, almost all the juice will have run through by itself anyway. (After the juice has run through, you can put the contents of the bag on the compost heap.)

* Measure the juice, which should be clear and a wonderful amber-rose colour, into a suitably sized clean saucepan and boil hard for 6-7 minutes. Then add an equal amount of sugar (which should be about 6 cups or 1.2kg).

* Bring back to the boil and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Boil hard for another 2-3 minutes and test on the back of a spoon for setting.

1. * When it has just begun to set (medlar jelly is best with a soft as opposed to hard consistency) pour or ladle into sterilised, warm jars and seal. Leave to cool.

If you were a bit nervous about your jelly being too hard, and find that is still has not set the next morning, you can put it back into a pan and boil for 4-5 minutes then return to the jars. When cool, medlar jelly should be smooth and soft and have a lovely gleam to it.

So Sue set to work transforming my offerings from the garden into something delicious. And the bletted medlars slowly changed, step by step, from a fairly ugly and unappetising fruit into a refined and beautiful jelly.

Just look at that colour!
It's not amber, like the website said. It's a rich, velvety purple/pink.

 

We got a leg of pork out of the freezer, specifically so we could try the medlar jelly with it, not that we ever need a reason to roast up a nice joint of pork.
And the verdict?

... absolutely delicious.

Harvest in a nutshell

Friday 2nd November 2012

Today was a momentous one.

Two winters ago I planted fifty fruit trees, including five hazelnuts (filberts), a very expensive walnut tree and an almond. Nuts are wonderful, but expensive. They can completely change the character of a dish and are one of nature's real treats. The birds and animals know this too, but fortunately we do not, as yet, have any squirrels around here.

I was not expecting a decent harvest for a few years, but I have already had success. For today I took my first nut harvest. And here it is...

 



Yes, this one almond!

I'm waiting to find a really special use for it. 

Spuds

Saturday 31st March 2012
The weather turns - just in time for the holidays.

A couple of big jobs out of the way.

During the last week I have managed to get my early potatoes into the ground and mounded up. Some people like to get them in early in March, but when those tops poke through the mounds they will need protecting from the frosts, and I'm sure there's a fair few of those still to come.

Planting potatoes involves an awful lot of moving soil around. It's a big job. Most of the potato crop grows in the mounds of soil you heap up, not down into the ground below. As the shoots emerge, you mound the soil up more, but I like to make the mounds as big as possible at the beginning so I don't need to keep going back to the same job. One unexpected sharp frost, if it catches the young shoots, can set the plants back and undo all the effort of getting them in early.

I like to plant lots of varieties of spuds - they all have their own unique qualities, and I figure that if something goes wrong I prefer not to have all my eggs in one basket. I've gone for four varieties of First Early this year.

Red Duke of York did very well last year. A floury potato, it makes an excellent chip.
Also Arran Pilot, Dunluce and Swift, all for that classic new potato taste.

A little more colour and experiment with the Second Earlies.
Salad Blue I've tried before - a novelty potato with blue/purple flesh, though it can go a bit watery when boiled.
Bonnie is a delightful white potato with red blushes. Charlotte, a salad potato, the one that comes in small, very expensive bags in the supermarkets. Did very well last year. And finally, Edgecote Purple, a new variety to try, deep purple skins.

More Fence

Since the chickens have been given freedom to roam, they have behaved well. On the whole they respect the boundaries of the veg patch and have discovered the orchard and the long grass of the meadow to their liking. The boundary with Don's land here is not chicken proof, and although they'd have  long way to go to get to his vegetables, I don't want to give them any encouragement! So today's little job was to erect 50m of chicken wire fencing, a job which involves lots of walking up and down the fenceline, mainly to retrieve tools which always end up at the other end of the fence to where needed.

With a couple of hours left, I dug a bed around the base of one of the apple trees, a new home for the rest of the strawberry plants which Don gave us.

Eventually, I want to do this with all the fruit trees, with various plants and flowers underneath them, some for beauty, some to protect the trees from disease and pests.