Winter cabbages

Today we have dug over the patch where cabbage white butterflies massacred all our purple sprouting broccoli and sprouts plants a few weeks ago. We have now planted some winter cabbages that WILL NOT go the same way as their predecessors because this time we have added a net. We are very proud of the way it looks now it is finished but are slightly worried that a certain puppy will go charging through the net and bring it down. Just as we were hammering in the wooden posts to support the net a lone cabbage white butterfly flew overhead this omen spurred us on to get it finished so fingers crossed that it will stay up.

The Snakey show with Auntie Bob

This is Snakey the snake, she was bought for my brother when he was at school but now he lives away at university so mum looks after her.
Auntie bob has decided to make an informative video for Tom, Jack and Katherine (my little cousins) about feeding time. Hope you like it guys!

Lewisia and NEW SHOES

Me and mum went looking for some winter cabbages to plant in the now empty vegetable bed/butterfly colony. We made a huge first time mistake and did not put up netting around the purple spouting broccoli and sprouts so we got hundreds of cabbage white butterflies which destroyed all the plants. Turned out the local garden centre didnt have any winter cabagges so I bought a Lewisia instead. I didnt know what it was and only bought it for the pretty pink flowers. But have since learnt that it is an alpine plant, that it originates from the US. It is a clump-forming, evergreen perennial with rosettes of dark green succulent leaves and grows in well-drained, stony soil. I have just repotted mine asap as it was in soggy peaty soil when I bought it. This plant is written about as being hard to please on the internet but by potting it into at least 50 per cent sand according to the Ashwood Nurseries page I found via google hopefully mine will survive.

On to a totally different topic. I have new shoes, god bless Marks and Spencer where I bought these yesterday. Im saving for New Zealand which I leave for in a few weeks, but it will be my birthday before I go so contributions from Nana and Grandma paid for them.

My lovely new shoes!!!

Autumnwatch Fri 2nd October: Friday night on BBC TWO

I watched the first in the series of the new Autumnwatch and thought it was brilliant, here's a link to it on BBC Iplayer so watch it if you can.

If you don't know this is a series from on BBC Two at 9pm on a Friday night. Great for those people who are like me who are not out clubbing at this time. The programme returns this year in a new format, lasts for eight-weeks and celebrated UK wildlife, live and interactive from across the country. Chris Packham and Kate Humble report from the BBC natural History Unit in Bristolon events such as monitoring bird migrations on the south coast, visiting a wildlife rescue centre to meet hedgehogs getting in shape for hibernation and soaking up the glories of our autumn woodlands, alive with rich colours and a wild harvest, in the Lake District to name but a few.

The programme follows up this year's re-introduction of wild beavers from Norway, finds dormice in unusual locations and helps stranded manx shearwaters. Investigates sightings of large numbers of killer whales that have learned to follow mackerel fishing boats. There will be weekly reports about how you can get involved with all sorts of interesting wildlife activities such as bat detecting, bird ringing, building homes for wildlife and finding out about ancient knowledge of medicinal plants. And my favourite comes via satellite link each week and follows the great autumn spectacle on the Isle of Rum. The gladiatorial battles and the sexual intrigues of the red deer rut.

This is my favourite part as I travelled to Rum about 4 years ago to watch the deer rut in my first year at uni. It is a very small island so the area he films in and even the research hut he is very familiar to me. It was an amazing experience brings back lots of good memories. Apparently he will also be going to the Arctic Circle and Africa to see the other side of the lives of migrating birds, such as geese, wading birds, sand martins and ospreys.
Here are some of my photos of Rum..

When I watched the rut I saw the stags fighting as shown on the programme, the most successful stag then was named Astral. We went out with the researchers to take the antlers from the dead stag, for measuring and recording purposes. Once we approached a huge dead stag which had been gouged by his opponent's antler through the eye socket, when we got close we soon realised it wasnt quite dead and had to run for cover. I saw golden eagles and sea eagles, otters, dolphins and the wild horses.

Bramble jelly and other preserves

What a lovely day to pick blackberries


Looks there will be more ripe next week


My haul after 10 minutes



It has been so nice out that I've been going down to the beach to pick blackberries most days for the last week. I freeze them, top cheese cakes with them, use them to make crumbles and now to complete my fruit based preserve smörgåsbord make Bramble Jelly with them. Recipes for bramble jelly range from being very simple, using just black berries, sugar and water to the more exotic which encompass tempting liqueurs.
After a long hard think I've opted for the alcoholic version using some Creme de Cassis .

Ingredients:
3lb of Blackberries, washed
2 large cooking Apples, peeled cored and diced
450ml Water
Juice of 1 Lemon
Jam Sugar
A couple of tablespoons of Creme de Cassis

First string up a jelly bag in you're kitchen. Put blackberries, apple, water and lemon juice in a large cooking pan bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 mins approx (until fruit is soft). Tip the contents of the pot into the jelly bag and with a large bowl underneath and leave to drip overnight (It is tempting to smash the fruit down to make more juice but this will result in cloudy jelly). For every 600ml of juice in the bowl add 1lb of jam sugar (or any with added pectin) and pour into the cooking pan, put on a low heat while stirring constantly to stop burning and to dissolve all the sugar. Now add the Creme de Cassis and bring to the boil for 15 minutes stirring constantly. The idea is for the jelly to have reached setting point by boiling, a good test of this is to dot a plate with the jelly and when you see the jelly wrinkle rather than run when you tip the plate then setting point has been reached. Decant the jelly into jars and when cooled slightly add the wax seals and lids. If the jelly has'nt set you can easily just boil it up again, as I had to do on my first batch.

These are all the preserves we've made this year (so far). Marmalade, Raspberry Jam (homegrown), Greengage Jam, Green tomato chutney (homegrown), Hot red tomato chutney (homegrown) and Bramble Jelly (homegrown).

Making Chutney

Even though there has been a resurgence of good weather in the last few days some of the vegetables have looked decidedly tired. The runner beans finished a couple of weeks ago and so we ate the last of them and pulled them down for the compost bin. The tomatoes are doing very well although I’m finding it hard to keep up with the watering. When the first downpour of rain started 2 weeks ago I went out and collected all the low hanging tomatoes green and red, my reasoning was the either the slugs would have them or they would just rot in the wet and I could not let either happen. I have been using organic slug pellets around the base of the tomato plants as well as a fence from heavy duty chicken wire to protect them from the Sheep. I would have liked to try the beer trap method but I thought the dogs would get it, the egg shell method but we don’t have our own chickens... so that idea was out and nematode worms are one for next year as well as I found them hard to find.

So anyway with the tomatoes I made some green tomato chutney, I made some hot red tomato chutney.

Ingredients:

• 1kg green tomatoes cut into small chunks
  
• 2 cooking size apples cut into small chunks
  
• 500g soft brown sugar
• 500ml malt vinegar
• 4cm of root ginger peeled and crushed (keep in one piece so you can fish it out at the end)
  
• A couple of red chillis, left whole
  
• 125g sultanas
• 300g shallots, chopped
  
• 1 tsp salt

Place all the ingredients into a deep cooking pot (I use the biggest Le Creuset virtual cauldron in mums kitchen) and then bring it all to the boil stirring constantly to dissolve sugar and the stop the mixture from burning. When it has reached the boil you must then turn it down to a tame simmer, (with the lid off) and then keep stirring as often as possible for 3 hours approx. The aim is to be able to stir through the chutney and the bottom of the pot to stay visible as no liquid remains. I then fished out the chillies and the ginger and decanted the chutney into sterilized jam jars. When the mixture has cooled slightly add wax discs and then lids and leave to cool completely before adding you’re labels.

Brugmansia

Tomatoes from start to finish 2009

Tomatoes planted neatly back in March


Now the border is overgrown and has to be defended from dogs who are partial to tomatoes

Different varieties have self seeded themselves all over the garden. We have cherry and plum tomatoes which must have come from tins



All the self seeded collected up and potted, now known as tomato hospital

Common or Viviparous Lizard - Lacerta vivipara / Zootoca vivipara

Since spring time I have being seeing lizards around the garden. First lizard I saw had absolutely no tail, then more recently Ive seen what looks like the same lizard with a black stump. I see the lizards basking in the sun usually near to pots, or seed trays, this is presumably so they can run for cover and so they stay close to a supply of insects.

Lizard with no tail, This photo was taken in March 09. I now know March to be the month Common or Viviparous Lizard wake up from hibernation.


What we think is the same lizard in July. This one appears to be regrowing a tail.


I looked up the lizard and on the brilliant website Reptiles and Amphibians of the UK.



It helps that there are very few native British reptiles or Amphibians so it wasnt hard to find. It could only have been the rare Sand Lizard (Lacerta agilis) some of which are found near to where I live in Hampshire except that these are much larger than those I have seen.

Nice plants in the house and garden

Aloe vera populating the worktop in the kitchen

Nice purple plant, dont know what it is but very popular with the hover flies


Self seeding cyclamen


Begonia looks fantastic


My strelitzia is doing brilliant in the warm conservatory


South African plant is flowering


Walnut sapling, the only survivor of the sheep attack

The vegetables grown so far

This is what the vegetable plot looked like back in March

Runner beans

Self seeded tomatoes growing in the beetroot



Butternut squashes


Courgette