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Autumn’s Bounty: Apples.

October 8, 2022/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Kitchen, The Bridge Cottage Garden/by Sue Reed

Autumn Bounty: Apples

Apples are in abundance this autumn. As I write, it is October 2022 and the apple trees are full, the boughs bent with the weight of fruit like I have never seen before. We inherited six old apple trees when we moved here, twenty years ago, varieties unknown, and have planted half a dozen new ones since in what is known as ‘the chicken field’ (though we gave up having poultry this year after 35 years of keeping hens). Last year we did not have a single apple. We had sharp frosts throughout the whole of May, which killed the buds that had formed. This meant trees got a rest, and so this year produced apples in abundance. It was the same with plums, our single tree was dripping with plums, so much so that a bough broke under the weight. I must remind myself to prune it hard early next summer. We have a mixture of cookers and eaters, and as I said, names are mostly unknown. I do know one tree gives Bramleys, and another with an apple like a Cox is known as the ‘little apple tree’ because it gives thousands of small apples. The taste however is wonderful, especially with a good chunk of strong cheese.

Picking, Cooking & Preserving, Late Summer’s Plums

I wrote another post about plums, which includes Mrs Portly’s wonderful plum chutney recipe:

Picking, Cooking & Preserving, Late Summer’s Plums

We have a mixture of cookers and eaters, and as I said, names are mostly unknown. I do know one tree gives Bramleys, and another with an apple like a Cox is known as the ‘little apple tree’ because it gives thousands of small apples. The taste however is wonderful, especially with a good chunk of strong cheese. We have the ‘septic tank’ apples, not because they taste like sh*t but because the tree grows over the place where the septic tank is emptied. There is the ‘soft’ apple tree because when cooked the apples go to a frothy pulp. Coincidentally, today at Hexham Farmer’s Market, you can take your apples along for someone to identify. Maybe you have a farmer’s market near you that is doing the same? We’re not that bothered – we know our trees, which cook up well, or make the best juice.

Juicing apples

Juicing apples was a family affair this year with all hands on deck. We’ve bottled getting on for a hundred bottles, buying in boxed of bottles but also using screw-top wine bottles. We treated ourselves to a pasteuriser from Vigo Presses and this is worth its weight in gold. It heats the pressed apple juice to 75 deg which means all the bugs are killed and the juice will keep without fermenting. Be careful if you are making juice – without pasteurising you either must freeze it in plastic bottles (empty milk cartons are great for this) or keep it as cold as possible, ideally in the fridge, and drink it fairly quickly. You do not want exploding bottles!

An Apple Scratter

Two other pieces of kit are a scratter and juicer. The latter is important, though a scratter is not vital, but will save getting arm ache from pounding apples in a bucket with a fence post. To make juice, you need to pulp your apples. They then go into the press. We’ve inherited an old one from Tim’s parents, but it is rather small. We are indebted to our neighbour this year who has lent us a jumbo-sized press. Much better! Vigo Presses again would be where I’d head for a press.

apple press for making juice

The grandkids love the apple juice but do let us know if it is too ‘winky’, our family word for tart.

This year, I’ve followed Pam Corbin’s method for making fruit leathers and played with a dehydrator to make this one. However, they are very easy to make by just leaving in a warm place to dry. The top of a log burner overnight is ideal. Apple crisp or dried apple rings are another way of making chemical-free and sugar-free treats for kids. I’m actually sending the dehydrator back. I don’t think the use it’ll get warrants the expense.

raspberry and apple fruit leather

At the same time as the apples start falling from the trees, the fennel seeds are ready. Apple and Fennel chutney is one of our favourites and I’ve written this up.

Apple and Fennel Chutney

Green tomato chutney gets made too as we clear the greenhouse ready to plant winter salad crops and perpetual spinach that will overwinter. I follow River Cottage’s Glutney recipe which, as long as the right ration of cider vinegar and sugar to fruit and veg is followed, pretty much anything can be bunged into it.

Apple herb jellies

We’ve made apple jellies too, adding herbs or chopped chillies. Apples are high in pectin, so when cooked with pips and skins and then strained, they make a clear set jelly that can be sweet, as with the plum and apple jelly, or savoury – this year we’ve made apple jelly with sage (fab with cheese and fish), mint (to go with roast lamb) and chilli (ideal in a cheese sandwich). If you add the chopped herbs or chilli, leave it to cool for 20 mins or the bits with just float up to the top. They are so pretty, like snow globes and I’m planning on giving these away, and some of our chutney as Christmas gifts to friends and family.

There are two buckets out the front of the house for walkers and passers-by to help themselves to cooking or eating apples, and a sign asking for jam jars. We’ve made so much jam, chutney, and jelly that we’ve run out for the first time ever!

Storing apples

Of course, apples can be stored as they are if you have a dry, dark shed. Make sure there are no bruises or blemishes. Only perfect apples will keep and make certain they cannot be got at by mice. You’ll find, if stored correctly, they’ll last right through the winter.

I’ve yet to make the mincemeat for Christmas mince pies, but I will, adding homegrown apples to it. I will continue to make apple crumbles and baked apples for puddings, and freezing bags of cooked apples, marrying them up with raspberries, blackberries and plums frozen earlier.

We are so grateful to have this abundance of apples this year and are more than happy to share if anyone local wants any. It is a lot of work to cook, juice and preserve, but worth the effort when we can go to the pantry or dive in the freezer for a bag of cooked fruit to go with our winter porridge and homemade yoghurt, or some beautiful plum and apple jelly to spread on our toast.

Nothing better than a crunchy apple

Of course, as our granddaughter here demonstrates, the best way to eat an apple is plucked straight from the tree!

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

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Autumn Equinox Gathering. A Foraged Wreath

September 20, 2022/2 Comments/in Foraging for Free Food, Outdoors, Sustainable Living, The Bridge Cottage Garden/by Sue Reed

Autumn Equinox Gathering. A wreath for the front door

There’s a nip in the air as the autumn equinox opens the garden gate and a new season enters. Apples are falling from the trees, crying out to be juiced, dried and turned into crumbles. A bucket of green tomatoes sits in the kitchen waiting to be made into chutney, and the last of the blackberries are winking in the sun. It’s a time for gathering, for bringing in what is ripe and ready and for laying down the stores for winter. I also like to look at what is over in the garden, at the seed heads and plants that can be dried and brought indoors to decorate the house. It’s been a busy few days looking after grandchildren and juicing apples and today I fancied doing something creative, just for me. I thought an autumn equinox wreath to decorate the front door might be a fun thing to make, so took myself off around the garden, secateurs in hand to clip a few bits and bobs.

Poppy seed heads

Beneath the blackberries that grow along the garage wall, poppy heads sway in the breeze and teasels reach for the sky. The goldfinches have had their fill of the teasel seeds and it is now time to gather in those architectural seed heads before autumn’s storms batter them to the ground. Before taking them inside to dry, shake poppy seeds from the dried heads on the ground where you want them to flower next year, and you’ll be rewarded with poppies galore. What glorious forms these two have.

Autumn Equinox Gathering. Honesty seed heads

Jostling for a place amongst the dock leaves and nettles the honesty has also gone to seed. Don’t be fooled by the murky brown casings – there’s silver treasure inside!

Honesty seed heads

A quick rub, front and back, and the casings disappear. Again, scatter the seeds where you will then bring the silver inside before the winds of autumn shred it. I just love honesty in decorations. I used it last year to make wings for Christmas angels.

Another plant that romps away in our garden is old man’s beard. We thought it was a fancy clematis when we spotted it on Jim Morrison’s grave in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and pocketed some seeds. However, he breaks on through to the other side whenever given the chance and spills over fences and gateways. Dried, it looks as tousled and as wonderful as the singer himself. Before we dry fennel seeds to make tea or add to our apple and fennel chutney, I’ve lifted a few seed heads and have added all the above in this late summer wreath that is now hanging on the front door.

Fennel Tea and Apple and Fennel Chutney

Autumn Equinox Wreath

It’s easy to make and uses the same method as making a Christmas wreath. Gather small bunches of whatever you are using: in my case, a seeded flowerhead from old man’s beard, a fennel seed head, a sprig of honesty, a nigella and poppy seed head, and tie to a wreath form using this florist’s wire. You can make your own wreath form by tying willow in a circle and binding or buy one from your local florist, or online. If you can, make your own, I found one in Hobbycraft for a fiver, made from grapevines, but it was made in China! I don’t know how your ethics sit with that and the transport costs involved. It doesn’t have to be willow: a few pliable twigs are all you need. There are plenty of YouTube tutorials for making your own. Try this one from Tuckshop Flowers:

How to make a willow wreath base

I’m also mindful of collecting the seed heads, grasses and plants that will be dried to make decorations for Yule or Christmas, whatever you call the festive season. I’ll be talking more about having an eco-Christmas as the seasons draw on, and yes, I hear you: it’s too early to be thinking about Christmas, but in a way it isn’t. Sustainable living is so often about preparing, looking ahead, and laying the groundwork for what is to come. Today it is about gathering and drying so we can make decorations that don’t cost the earth in both monetary and environmental terms.

Foraged Christmas Star

I made this star a couple of years back, using pampas grass, teasels, honesty, and seed heads stuck very simply into a dry oasis suspended on a garden cane and with a few white led lights strung through. It really was very simple, but very effective. Last year I made angels from fir cones and hung them from red dogwood stems, but I think I’ll revert to the star this year and so am off around the garden to see what can be gleaned. I’ll write up a step-to-step guide for making this Christmas star a bit later on, but let’s dry what we need first. I’ve hung the teasels, nigella seed heads, honesty and poppy heads upside down from the rafters in the garden shed to dry. Anywhere warm and dry will do.

Teasels and honesty hung to dry

We planted hops years ago and never got around to using them to flavour beer. They are rampant! Dried, however, and strewn above the fireplace, with a few white lights woven in, they will look wonderful. They are currently drying in the airing cupboard. Be prepared for plant life to temporarily take over the drying areas of your house!

So there we have it, a beautiful wreath for the front door to mark the Autumn Equinox and dried seed heads and hops gathered to decorate the house at yuletide. Time to light the fire and find my knitting! I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing my Autumn Equinox wreath and this moment of mindfulness with you. As we gather early autumn’s offerings, let us have a moment of reflection, and be grateful for the bounty and beauty of Mother Nature as one season passes, and another arrives. Do share your wreath-making or gathering with us on the usual social media channels – we’d love to see what you make.

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

How to build a hotbox for propagation, early seed sowing and growing

February 27, 2021/0 Comments/in Outdoors, Sustainable Living, The Bridge Cottage Garden, Uncategorized/by Sue Reed

Hotbox propagation

Making a hotbox may well be the answer if are you chomping at the bit to get the growing season started, It’s still February and last week we had snow. However, the sun started shining this week after a long Winter. We are still in Lockdown due to the pandemic and goodness knows we are longing to get growing again. Last year’s lockdown seemed so much easier to bear, with veggies to grow and gardens to tend, but we must remember it is still Winter!

Hotbox propagation. for early seed sowing and growing

Last year Tim built a hot box for the greenhouse, and it’s brilliant! We can set seeds away and grow then on without fear of the frost getting to them. I know some of you who have seen pictures of this on the Bridge Cottage Way Facebook page have asked how he made it, so here you go.

It’s quite simple. We got the idea and all the help we needed from Jungle Seeds.

You will need a greenhouse or cold frame and a source of electricity. We have run an outdoor extension lead from the garage into the greenhouse. We have taken care to cover any electrical parts with a bucket so avoid accidents when watering!

The heat comes from Bio Green Soil Warming cables. available from Jungle Seeds.

Building a hotbox for early seed sowing a propagation

We started by building a wooden box. The bottom was taken from an old dining room table, and the sides, off-cuts of plywood. You may want to build something smaller, a tray for example. In this first picture, you can see it has been covered on the outside by insulation. We used this insulation as we had it hanging around after building the sauna. You might want to use polystyrene, or Kingspan. Use what you have!

Building a hotbox for early seed sowing and propagation

Next, add a layer of sand, and then lay the cables on top of that. We got the Bio Green Warming Cables from Jungle Seeds, and you’ll see that they give basic instructions too for building a hotbox.

The cable is normally laid in runs 3″ to 4″ apart. This layout will allow you to raise the soil temperature by 11-13 C, above the greenhouse ambient. Higher temperatures can be achieved by laying the cable runs as close together as 5cm. In this case, a thermostat should be used to precisely control the soil temperature to avoid overheating.

After laying the cables, cover again with another layer of sand. Water all this well. It needs to be kept moist to give good heat transference.

building hot box propagation, early seed sowing and growing

building a hot box for propagation, early seed sowing and growing

A top tip is to cover the plug socket and thermostat with an upturned bucket. This prevents any water from getting in the electrics when watering the greenhouse!

At night, a layer of bubble wrap can go over the top to tuck your baby plants in.

building a hot box for propagation, early seed sowing and growing

That’s all there is to it! We’ve set leeks, board beans, chillies, lettuce and tomatoes away already and they are growing well in the hot box. You can see I’ve used sawn-off juice bottles as seed pots – waste not, want not!

Do get in touch if you have any questions!

Wishing you a very happy growing season.

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Feeding the Birds in Winter

February 14, 2021/0 Comments/in Sustainable Living, Outdoors, The Bridge Cottage Garden/by Sue Reed

Winter at Bridge Cottage

Feeding the birds in Winter. It’s February, and there’s been thick snow on the ground up here in Northumberland for weeks now. The river is starting to freeze over, and while there are some interesting patterns on the windows of the greenhouse, some amazing ice formations in the river, and beautiful icicles hanging from the sauna roof, it’s freezing and the birds are hungry. We have even seen owls hunting by day as they search for food.

Icicles on the sauna roof

The birds need our help in winter, and feeding and watching the birds can be a great activity for kids. Goodness knows we need all the help we can get to amuse the kids during lockdown at the moment. They may have taken part in the Big Garden Birdwatch in January, but even if you missed it, much fun can still be had from watching the birds fly in and eat the bird food that you have put out.

homemade bird feeder with peanut butter and birdseed

Fir cones can be collected, or toilet rolls saved, covered in peanut butter, then filled in birdseed.

Garlands of fruit can be strung up – chopped apples, grapes, are favourites of blackbirds and thrushes – how about wedging an apple in the crook of a branch? Blackbirds and thrushes prefer to eat from a table or the ground as they are not great at perching.

Blackbird looking for food. Feed the Birds

Had bacon for breakfast? Snip the rind into small pieces – the birds love the fat.

Click this link for a speedy birdseed cake from the good peeps over at the RSPB:

Make a speedy bird seed cake

Feed the Birds.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating.

February 7, 2021/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Garden, The Bridge Cottage Kitchen/by Sue Reed

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

Do you grow leeks? Would you like to grow leeks? They are a hardy crop, standing with patience and fortitude in the ground, month in, month out, waiting to be plucked. Tolerant of the cold and ice, they are a welcome treat in the depths of winter or as tender young things in the summer. I thought I’d share some tips I’ve learnt along the way, plus some tried and tested family recipes.

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

It is February and thoughts are turning to this year’s growing season. My granddaughter and I have been sowing leeks this week. One of the earliest crops to get underway. They will grow in pots indoors or a propagator and then go into the greenhouse to grow on during early Spring.

Sow your leeks early in the season, Feb – April. Then sow again later in the year, to allow for a succession of crops. Read more about planting in succession here:

Succession Planting for Vegetables All Year Round

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

Start your leeks off in a deep pot – they like to send their roots deep down. This will help strong plants to grow. Just sprinkle on top of seed compost, and then cover with a fine layer. Pop somewhere fairly warm: a propagator, warm windowsill or sunny greenhouse once winter’s chill is over.

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

Don’t be tempted to put too many in the seed tray, or you’ll end up with far too many and they’ll be all choked up. We’ve been a bit heavy-handed with our seed sprinkling – you might want to give them a bit more breathing room than we have here!

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

Once your seedlings are large enough to handle – you need a good bit of growth at the top, tease them gently apart, and plant out in the veggie plot using a dibber or stick to make deep holes (about 15-20 cm deep). Don’t you just love that word, dibber. It instantly conjures up memories of helping my grandad in his garden. I have my lovely son to thank for making me my dibber. If you don’t have a dibber, find a stout stick! Pop your seedling in the hole and fill with water from a watering can. Plant with enough space so you can get a hoe in between rows to keep the weeds down later on That’s all there is to it!

You will be rewarded with delicious, nutritious leeks to feed yourselves and your families.

Here are some tried and tested recipes the family have loved here at Bridge Cottage. They all serve a family of four, so scale down for smaller portions. We are meat eaters, so have included bacon in the Leek and Bacon pudding, but feel free to leave it out.

Top tip – when washing leeks, slit the tops with a deep cross and hold upside down under running water, teasing out layer to get all the soil out. Nowt worse than a crunch of grit when you munch!

Looking at Leeks: Growing and Eating

Cheesy Leek Gratin

Ingredients

4 large leeks

25g butter

½ tbsp plain flour

Approx. 1 pt milk

100g cheddar cheese

2 handfuls breadcrumbs*

Fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional)

*(whizz up some stale crusts in a food processor – top tip: keep a bag in the freezer so you never have to throw away stale bread)

Method

Wash the leeks well, and chop into chunks. Sauté in the butter for a couple of mins until just tender. Stir in the flour, and then add milk a little at a time until you have the consistency of double cream. Add grated cheddar and season with salt and pepper. Pour into an overproof dish.

Mix the breadcrumbs with chopped parsley, season and place on top of the leeks. Bake in a medium over for 10 minutes, or until breadcrumbs brown.

Leek & Bacon Pudding

Ingredients

125g / 5 oz wholewheat flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

50g / 20z shredded suet

2 chopped leeks

3-4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped

1 tsp mixed fresh herbs or ½ tsp dried

I medium egg

Method

Mix together flour, baking powder, suet, leeks, bacon, herbs and season with salt and pepper.

Mix with egg, adding a little milk if necessary, to make a soft dropping consistency (so mixture drops off spoon when held aloft)

Grease a 600ml/1 pint pudding basin and put in a piece of greaseproof or parchment paper to just cover the bottom.

Put pudding mixture in basin. Cover with greaseproof paper and foil and tie with string.

Steam for 1 ½ hours. If you don’t have a steamer, place a saucer in the bottom of a large pan, and cover with boiling water. Place pudding on saucer and put lid on pan, topping up water when necessary.

Serve with parsley sauce.

Sue Reed writes for the Bridge Cottage Way

There are, of course, lots of other recipes for leeks – we love a leek risotto, or that old favourite, leek and potato soup.

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Tim & Sue in the Bridge Cottage Way garden

Late Summer Sowing for Autumn & Winter Veg

August 25, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Garden/by Sue Reed

Autumn at Bridge Cottage

It is late Summer here, and Autumn is knocking on the garden gate. I have noticed the conker tree on the corner of the lane by the nature reserve is starting to change colour. The nights are drawing in, and last night we noticed it getting dark around nine. However, it is not time to give up sowing seeds! There is still plenty of warmth in the air and light in the skies to get some late summer seed sowing done.

July and August are the times to sow seeds for winter veg that can be harvested around Christmas, or overwintered when it will spring into life again once the warmer weather comes. If, along with the tardiness of this post, setting seeds away feels too late, then opt for buying plugs of seedlings. Good choices for sowing now are broccoli, both calabrese and purple or white sprouting, all the brassicas, ie cabbages, kale, cauliflower, sprouts, kohlrabi and oriental salads like mizuna, and rocket. Spinach and chard will get a good bit of growing done now, and then continue in Spring giving several early pickings in the new year.

Bridge Cottage Greenhouse

If you have a greenhouse, then as soon as early crops and tomatoes have finished, get some spinach and chard in the ground. Lettuces and radishes are quick to grow, and pak choi, mizuna and rocket will love the cooler temperatures and not be so inclined to bolt. We are experimenting this year with growing a late summer sowing of French beans. I have made a note, however, in my garden journal, to set the seed away earlier next year. If we are too late, then all we will have lost are a few seeds. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. There is also time to sow some more soft herbs in the greenhouse, such as parsley and coriander. Plant your parsley out once the seedlings are bit enough to handle, and it will overwinter well, giving an abundance of vitamin C rich herbage in Spring.

Lifting onions in August

We have just lifted our onions, and space there will be for my patiently waiting red cabbage, kohlrabi, Tuscan and red kale. ‘all year round’ cauliflower and sprouting broccoli. the slugs are doing their darndest to munch their way through them, and so a generous handful of wool pellets has been deployed.

Wool slug pellets on brassica plants

The brassicas are also waiting patiently for us to build another structure for netting. There is nothing more soul-destroying than nursing your seedlings, keeping slugs and rabbits off them, only to find the cabbage whites have had a party on them, and caterpillars are making lace from the leaves. Net all brassicas as soon as they are planted and be aware that the cabbage white butterflies will still lay their eggs on the leaves if they so much as touch the outside. We have found out the hard way this year, which goes to show that there is always something new to learn. How my friend Julia, who is new to gardening, escaped with this unscathed and un-netted broccoli, I do not know how she has managed this. It is beautiful though, and I’m thrilled to hear of so many who have started growing their own veg this year, during the coronavirus pandemic. We will need our homegrown food more than ever in the years to come.

Why Bother? Gardening and Growing Food

Did you read the article I shared on our social media pages this week? It was about community initiatives to grow food and support food banks and those in the community for whom fresh food is beyond their budget. We’re hoping at Hexham Fresh Food Bank to keep supplying our local food bank, West Northumberland Food Bank, with homegrown produce through the winter months. The challenge is on, so I’d better go and get some late summer sowing and planting done.

Guardian article: How coronavirus has led to a UK boom in community food growing

Thanks for reading, and happy gardening.

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Succession Planting for Vegetables All Year Round

August 13, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Garden/by Sue Reed

Succession Planting

Succession planting has nothing to do with the monarchy but refers to the system of planting crops at regular intervals with thought and planning throughout the growing season to make sure you have vegetables all year round. This helps reduce the gluts and shortages, although I can do nothing about the glut of courgettes that so many of experience in summer.

It’s the middle of August as I write, and we’ve just eaten a spinach and chard omelette for lunch, with salad on the side. Thanks to succession planting, we enjoy these three crops more or less the whole year through. Let me explain.

We all know the buzz of excitement as Spring appears, the days become sunny and warm (well, for some they do) and the seed packets come out of storage and new ones bought in garden centres or online. Perhaps now is time to give a shout-out to Premier Seeds Direct, Real Seeds and Higgledy Garden who have done a fabulous job at supplying us with seeds during this crazy pandemic year.

Seeds for Winter Veg

It’s so easy to plant too many seeds at once – and my top tip here is only planting a few of the seeds you are going to grow, in succession; a few lettuces at a time, a short row of spinach and chard, and maybe half your broad beans, leaving more to plant in a month’s time. Lettuce, spinach, chard and beetroot are crops I like to sow at maybe four intervals throughout the growing season.

Make the most of your containers here, and a succession of tubs of cut and come again salad leaves can be very handy.

The more tender plants like runner beans courgettes, squash can go in once early crops like garlic, early beetroot or onions are out.

Spring grown pak choi

Then there are those plants which don’t do as well in the hot summer months. We had wonderful pak choi this Spring but found the second sowing bolted in July. I’m going to sow some now that the days are shortening, and it should fare better over the next few weeks. Pak choi is a fairly quick crop to grow, as is rocket (clue’s in the name) and is another crop that likes to be sown early and later in the growing season.

Companion Planting

Fennel too likes to grown away from summer’s heat. We’ve just put in some fennel that had been sown in plugs, next to this climbing squash. Fennel and squash do well grown together if you are into companion planting.

Late summer is the time to think ahead towards the winter. Do you want braised red cabbage with your Christmas dinner? Then get some planted out in the summer months. There is still plenty of fine weather in these late summer months and the ground beautifully warm, for crops to grow and be harvested at the end of the growing season or remain in the ground to give lovely fresh vegetables over Winter and Spring. Kale, cabbages, sprouting broccoli, all-year-round cauliflower, perpetual spinach, chard, beets are all good examples of crops to overwinter.

Wool slug pellets on brassica plants

Don’t forget to cover your brassicas with net – those pretty while butterflies we see flitting around the veg patch are longing to lay their eggs on your cabbages, which will in turn to hungry caterpillars. The slugs are doing their darndest to prevent my winter veg growing, but I’ve just given them a liberal sprinkling of wool slug pellets, so fingers crossed they make it into the ground.

The Lady of Shallot

Speed is of the essence, and it’s an idea to have young plants or seeds ready for when early crops are out. We’re pulling up our onions on Saturday, with some help from the Lady of Shallot here, and have kohlrabi, red cabbage, red and Tuscan kale and cauliflower waiting to go in. The slugs are doing their darndest to prevent this, but I’ve just given them a liberal sprinkling of wool slug pellets.

If you’ve got a greenhouse, or live down South, then this is a whole different ball game, and your growing season is extended even further at either end. We have great success growing French, dwarf and borlotti beans in the greenhouse early doors, and then sow again outside once the dangers of frost have passed.

This year are going to experiment with a third, very late sowing of French beans in the greenhouse. We’re not sure it will work, but all we will have lost are a few seeds and a bit of time or trouble. If ever you are in doubt about sowing – give it a go! We can also never predict what the weather is going to be like, so nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Bridge Cottage Greenhouse

Tim is always saying, ‘write it down’ and a garden journal is a really useful tool. Succession planting is about planning and remembering what has worked one year to the next. However, I’m rubbish at following my own advice, and so often forget to write successes and failures down, which is surprising, seeing as I’m a writer.

There are various online digital planners, and after a quick look down the Google tube, I found this Vegetable Garden Planner App from Growveg. I’ve not used it myself, I love a journal, but would be interested to hear from anyone who has found a good gardening planning digital tool.

I do hope this has been useful if you’re new to gardening or succession planting. Please get in touch if there is anything I haven’t covered, or if you have any questions.

I’m off to sow those late French beans and some pak choi to grow in the greenhouse once the tomatoes and aubergines have finished.

Happy Gardening!

Sue

Biennial Sowing in Summer

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

In Praise of the Nasturtium from the Bridge Cottage Garden

August 11, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Garden/by Sue Reed

Nasturtiums in the Bridge Cottage Garden

I’d like to take a moment to sing the praise of the humble nasturtium, which is such a useful little plant, and one we love to grow in the Bridge Cottage garden.

Nasturtiums grow well in borders, pots and hanging baskets, and will creep and crawl, up trellises and over walls, bringing vibrant colour to the garden throughout the summer months. They are quick to grow and easy to grow from seed – a great plant to get children to grow, to introduce them to gardening.

This year, my hanging baskets have been filled with the simple nasturtium, grown from seeds saved from last year. Due to lockdown, I didn’t fill my salt-glazed hanging pots (thank you Errington Reay) with the usual mix of annuals bought from my local garden centre, but instead, as many of us had to do, started thinking out of the box, to what I could use that we already had. Saved nasturtium seed to the rescue and I’m loving the bright, sunny display they are putting on.

Nasturtium Pesto

The bees are also loving the trumpet-shaped blooms and can be seen taking their fill of nectar. A far more sustainable practice and they are giving me nutritious food for free in the shape of nasturtium leaves and flowers for salads, nasturtium pesto and I’m now collecting the seed pods to make ‘poor man’s capers’.

Hop over to the Bridge Cottage Kitchen to find out more about eating nasturtium:

4 Ways to use Nasturtium in the Kitchen

Companion Planting with Nasturtium

We also plant nasturtium as a companion plant and have planted them alongside our courgettes and squash. If I consult my handy companion plant poster, bought from the Herb Society UK, I see that as well as being pals with squash, courgette and marrow, the friendly nasturtium is also buddies with apples, pears, radish and tomatoes. We’ve got a few in pots, so might well move them under the apple trees, which are heavily laden with fruit at the moment.

Companion Planting

Nasturtium Seeds

Start your nasturtiums off in early Spring, in seeds trays in the greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill. Transplant and then plant out in late Spring. You might want to keep an eye out for caterpillars – brush off any eggs that appear, and go out regularly to remove caterpillars.

August is seed collecting time for many of our flowers and saving your nasturtium seed for next year is a great plan. You may well find that they self-seed, but just to be on the safe side, collect some in a large brown envelop and leave somewhere warm and dry. Don’t forget to write on the envelope what they are, especially if you have different varieties. I was sent some nasturtium seeds by the writer Sarah Rayner, aka The Creative Pumpkin on Instagram after attending a writing workshop in her beautiful garden in Brighton, which was festooned with nasturtiums. We love a seed swap!

Do grow nasturtiums and do you have a favourite variety?

We’d love to hear from you – just pop a comment in the box below.

Nasturtium

Hop over to the Bridge Cottage kitchen to find out 4 Delicious Ways to Use Nasturtium

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other sections of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what we have been doing here at Bridge Cottage as the months go by:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, with the seasons in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Growing Raspberries from the Bridge Cottage Garden

July 27, 2020/0 Comments/in The Bridge Cottage Garden/by Sue Reed

Growing Raspberries

As I write, it is July and raspberry season is in full swing. Every day I go out into the garden, and come back with a big bowlful, eating them for breakfast with our homemade yoghurt, or freezing to use later. It’s a very busy time in the garden, and we make the most of sunny days outside, but rainy days are busy making jams, jellies, vinegars and puddings. Raspberries are so easy to grow and seem to love these Northern climes. I remember well the summer job I had as an eighteen-year-old, up in Inverness at a raspberry picking farm, but I’ll leave those tales for the memoir!

Let’s take a look at growing raspberries. Firstly, where to get raspberry canes from? Any fellow gardeners or allotment holders who grow raspberries will be sure to have a few spare canes they can pull up for you. Don’t be shy, ask! Here in Hexham, we have a Facebook group, Hexham Plant Swop, and it’s a great place to source plants such as raspberry canes. Do you have one in your area, or could you set one up?

Growing Raspberries

The ’cheap shops’ – Aldi, Lidl etc are also great places for soft fruit and can be relatively inexpensive. We’ve brought some great fruit trees and fruit bushes from Aldi.

Then of course, there are your garden centres, which will have a variety of summer and autumn fruiting varieties when the season is right.

If you grow a variety of summer and autumn raspberries, you will have this delicious soft fruit all summer long, extending into autumn. What a treat!

How to plant, grow and prune raspberries

Plant raspberry canes about 45 cm apart, in rows about 1.8 m apart. We grow them along the fence to the chicken field. Give the roots a good soak before they are planted. Raspberries like an open, sunny position, and will need to be tied in as they grow.

You may like to grow them in a clump or in a large container if space in the ground is short. You can use a central support for this.

Some people net their raspberries, to keep the birds away, but we have so many, I don’t mind sharing them with the blackbirds, who sit cheekily on top of the fence as I pick, or fly out from underneath the canes with pieces of ripe, red, juicy fruit in their beaks. They are welcome to a few, as long as they don’t take the piddle!

Mulching raspberries with grass cuttings

Give your raspberries some organic feed in the Spring, and mulch around the roots to prevent weeds and to keep the moisture in. We use grass cuttings for this.

Raspberries like to wander, and you’ll soon find canes popping up where they are not welcome. Just pull them up, donate to a friend, or consider establishing a new patch. It’s a good idea to move your raspberry patch every few years. You can let a new one grow where the suckers have popped up or dig up and transplant. This keeps them free or tolerant of virus diseases. If you do keep them in the same place indefinitely, the canes will become weaker, and the fruits smaller.

Are your raspberries summer fruiting or autumn fruiting?

Summer Fruiting Raspberries

Tie summer fruiting raspberry canes to a fence or stake

July is the month when the summer fruiting raspberries are at their best here at Bridge Cottage, though further south this may well be June. Summer fruiting raspberries produce fruit on last year’s growth. You need to tie in your raspberry canes, either by using string to tie to a fence, as we have done in the photo here, of by providing a fence or stakes for support. As the fruits appear on the stems you have tied up, new shoots will appear in front, with green, young stems. These will bear the fruit next year.

When you have finished harvesting, which for us will be in August sometime, cut the fruited canes at ground level, and tie in the new, green canes. This can be done in winter, although I like to get it done as soon as the fruited canes have finished preventing the new ones becoming too battered by the wind.

Autumn Fruiting Raspberries

Autumn fruiting raspberries start to produce fruit for us at the end of August and will go through to the end of September. The canes with autumn raspberries tend to be shorter, and as such don’t need as much staking as the summer ones. Mine don’t have any staking at all. These will need pruning after they have fruited. Cut right down to the ground. This can be left to do in the winter.

growing raspberries

Considering how expensive raspberries are in the shops, growing raspberries yourself makes great sense, especially considering how easy they are to grow. You’ll be reducing your single plastic use, by not buying fruit in plastic punnets, and reducing your carbon footprint by reducing the transport miles of your food. You will be able to enjoy fresh, organic food, at a fraction of the cost.

Raspberries and homemade yoghurt

There are so many ways to use raspberries, and I’d love to hear from you of some of your favourite ways of eating this delicious fruit.

We make our own yoghurt, so this is a simple but favourite way to enjoy raspberries for breakfast.

Make Your Own Yoghurt

Here are some of ours, and if you hop over to the Bridge Cottage Kitchen, you’ll find recipes for:

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other section of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what is seasonal and on topic:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, around the Summer and Winter Solstices, and the Spring and Autumn Equinox. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Thanks for reading. Best wishes, Tim and Sue Reed

Grow Better Veg with Companion Planting

July 24, 2020/1 Comment/in The Bridge Cottage Garden, Uncategorized/by Sue Reed

Companion Planting – Courgette growing with calendula and borage.

Companion planting. Like us, plants have friends, and like us, they have are some they like more than others. For example, my potatoes love hanging out with horseradish but put the squashes right off their game.

Companion planting

We’ve known about companion planting for a while, and in the greenhouse, we take care to grow French Marigolds alongside the tomatoes. As well as looking very pretty, these attract the hoverflies, which much on aphids and other pests. Basil likes to be there too, but at a distance and prefers to stay in its pots.

Tomatoes and Marigolds. Companion Planting in the Greenhouse

We find it useful to start a few trays of calendulas, French marigold and nasturtiums off in the early spring, to pop in alongside beans, or in pots. Our courgettes are loving the companionship of borage and nasturtiums and are just coming into that prolific stage where you are scratching your head in the kitchen for some new inspiration with courgette recipes. The borage self-seeds from the year before – although strictly an annual, once you have borage in the garden, it won’t leave you.

Herb Society UK Companion Planting Poster

We follow the Herb Society UK on both Facebook and Instagram, and this year bought a very useful poster from them, which is pinned to the back of the potting shed door. It gives a long list of plants, their companions, and antagonists.

I’d been wondering why, out of six squashes planted, two had yellowing leaves and were failing to thrive….the answer may well be that potatoes are antagonists to squashes. It will be interesting to see if they pick up once the potatoes have been dug up. We could move them, but where to? The garden is full to bursting. We may well pop a borage plant in there, as I see from my poster that borage is a good companion plant to squash – goodness knows, the borage is doing really well, providing masses of edible blue flowers as well as material to go in the dustbin for making organic comfrey feed.

The onions are about to be lifted, and I see from our chart that carrots and beetroot both like onions, so it seems a good idea to pop in a few rows of late carrots and beetroot once they’ve been dug up. Although I’ll have to sneak in the beetroot – Tim thinks it’s the food of the devil – I disagree!

Next year, I’m looking forward to trialling the Three Sisters method of planting squash, beans and sweetcorn together – though whether there will be enough sun for sweetcorn in Northumberland remains to be seen.

I had a quick look on the internet for useful links and companion planting charts and have found a few, which I hope will be helpful to you.

Here are the links:

As ever, we’d love you to share your thoughts, either by leaving a comment here or on our social media pages, where this article will be shared.

You can find the Bridge Cottage Way on Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

You might enjoy some of the writing and ideas in other section of this website, as we look towards leading more sustainable lives by growing our own food and creating dishes in line with seasonal eating, or head to our handy ‘Month by Month’ guides to find out what is seasonal and on topic:

Many thanks for reading.

With Facebook and Instagram algorithms being fickle friends at times, be sure to get all new posts from The Bridge Cottage Way by signing up for the mailing list here. This will go our four times a year, around the Summer and Winter Solstices, and the Spring and Autumn Equinox. We, of course, will not share your details with third parties, and you have the right to unsubscribe at any time.

Thanks for reading. Best wishes, Tim and Sue Reed