As always I do thank you for your comments and support on previous posts. I am grateful to all those who left little snippets of advice on freezing eggs, I intend to give it a go. The weather here is still idyllic with a slight breeze ensuring the midges are kept at bay. We managed to get the grass cut and then spent a short while in the garden room having a sort out. As requested let me take you on a little tour. The sprouts, kale and cauli are thriving and are ready to be transplanted.
We are eating the salad leaves and onions daily and really enjoying them. The onions are quite strong but add a real boost and flavour to our meals.
The tomatoes have been a mixed bag the ones we grew in hanging baskets have been a blessing, a very tasty tomato I suspect because they are so much closer to the light and the heat. The others grown in grow bags are late developers and are only just starting to fruit. The peppers too have also been a disappointment.
On a more positive note we have done so well with the potatoes and are harvesting them on a regular basis. The harvest today consisted of potatoes, courgettes, mint, chives, rhubarb and of course eggs.
We intend to keep the indoor garden going throughout the Winter to see if we can indeed grow anything. Not sure that we will have enough sunlight for any substantial growth but we shall see.
As you can see, some success and a lot of lessons learnt so that we can improve. Everything put to good use. The mint was finely chopped and made into mint sauce. The chives chopped into an ice cube tray, a little water added and frozen to be used in soups/stews.
It makes me happy to add a little to our store cupboard and know that we will enjoy the taste of Summer in those dreary Winter days. I came across an old recipe book today and browsed through it. I found a recipe for apple and mint jelly which I will be making soon and another for rhubarb, orange and ginger jam, yum sounds delicious.
Well I will close for now and get down to some crafting which I will share on another post. Take care and look after yourselves in these very strange times.
See you soon.
Very informative thanks.
ReplyDeleteMy tomatoes are very slow, coming in twos and threes. Courgette produces, but not as many as usual. Cucumber has been good. Have you any tips on preserving Basil? I have so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to do a tour of the garden room. I hope everything thrives. We also have few really sunny days in winter so growing things here is not worth it ( in winter).
ReplyDeleteI loved the garden tour and actually got some great ideas from you! We have a full pot of chives and I'd like to freeze some like you did. I think I will harvest some potatoes, too. Sending love your way from Oregon. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
ReplyDeleteI have a whole bunch of mint and I rarely use it. The apple and mint jelly sounds delicous.
ReplyDeleteThank you for showing us the garden. It's so rewarding growing and putting up the bounty for winter. Your garden room appears to be a success!
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ReplyDeleteYour garden is lovely and producing well.
ReplyDeleteOurs is not too bad but the cukes are finished as are the beans. Now I am busy harvesting peppers and tomatoes. My neighbour brought over a bag of apples and another zucchini. Love getting a taste of summer in the middle of winter.
God bless.
Thank you for the tour.
ReplyDeleteI continue to learn from you, my friend!
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ReplyDeleteIt all looks brilliant, productive and very, very satisfying. Well worth it for the sense of well being as well as everything else.
ReplyDeletexx
Oh I so enjoyed this today Lorraine. Your garden room looks wonderful and I do hope it will continue to produce through the winter for you. I didn't know that about chives. I'll try to remember for next time I have extra chives. I can freeze them!
ReplyDeletePotatoes too! I remember growing potatoes years ago and they were so good when I could dig them up and cook them for dinner that same day.
You must feel such a sense of accomplishment.
Blessings,
Betsy
You are doing great with such good harvest from your garden room. Freezing chives in ice cubes sounds interesting. I like visiting your garden room.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a great success by the looks of it. Maybe you could try some lights over the Winter.
ReplyDeleteVery productive. You can't beat home grown.
ReplyDeleteYou manage to have a bit of everything ! Good for you !
ReplyDeleteHave a shinny day !
Anna
Your garden room produce looks wonderful and I like your idea of freezing herbs in ice cube trays to put in stews later. We managed to grow both spinach and rocket indoors over last winter so I hope some of your salad leaves and etc will keep going into the colder months:)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it lovely to pick your own produce and eat it? I think it's almost luxurious, in spite of the hard work that goes into growing food. Your garden room has proven to be a great success and I hope you can keep it going.
ReplyDeleteProducing your own food, storing, and eating it is so rewarding. Your garden looks beautifully prolific and colorful.
ReplyDeleteOh, you are doing so well! I am really impressed with all that you are harvesting, especially the red potatoes. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteIt’s indeed impressive, Lorraine, to read about your self sufficiency in growing and harvesting the veggies. We never had any success in growing potatoes when we did garden, so good for you😉
ReplyDeleteAlso, I saw that you must have also received spam from someone using the name of Fr. Dolan, here’s a tip...instead of removing the comment, mark it as spam and delete completely. This removes it from the comments totally so as not to have that spammers ID remaining and to prevent anyone from clicking on it.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for taking the time to do a tour of the garden room, I enjoyed it :)
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Making dishes from home grown veggies is so satisfying and tasty. I have mints, chilli and tomatoes growing in my garden :)
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