Black Tuscan Kale & Curly Kale

Hmmm...possibly TWO types of kale in one meal was a little bit OTT....but what made it really sad is that they both tasted pretty bland...and were really quite chewy. I know kale is generally chewy but if we eat much more of it I think we will all encourage oversized jaw muscles and begin to develop a Desperate Dan chin each!

It looks so pretty growing on the plot...especially the Black Tuscan - I suppose I at least have that as consolation. I will try the Tuscan again and cook it differently this time, maybe steam it a little then fry it with onions and black pepper instead of just plain old steaming. What a disappointment.

Little one wouldn't entertain it and asked "Are you sure this is cabbage mummy?"
"Sweetie, it's kale, not cabbage."
"Hum. Well, I don't like it." Scoops whole portion completely off plate and onto table. So that's a definate "no" then!

Dammit you found me...

I KNOW they munch through everything you do not WANT them to munch but I still think they are cute. In fact they are beautiful and graceful and delicate and vulnerable and ...dozy, in that space cadet kind of way. And, yes - I still like gently touching their tentacles for the joy of watching them recoil in that slow, fluid motion in and out again.

Strawberry Delight

It's so much fun waiting for strawberries to ripen when you have a little girl to share the experience. Early morning strawberry checks are daily, they are tense moments. Lifting up leaves, shrieking at cobwebs and looking, hoping for a flash of red. Then exasperated sighs and the good-natured stamping of little slippered feet. Pouting and feigned crossness at the recalcitrant nature of the strawberry to blush.

Recycling at its best.

Some naughty person dumped this little beauty outside our site....it was there ages...did it belong to a new plotter we wondered? Did Santa Claus leave it for us? What?? In the end I left a note on it asking the owner to contact us as we may consider taking if off their hands "please". Our cunning plan worked and after a little while a transaction with the naughty (but nice) person was completed and £20 - yes just £20 later - we - that is, me and my friend Julie were the proud owners of our very own little shed, erected on slabs I dug out of the site when we cleared it. Happy days. Recycling rocks.

Spring 2010

I love spring. I love the expectation. I love its freshness and vitality and knowing that it is the delicate, flighty and unpredictable introduction to an equally unpredictable and unruly English summer. I could never look at a daffodil or tulip and not enjoy them and I am sure the feeling of contentment I find when I'm plopping seeds into the soil will never alter. With each seed goes a thought; questions and concerns, worries and ideas about how this seed or that seed will develop....what to do with that space...how to plan that row....what to plant here, there and everywhere. I love the peace of tending my plot but my head is always a very busy place!

In the beginning....there were weeds

Thought I should elaborate on "derelict". The orange blob in there, just popping up in the middle is in fact my good self. Those brambles were brutal and that skip was one of two great big whoppers which were filled to capacity (much stamping and packing in required).

Polytunnel Project

Time for a project. My very kind friend, Julie has decided she would like a polytunnel on her plot and she has offered me some space in it! Hoorah! So, this morning has been spent delving into the depths of DIY polytunnel construction on Google. Found some excellent information, had a quick chat to hubbie and Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt - I think we have a winner.

Can't wait to get started on it now. Oooo, tomatoes, peppers, chillies, cucumbers and all manner of delicious tender things await, do they not? :o)