I had a good idea of what I wanted to get done at the Hill today, I just wasn’t entirely convinced about the best way to do it. All I was sure about was that by the time I left, the brassicas were going to have better netting protection than when I arrived.
First things first, however – as I parked the car up by the club house I saw Sheila (at the top) in the distance & walked up to say thank you again for the courgette chutney recipe.
She showed me her brassicas, neatly covered over with netting, & when I said that the netting I’d bought is great, but not wide enough, she said, ‘oh, I found that too, so I took two pieces & stitched them together at the side hems using twine & a safety pin as a needle.’ Brilliant!
I mulled this over as I walked down to the plot, but then realised that the huge piece of 4m by 8m netting that I’d bought last winter was back in the shed – novice neighbour Jody has been using it to protect his peas all summer, but now he’s taken them down, the netting is free again.
Firstly, I cleared away the final PEAS (ne plus ultra) – if I was pushed to choose just one pea variety, it would be this one, as even when the pods have been massive, the peas are still not mealy – & the BROAD BEANS (barry plot 19, crimson flowered & witkiem manita), saving the pods of all of these as I went. I’ve kept the sweet peas in situ for the time being, although they are coming to the end of their run too.
Then I picked RUNNER BEANS (reg-next-plot & essex bb) & FRENCH BEANS (barlotti jody & purple giant), a couple of COURGETTE (yellow golden & all green bush) & another CUCUMBER (burpless tasty green f1).
After going up to the clubhouse for a chat with the Saturday old boys at lunchtime, there was no postponing the moment any longer & the netting had to be tackled. It took bloody ages & about three goes, but I am now happy that the netting over the brassica bed is now both tall enough & comprehensive in coverage.
Once home with my bag of swag from the plot, I set about the courgette chutney – all ingredients are combined & are steeping for a day before being simmered & put into jars.
Meanwhile, I racked off the gooseberry & rhubarb wine that I started a couple of months ago – it remains stubbornly less than clear with a slight sediment at the bottom, so racking it can’t do any harm & might encourage further clearing.
I took the opportunity to measure the SG (994, giving a 13% strength) & to have a taste. It tasted dreadful, & not at all fruity – rather like the celery wine, in fact. I would say that it has either been tainted by the feared vinegar fly, or it needs de-gassing – so when I put it back into the clean demijohn & gave it a ferocious shaking up, & I’ll see if it tastes the better for it, or whether the wine is doomed…
First things first, however – as I parked the car up by the club house I saw Sheila (at the top) in the distance & walked up to say thank you again for the courgette chutney recipe.
She showed me her brassicas, neatly covered over with netting, & when I said that the netting I’d bought is great, but not wide enough, she said, ‘oh, I found that too, so I took two pieces & stitched them together at the side hems using twine & a safety pin as a needle.’ Brilliant!I mulled this over as I walked down to the plot, but then realised that the huge piece of 4m by 8m netting that I’d bought last winter was back in the shed – novice neighbour Jody has been using it to protect his peas all summer, but now he’s taken them down, the netting is free again.
Firstly, I cleared away the final PEAS (ne plus ultra) – if I was pushed to choose just one pea variety, it would be this one, as even when the pods have been massive, the peas are still not mealy – & the BROAD BEANS (barry plot 19, crimson flowered & witkiem manita), saving the pods of all of these as I went. I’ve kept the sweet peas in situ for the time being, although they are coming to the end of their run too.
Then I picked RUNNER BEANS (reg-next-plot & essex bb) & FRENCH BEANS (barlotti jody & purple giant), a couple of COURGETTE (yellow golden & all green bush) & another CUCUMBER (burpless tasty green f1).
After going up to the clubhouse for a chat with the Saturday old boys at lunchtime, there was no postponing the moment any longer & the netting had to be tackled. It took bloody ages & about three goes, but I am now happy that the netting over the brassica bed is now both tall enough & comprehensive in coverage.
Once home with my bag of swag from the plot, I set about the courgette chutney – all ingredients are combined & are steeping for a day before being simmered & put into jars.Meanwhile, I racked off the gooseberry & rhubarb wine that I started a couple of months ago – it remains stubbornly less than clear with a slight sediment at the bottom, so racking it can’t do any harm & might encourage further clearing.
I took the opportunity to measure the SG (994, giving a 13% strength) & to have a taste. It tasted dreadful, & not at all fruity – rather like the celery wine, in fact. I would say that it has either been tainted by the feared vinegar fly, or it needs de-gassing – so when I put it back into the clean demijohn & gave it a ferocious shaking up, & I’ll see if it tastes the better for it, or whether the wine is doomed…
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