To be honest, this is more about being pleased that the fruit and vegetable season is starting as it is a recipe. Rhubarb is the first of the fruits from our garden and (at least we find) comes twice, once in spring and then again in late summer. In neither case do we force the…… Continue reading Recipe: Simple Rhubarb Crumble
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Tomato Sowing – 2021 & Cleaning the Greenhouses
Spring has sprung, the clocks have gone forward and the weather is warming up, my tomatoes have been sown and are beginning to show themselves. As usual, I have sown a mixture of ones I like, ones I haven’t grown before, and some to refresh my seedbank. Selecting the seeds for this last group is…… Continue reading Tomato Sowing – 2021 & Cleaning the Greenhouses
Recipe: Fish Pie (with tomatoes & Vegetables)
A simple to make, tasty fish pie recipe which links to our tomato and vegetable growing theme. As always, our recipes seem to be more Vegetables with … as we add extra vegetables compared to the original source. Adding Creme Fraiche makes the pie moist without spoiling the flavour. Ingredients (for 2) 500g mashed potatoes1…… Continue reading Recipe: Fish Pie (with tomatoes & Vegetables)
Big Garden Birdwatch 2021
Like many people in the UK I did the “Big Garden Birdwatch” last weekend watching out for birds in the garden. For whatever reason, this year was a “bad year” with the total list of birds being: Great TitWoodpigeonCrow I’m convinced that the birds know that its Garden Birdwatch weekend and hide away because in…… Continue reading Big Garden Birdwatch 2021
Using the Raspberry Pi for Fantastic Video Communications with Zoom
Moving slightly off-piste this time, not talking about tomatoes or any other garden related things. Lockdown has meant that we haven’t physically seen our children/grandchildren much this year (in fact hardly at all) so we’ve got used to talking to them via Skype and Zoom. Some games work well (Uno, UnoFlip, Bingo, Go Fish) but…… Continue reading Using the Raspberry Pi for Fantastic Video Communications with Zoom
The best place to get your seeds?
At this time of year, I look through my boxes of seeds wondering whether I stick to the ones I’ve got or whether I should try to buy some new, different ones. My database (well spreadsheet) of tomato seed cultivars is a list of 6,000+ names, most of which its impossible to find a commercial…… Continue reading The best place to get your seeds?
Tomato Black Mauri (Black Moor)
A black cherry tomato on indeterminate vines. Description Another cultivar from the 2019 seed swap that we grew for the first time in 2021. It sounded similar to brown berry or black cherry but the shape was very different and we ended up with something much more like Black Plum (although the colour was a…… Continue reading Tomato Black Mauri (Black Moor)
Tomato Craigella
A standard Red tomato on Indeteminate vines Description Another of the selection from the 2019 seed swap that we didn’t have the space to grow, this heritage cultivar is said to be a selection from Ailsa Craig with very similar properties but without the greenback problems. If that’s the case then (unfortunately) it goes on…… Continue reading Tomato Craigella
Tomato Lukullus
A red standard sized heritage/open pollinated tomato on indeterminate vines. Description Another of the tomatoes from the 2019 seed swap that we didn’t have space to grow in 2020 so the description comes from the web, not our own experience. Said to be a German commercial variety from the 1900s and a cross between Danish…… Continue reading Tomato Lukullus
Tomato Moskovich (Moskvich)
An early red slightly flattened round tomato on Indeterminate vines. Description From the 2019 Seed Swap, again this is one of the cultivars we grew for the first time in 2021. The various sources on the web suggest that it was developed by the Vavilov institute in Moscow in the early 1970s (which if true…… Continue reading Tomato Moskovich (Moskvich)