La nevada de Febrero 2012

Algunas fotos de la nevada que tuvimos a principios de febrero:

Purple Chilli seedlings

Seedlings of purple chilli on my windowsill

These purple chilli seedlings are barely one month old. I started them in the heated propagator and moved them to the windowsill as soon as they were out, to get more sunlight. It is mid-late February now, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that these will turn into plants and give me chillis this summer! I'm quite proud of these: I saved the seed from one chilli that I got last summer from one plant that I bought from the garden eentre (and yes, it was dark purple, like an aubergine!). Almost all of the seed that I sowed has germinated, and I have a few more left that I will sow this weekend - just in case I lose some. And if I don't lose them, they'll make nice presents I'm sure!

Estas plantitas de chillis (guindillas) morados tienen apenas un mes. Puse la maceta primero en el semillero electrico, pero tan pronto salieron las plantitas movi la maceta a la ventana, donde tienen mas luz solar. Estas plantas son espeiales: guarde la semilla de una guindilla que consegui el ano pasado de una planta que compre en el vivero (y si, el pimiento era morado como una berenjena), y casi todas las semillas que sembre han germinado! Me queda un poco mas de semilla, que la voy a sembrar este fin de semana por si acaso se me pierden estas plantas. Y si no se me pierden, siempre puedo regalar las que me sobren, pues seguro que tienen exito!

Cauliflower seedlings / semilla de coliflor

These weird-looking seedlings are my purple cauliflowers. It's the first time I sow caulis and the seeds have surprised me. The instructions on the packet said "do not cover with compost", and as a result you can see the little white tendrils of the roots snaking on the surface before they find their way underground... Some of them where a bit floppy, so I did cover them with a bit of compost just today; it may make it worse, but my plan is that the roots will grow better by being held in place by the compost. The ones floating on top of it really looked ready to be blown away! I sprouted them inside a clear plastic bag in the kitchen floor, and as soon as they got this big I took them out of the bag and put them by the window - so now the plants have more light and less humidity to grow.

Estos tallos extranos son mis coliflores moradas. Yo segui las instructions y puse las semillas encima del compost sin cubrirlas. Si os fijais veis unos hilillos blancos: son las raices que han salido horizontales. Algunas me parecieron tan endebles que las cubri con un poco de compost, para que no se vuelen. Las sembre dentro de una bolsa de plastico transparente, pero en cuanto nacieron las saque de la bolsa para que no se pudran por de humedad, y estan en la ventana de la cocina donde hay luz.

Primula, and other winter flowers

Yellow primrose, cineraria and a winter heather

Of all the winter flowers I planted back in November, these yellow primroses are doing best. The cyclamens didn't make it past the first snow, they were stunning in November but now they are all rotten.  I planted some sweet williams, and as you can see at the bottom of the picture under the silver cineraria leaves, the foliage is a beautiful green but no sign of flowers! And the winter heather at the top of the picture hasn't done badly, but it's not as showy as the yellow flowers in the primula. I will be planting more of those, I really want some pale-coloured ones - the wild primrose (primula vulgaris).

En noviembre plante varias flores para el invierno, y de todas las que puse las primulas amarillas de la foto son las que mejor se han dado. Los cyclamen empezaron muy bien en noviembre, pero en cuanto nevo se pudrieron todos. Tambien plante unas clavelinas (dianthus), pero aunque las hojas estan frondosas las flores se perdieron a principios de diciembre y aun no han echado mas. En la foto podeis ver las plantitas debajo de las hojas plateadas de la cineraria. Tambien plante un brezo (en la parte de arriba de la foto), y aunque estas flores se han mantenido todo el invierno la verdad es que no son tan espectaculares como la primula... Me parece que voy a plantar mas primulas, alegran el jardin!

Christmas box (Sarcococca Confusa) in flower

I'm really proud of this plant, especially at this time of the year. I like the glossy green of the leaves (which stay all year round and helps disguise an otherwise ugly corner), but the really spectacular thing is the smell of the flowers in the middle of winter, when there's not much else happening outside. Yes, if you squint a little you can see the tiny white flowers hanging from the branch. And this years I got berries too!

Sarcococca Confusa

Esta es una de mis plantas favoritas, sobre todo en esta epoca del año cuando el resto del jardin esta hibernando. Las hojas son perennes, y en mitad del invierno produce unas flores blancas minusculas (si os fijais bien las veis colgando de una de las ramas) que tienen un olor increible. Y este año me ha dado bayas tambien! No necesita sol directo, asi que se me da bien (mi jardin esta rodeado de edificios). La tengo cubriendo una esquina de la casa. Esta planta tiene 3 años, es una de las primeras que compre para el jardin! A mi las plantas que producen flores en invierno no dejan de asombrarme, que tipo de insectos polinizantes las van a visitar en mitad del invierno?? Pero alguno habra, si no la planta no gastaria energia en dar flores...

My Christmas box is 3 years old, and it's one of the first plants I bought for the garden. It likes shady corners, which is perfect for my garden (we're surrounded by other houses). I find winter flowers particularly amazing. It's so cold and dark, and yet some plant is producing this incongrous display of colour and smell, I wonder which insect is going to go pollinate in the middle of January?? But some must do, otherwise there's no point in flowering.

Winter veg/ verduras de este invierno

Back in November I had all the vegetables on the ground that were to (hopefully) grow and mature during the winter. The kale has done brilliantly and, although it hasn't grown new leaves, the ones from November have withstood the snow and hungry birds remarkably well. The chard, on the other hand, does not like the cold weather, as I have now sadly learnt. Mental note, I should put them under a cover next winter (I only have one plant this year, as you can just about see in the bottom of the picture below. It has done much better under plastic than the ones outside).

The leeks.... Well. They have been a disappointment. They haven't really grown at all since I planted them back in August (!!), which makes me wonder if they need a very fertile soil and I put them in the wrong place? In the picture below they're on either side of the square of onions; the onion patch (from sets) is covered with straw, and look how much bigger they are than the leeks.

Onion sets are doing well under cover

Lo que veis arriba plantado en el cuadro cubierto de paja son unas cebollas que plante en octubre (de bulbo). A ambos lados hay unos puerros que plante en agosto, pero mirad que birria de plantas han salido... A estas alturas tendrian que estar listos para comer, pero es que casi ni se los ve! Los puerros este ano han sido un desastre. La hoja verde tan frondosa es de una acelga que lleva ahi desde el verano. Esta jardinera esta cubierta con plastico, y la acelga se ha mantenido bien - mucho mejor que las que estan al aire libre, que con las heladas han muerto casi todas. La berza verde, en cambio, sigue igual de bien a pesar de la nieve.

There is some baby garlic here!

I also planted my garlic in November, and it's grown surprisingly since then. It's not a very good photo, but poking through the insulating straw you can see the green bits... My elephant garlic, however, hasn't put an appearance yet. I'm hoping it's just slower than normal garlic, not rotted or eaten by mice...

La foto no es muy buena, pero en medio de la paja podeis ver unas cosas verdes. Son los ajos que plante en noviembre! El ajo elefante sin embargo no ha sacado nada aun, espero que sea solo que es mas lento que el ajo normal (en primavera se vera si se ha muerto o no).

Garden-related Christmas presents

Today is 6th of January, traditionally (in Spain) the day children open their presents, aka the 12th night of Christmas. I opened all of mine back on Christmas and Boxing Day (when in Rome...), but these are, in chronological order, my gorgeous gardening-related Christmas presents that I got this year from a loving family that knows me well!

• RHS Encyclopedia of Gardening: the Bible for gardening - it's got everything I need to know, from aquatics to training espalier fruiting trees
• Gardeners' World book on veg garden design for small spaces - lots of interesting and pretty ideas
• Pair of secateurs - perfect, I kept losing my one good pair this year (and I couldn't justify buying a second good quality pair)
• Twine and cast iron holder, and matching stand for cuttings tubes (they look like test tubes. Must experiment with rooting cuttings in water that way this year)
• Hand cream special for gardeners (yes, really)
• Preserve making kit, complete with book of recipes for my gluts of fruit and veg
• Future chilli plant: I bought some seed for my mother in law and she's going to give me a spare plant when they're ready (sharing seeds and plants is much more fun!)

I'm a very happy gardener! :-)

Tips for winter salad/ Ensaladas en invierno

Lettuce 'Winter Gem'

Things I've learnt this year:

1) Sow them in September. October, in my not very sunny garden, is already too late. The idea is to have small plants by the start of autumn so that they continue to grow during the winter, but don't really expect them to sprout and grow during the cold and dark months (they won't).

2) They will need some cover, even if they're advertised as winter hardy. The dome type of plastic cloches on top of a plastic pot appear to have worked best for me. This year I have two: the bigger one I bought from Wilkinsons, the other one is recycled from a M&S salad. And I have 2 lt drinks bottles, these cover one plant each. I want to try and recycle some of the plastic water carafs from my parents because they are huge and will cover the whole surface of a pot (like a cloche, but free and recycled).

3) There are many varieties that are suitable for winter. This year I have grown: corn salad (aka lambs lettuce), winter gem, land cress, and something from a packet called "winter mix". The results have been a bit disappointing, except for the winter gem. But I think it's only because I left it too late to start them! The latest sowing from my lambs lettuce didn't even show up, the poor thing (what a waste of good seed!). Next year I want to grow all of these, hopefully with better results, and I'll try to find some space (and cloches) for perpetual spinach - which is also recommended for winter.

And I have found Alys Fowler confirms my conclusions, so it must be right... She also lets the lambs lettuce flower and self seed in the spring, which sounds like a really good idea - I will be trying it next year!

Consejos para tener ensaladas de la huerta en invierno:

1) Siembralas antes del otoño. La idea es que las cosechas durante el invierno, pero la planta necesita estar establecida antes de empezar el mal tiempo. En mi jardin, que es poco soleado, necesito sembrarlas a principios de septiembre (las que sembre en octubre este año ni siquiera brotaron, las pobres).

2) Las plantas necesitan proteccion, aunque ponga en el paquete que sobreviven en invierno. Yo he usado campanas de plastico, con buenos resultados. La campana mayor que tengo la compre, y es la que mejor ha funcionado, la otra mas pequeña es el bol de una ensalada que compre. Tambien tengo botellas de dos litros de refresco, y funcionan para una sola planta. El año que viene voy a ver si consigo una garrafa de agua de mis padres, que ademas de la ventaja de ser reciclada (y gratis) es muy grande y cubrira la superficie entera de la maceta (como la campana que compre).

3) Hay variedades especiales para invierno. Yo este año tengo tres tipos de lechuga (lambs lettuce, land cress, winter gem), aunque dos de ellas casi no han producido nada porque las sembre demasiado tarde y no tuvieron tiempo de crecer (o, en algunos casos, de germinar) antes del frio polar. El año que viene me gustaria plantar tambien espinaca, que hay una variedad especial para el invierno.

En este articulo del periodico Guardian (en ingles), que lo lei despues de haber hecho mi lista de consejos, confirman mis observaciones. Alys tambien dice que ella deja la lamb's letuce todo el invierno en el mismo sitio y en primavera lo deja echar flor y semilla, no le toca a la tierra durante el verano y asi en otoño ya tiene las plantas espontaneas listas para las ensaladas invernales! Yo intentare que las mias echen semilla la proxima primavera, a ver si se me dan igual de bien...

More snow pictures/ Mas fotos de la nieve

View from the kitchen door during the snow storm/ / vista desde la puerta de la cocina durante la nevada:



Cockerel thermometer/ adelante galleto-termometro:

Watering can/ el clima esta como una regadera:

The pond/ el charco:

The white (used to be green) wall:

Acer palmatum (with snow, not cotton - lo que parece algodon es nieve):

Snow wonders/ Sorpresas en la nieve

This morning outside. Esta mañana (19/12/10)

My strawberry tree again, this time with a winter dress of snow drift!

Mi madroño otra vez, vestido de invierno!


My poor choysia completely lost its shape under the snow, so I had the chance to follow the gardening manuals and shake off the snow from the tree - I never thought I'd had to do it (it sounded like one of those things for bigger gardens with a more fun climate, it never snows enough in London :-), it felt really good to have something to do in the garden since I planted the garlic last month!

Mi pobre choysia estaba toda aplastada con la nive, asi que se la sacudi (tal como ponen los manuales de jardineria) y recobro su forma habitual. Es la primera labor de jardineria desde que plante los ajos el mes pasado, me lo pase genial :

Before... Antes...

... and after. ... y despues.

I also found these footprints. I think it's a fox, because the prints were on a route between the compost bin and the front gate and we've seen a fox jump over both fences. Also, cat footprints are generally smaller. What do you think?

Tambien encontre estas huellas desde el final del jardin (donde esta el compost) a la puerta de la calle. Yo creo que son de zorro, porque hemos visto a un zorro saltar la valla tanto encima del compost como por encima de la puerta de la calle, y las pisadas de gato son mas pequeñas, pero que os parecen?

Fox or cat prints? Huellas de zorro o de gato?

Homemade Christmas candle decoration/ Adorno navideño casero

I'm turning into Kirsty Allsopp...

This is a picture of my second homemade candle decorations (with foraged orange pyracantha berries from our street). The first one looked a bit floppy after one week:

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

El adorno para velas navideñas, hecho con elementos del jardin (las bolitas naranjas son de una planta de la calle). El que hice la semana pasada despues de 6 dias ya estaba un poco chuchurrio...

Christmas greens/ verduras para navidad

I have already had my first "Christmas" dinner of the season. You could argue it's technically not a Christmas meal but, since I won't be home during the official holidays, it counts like a Christmas dinner to me. We even roasted a turkey and I made a mini-wreath with ivy from the garden for the base of the candle! (turkey, candle, mince pies, surely it has to be Christmas? :-)

In terms of garden contributions, this year has been better than last (I had nothing last year). The above mentioned candle decoration was very special to me, even though I didn't have enough berries to add to it and it was simply made from ivy shoots and a few sprigs of lavender leaves. I planted a pyracantha and a skimmia last winter with the main intention of growing my own Christmas decorations, but they only have a few berries at the moment and I didn't have the heart to pluck them. Next year will be even better, I'm sure! And then we had some steamed homegrown kale with the roast, and of this I had enough to feed 10 people so I'm quite proud :-)

But, with roast turkey come left-over turkey sandwiches, and here comes my third vegetable star of the season: tomato chutney!! Yes, I've been eating turkey sandwiches with my own homegrown tomato chutney, and I can't tell you how it good it feels! Part of me feels like Nigella, part of me like Alys Fowler, and part of me tells me I have to stop watching so much television... :-D. But the sandwiches were fab, if I may say so myself. I made green tomato chutney for the first time back in September and October (two batches), and despite nearly ruining my favourite pot (this was before I learnt that you should use a steel or aluminium pot, not my beloved le creusset...) the results were surprisingly good. And I'm not even a vinegar fan, but these chutneys are not very vinegary - you can taste the individual spices and ingredients. My tomato crop was quite disappointing last summer, I thought it was because I grew them in pots and they didn't get enough water or food? The varieties I grew (Gardener's Delight and Moneymaker) should have given bigger fruits. But never mind, the marbles that I got were perfect for the pot!

I did some research on recipes at the time, and for shame I don't remember exactly which one I used in the end but I think I used this one:

• 1 kg tomatoes (peeled and chopped)
• 250 g cooking apples (peeled and chopped)
• 200 g onions
• 100 g sultanas
• 300 sugar
• 225 ml vinegar
• 1/2 tsp of each: ground allspice, ginger, black pepper, cayenne pepper

Place all ingredients in pan, heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.

Bring to boil and then simmer, stirring regularly (or it'll stick to the bottom of the pan), for about 1 hr until thick and pulpy.

Pour into hot sterilised jars and cover. Best left to mature for 1-2 weeks before eating.

El sabado pasado hice la primera cena de navidad de la temporada. Siguiendo el estilo ingles, la cena consistio en: pavo asado, verduras al vapor, verduras asadas, salsa, y postre. Ya, sin dulces navideños españoles tradicionales, para esos me toca esperar a fin de año. Total, que consegui incluir tres elementos del jardin en la cena navideña, y me senti super orgullosa: por un lado, una de las verduras al vapor fueron mis berzas, cosechadas frescas esa misma manañana. Tuve suficientes para 10 personas, todo un exito!

La otra cosa del jardin no fue comestible: hice mi propia decoracion para la base de una vela que puse en el centro de la mesa. Con un trozo de alambre (milagrosamente encontre uno dorado) hice un circulo un poco mas grande que el diametro de la vela, y despues simplemente retorci unos brotes de yedra alrededor del alambre. Como el tallo de la yedra es flexible, se enreda bien. El año que viene, si dios quiere, mi pyracanta y mi skimmia japonica estaran mas grandes y tendran mas bayas de colores para añadir a las decoraciones, porque este año las pobres plantitas tenian tan pocas bayas que me dio pena quitarselas... (Las plante el invierno pasado con el fin principal de tener mis propias decoraciones navideñas del jardin, pero les lleva mas de un año adaptarse y producir en cantidades "industriales").

Y, otra ventaja de la cena de navidad es una excusa para comer otro producto de la huerta: con el pavo que sobro lo tradicional aqui es hacer bocadillos, pero como la carne es un poco seca le pones salsas - que para no caerse del bocadillo tienen que ser espesas. La solucion? No se como llamarle en español, pero en ingles le llaman chutney y es una especie de mermelada pero no de postre. Es una conserva de verduras con especias y vinagre (y si que lleva azucar, pero el resultado no sabe dulce). En septiembre y octubre por primera vez hice mi propio chutney de tomates, y esta semana por fin lo estrene con las sobras del pavo en bocadillo, me senti horticultora autosuficiente total! ja ja ja. Los tomates este año se me dieron bastante mal, salieron todos ruines - de sabor bien, pero del tamaño de una canica. Menos mal que eran del tamaño perfecto para la cazuela...

Esta es la receta que use (si mal no recuerdo):

• 1 kg tomates, pelados y troceados
• 250 g de manaza, pelada y troceada
• 200 g cebolla
• 100 g uvas pasas (mejor sin pipas)
• 300 g azucar
• 225 ml vinagre
• Media cucharada (pequeña) de especias molidas: pimienta de Jamaica (en ingles se llama allspice), gengibre, pimienta negra y pimenta de cayena

Poner todos los ingredientes en una cazuela de acero o aluminio, calentar hasta que el azucar se haya disuelto.

Hervir y bajar el fuego, cocer a fuego lento durante una hora removiendo periodicamente (si no se pega al fondo de la cazuela), hasta que tenga consistencia espesa.

Guardar en jarras esterilizadas. Recomiendan esperar 1-2 semanas antes de comerlo para que la conserva madure (mejora el sabor).

Autumn was only two weeks ago...

So, my computer has broken down and I see myself reduced to blogging from the iPhone. Also, I can't upload my photos from last week's holiday... In the meantime, by sheer luck I found this photo of my autumn strawberries that I had saved as a draft post. Isn't it pretty? :) I was indeed very pleased and surprised when I saw them. Sadly my cunning plan to let them ripen while I was away backfired: they were under two inches of snow when I came back! (again, unavailable photos. Boo.)




Late strawberries (22 Nov)

Esta foto tan otoñal de mis fresas la saque justo antes de irme de vacaciones. Y tras tan solo una semana de sol y playa (en el mar Rojo), vuelvo a casa y me encuentro... con dos dedos de nieve en el jardin! Pense que a la vuelta estarian ya maduras, pero es que no me esperaba volver a un invierno nevado en tan solo una semana!

My nativity/ Nacimiento 2010

Christmas has finally arrived! Ya llego la navidad

I put up my nativity scene today! And yes, I managed to include two things I grew myself in the garden! See if you can spot them... (clue: it's not the moss on the roof). I think the mountain cliff tree is quite realistic, not to mention the oasis palm trees in the mountain valley, what do you think? (the tree is a sprig of rosemary, the palm is a bit from the choisya; the whole scene smells lovely now!)

Putting up the nativiy scene is one of my favourite Christmas-related memories from my childhood. It was a tradition in our house, and it feels very good to be having my own now. Last year I got a new stable building, this year I think it'll have to be a new star (the current one is an emergency star cut out from a yogurt pot). The goat comes from our wedding cake top. Yes, I know: it's bigger than the camels, but wildly varying size scaling is also a family tradition (my mum has chicken twice as big as the elephants!!)... The other apparently random thing you can spot in this scene is a man crouching down. Have you found it? If you have, I know what you're thinking, and the answer is yes: he is a very rude man indeed! This scatological nativity figure is typical from the Catalonia region in Spain (the historical origins escape me) called 'caganer', and I bought it last year with my sister while she was still living there.

Hoy puse el nacimiento! Cada año voy refinando el diseño y añadiendo detalles. Ese año, aparte del portal (que es del año pasado), tengo una montaña, completa con arbol que crece en las paredes escarpadas, y un grupo de palmeras en el valle. Que os parece? Yo creo que la vegetacion me ha quedado muy realista, je je.  Y lo mejor de todo, son del jardin! El arbol es una ramita de romero y la palmera es una ramita de choisya. 

Y, siguiendo la mejor tradicion familiar, mi cabra (es la de la tarta de la boda) es mas grande que los camellos (aunque no llega al nivel del gallo vs. elefante de mis padres, pero es que ese gallo es inalcanzable, ja ja). Este año me parece que va a tocar una estrella nueva: la que tengo de momento es recortada de una tapadera de yogur (!). Cuando vaya a casa de mis padres estas vacaciones ire a comprarla, que me hace mucha ilusion. Ah, y por supuesto, tambien tengo las inevitables piñas y el caganer (este lo compre en Barcelona el año pasado con mi hermana).

How to harvest kale/ Cosechar las berzas

Kale wih a touch of frost. Col con escarcha

I was wrong about how to harvest kale. I thought you were supposed to pick up leaves from the bottom, but that is not the best practice for kale - as I have now learnt. (It is ok for brussel sprouts, though.) My friends Dan and Alina told me they picked theirs up from the top (the crown of the plant), which made me do further research... and yes, I have now learnt something new. This is what the BBC Gardening website says about harvesting kale:

With kale, start harvesting at the crown of the plant from November onwards, removing a few young leaves at a time. This stripping of the crown encourages the development of succulent side shoots to harvest between February and May.

So, armed with the knowledge I went out to harvest mine the proper way! My kale (in the picture) is 'nero di Toscana'. Although I must confess I didn't have he heart to strip the crown completely, instead I kind of compromised by taking some of the young leaves near the crown. Unfortunately the stems are too thin to make kale chips (thanks Ellie! :-), so I cooked it, stems and all, with spagetti (brown some garlic and onion, wilt he kale on top, add lemon juice, mixed with the boiled pasta. Simples) and it was delicious, but half of it got eaten raw before I even had time to cook it - it's that tasty.

Gracias a unos amigos he aprendido como cosechar las berzas. Primero oi que ellos cortaban las suyas desde arriba, asi que fui a mirar en la web de la BBC y ellos tambien recomiendan ese sistema!

En la foto veis mis plantas de brassica oleracea (berza o col verde). Yo pensaba que ibas cogiendo las hojas de abajo hacia arriba, pero por lo visto ese sistema es bueno para las coles de bruselas pero con estas plantas es mejor coger las hojas tiernas del centro, en parte porque son mas tiernas y saben mejor y en parte porque asi la planta produce tallos laterales (es decir, mas hojas tiernas). A ver si mis plantas sobreviven el invierno, y si esta poda/cosecha da resultados! 

Ayer corte las primeras hojas, aunque en realidad no fui totalmente fiel al sistema. Me daba pena pelar totalmente el centro de la planta, como dice la BBC, asi que al final corte unas pocas hojas tiernas hacia el centro de la planta. La variedad que tengo plantada es 'nero di Toscana', y tiene un sabor muy rico pero suave, tanto que la mitad la comimos cruda mientras preparaba la receta! Use una receta de lo mas simple y estaba delicioso: dora una cebolla y ajo picados, pon las hojas encima (en juliana) hasta que se ablandan, zumo de limon y mezclalo con espaguetis cocidos - mas facil imposible!