Blackcurrant liqueur

We picked the rest of our blackcurrants yesterday. We don't have loads this year as the bushes had spent the last couple of years submerged in weeds and the colapsed netted tunnel that stood where the new fruit cage now resides. All being well next year the crop will be much improved but this year we had to find something to do with our less then impressive harvest. Step forward Blackcurrant liqueur!

We made some Sloe Gin and Blackberry Vodka last year and they turned out yummy so all being well this'll be a great additioon to the homemade liqueur shelf.

First you need a jar, we used a large chutney jar we had spare, we then sterilised it using some homebrew sterilising mixture but you could just as easily do it the old fashioned way by washing it then drying it in a hot oven if thats easier.

Once that's done we simply add the currants (we froze them first like we did the sloe's last year to weaken the skins) and some sugar and then cover them with vodka and give it all a shake. You don't need to worry too much about removing all the tops and tails from the currants because in a couple of months you'll be straining the whole mix into a bottle to remove the fruit and prepare it for drinking.

Exact quantities are a bit vague, we had about 300g of blackcurrants, 70cl of cheapy vodka (don't waste the good stuff) and the sugar was about 200g. The plan is to taste in a couple of months and add any extra sugar as needed as this seemed better than overdoing it and making it too sweet. Ideally we perhaps wanted a higher fruit to vodka mix but we went with what we had and if it ends up not blackcurrant'y enough then we'll know for next year.

It'll need another shake every day for the next week or so to help dissolve the sugar then it's into the cupboard for a couple of months to allow the fruits to impart their flavour.

Garlic harvested and very late beans

The arrival of the rain over the last week or so seems to have kept us off the allotment for a while, we've been so used to lovely dry weather it's been hard to fancy a trip up there under dark clouds and the prospect of imminent drizzle. 

However, last night was sunny so we got our backsides in gear and popped up for an hour or so after work slightly worried about what we'd find. Thankfully while the weed perfect weather had caused quite a few to raise their heads it wasn't too bad and will only take half an hour with a hoe to return it to some sense of order.

That wasn't the task of the evening though, we were there to harvest the garlic and plant some runner beans. This was our first proper attempt at over wintered garlic and I have to say I've been quite impressed with it. Every plant survived the snow and while a few of the bulbs were a little on the small side most had swelled up beautifully. In the end we harvested about thirty bulbs most of which then got strung up in the spare room to dry when we got home. 

We also finally got some runner beans in the ground. We'd kind of given up on growing any this year as we simply never planted any, however, when a kind soul at work had a few plants spare I jumped at the chance of giving them a home. Even then they'd been sat in the greenhouse for a week patiently waiting to be planted out so it was great to finally get them off my conscience and into the allotment.

A couple had got quite tall so I've tied them to their canes in the hope they'll work out what to do once they realise they've now got something to grow against.

Spaghetti Squash

Amazingly we're still eating through last years squash and last night we had the first of our spaghetti squash. We'd been kind of putting off trying one of these as we weren't quite sure how to cook it, silly really but we had so many other squash to eat these just got put to the back of the queue a tad. Anyway, a bit of research later we took the plunge last night.

First up you wash the squash then prick it a number of times with a fork to stop it exploding when you cook it (although there was a little part of me that did wonder just how explody a squash could be...). Then you pop it in the oven for an hour at 200 degrees till it's cooked through.

When it's done you chop it in half and scoop out the pips etc. Then taking a fork you simply 'fluff' up the inside and it magically falls apart into spaghetti style strands.

Unlike a lot of other squash it doesn't have a very distinct flavour, it's not bland as such but it does need some seasoning and a sauce to improve it. We ate it with the same kind of homemade spicy tomato based sauce we use for pasta dishes and it went really well.


What it lacks in flavour it more than makes up for in character though, in fact we kinda wish we'd grown more of them this year now.

Catching back up

We managed to spend about four hours up at the allotment on Saturday in the sun which was lovely. Most of that time was spent weeding and tidying which meant a lot of the more jobby jobs didn't really get done. Despite that it was time well spent as the plot needed a bit of love after all the fruit cage related excitement of the last couple of weeks.

We did get a couple of things done worth reporting however. This year’s squash plants made it into their final homes. Most went into half of the spring brassica bed now that it'd mostly clear and the last couple went in with the sweetcorn in a kind of experimental Two Sisters approach (there's a traditional companion planting system called Three Sisters that involves planting squash, beans and sweetcorn together). Hopefully the sprawling nature of the squash plants will help keep the weeds down around the base of the sweetcorn.

We also made an attempt to save this year’s gooseberry harvest. When we took over the plot there were a couple of small gooseberry bushes along one of the sides. They didn't fruit the first year but since then they've grown huge despite our neglect. The problem is, since they started producing, we've lost each harvest to the birds who seem amazingly adept at stripping the bushes the nano-second the fruit turns ripe.

So, this year, now the fruit is starting to turn red (they seem to both be red gooseberries which is a nice change) we thought we'd take some of the netting we'd removed from the old fruit tunnel and try and cover the bushes up as best we can in the hope it'll deter the birds. It looks a bit makeshift, and we left the branches that were growing our the other side of the fence or the birds to have, but it should do the job. We hope.


Saturday afternoon we happened to be driving past the Gloucester branch of Focus which was holding a closing down sale so we popped in. It felt a little vulture like to be picking over the bones of a business gone into administration like this but we did find a couple of things to bring home with us. Most interesting was this nice big heated propagator.

I've wanted one of these for the last couple of years to enable me to start off chillies and peppers etc mega early so it’s nice to have one at last and it'll mean the seed sowing bug can take hold even earlier next year.

We also found a sorry looking whitecurrant bush that looked like it hadn't been watered for a week and was on its last legs. Taking pity on it we bought it and took it straight up to the allotment and planted it out in the fruit cage. Popping up there tonight on the way home it seems to be settling in well and looks a million times healthier already.

I'm not really sure what you do with whitecurrants but it’s nice to save something that was pretty much destined for the rubbish heap.

Ants

Hmmmm look what I found while watering the greenhouse last night... An ants nest poking through some spring onions!

In fact there were three of the blighters the more I looked around. How rude! I've got some ant powder that I could put down but I'm not sure it's safe so close to food crops. Does anyone know the best way of getting rid of them?


Other than that, the greenhouse is looking great, full to bursting yet actually semi-organised which is a first for us. I'll do a proper update at the weekend as work is calling...

Quick update...

Just a quick update today, we managed to get the weed suppressing fabric down last night. Weighed it down with the paving slabs we got from Freecycle a couple of months ago and the tubs but it does still need some kind of pegs in it to keep really flat and 'floor like'. It does look better now though I think.


Tonight we'll start catching up on all the jobs we didn't get done at the weekend while we were building it... Never stops does it! 

Ta dah! A fruit cage!

There we go, one fruit cage fully erected and installed! We got it all built on Sunday afternoon with a little help from my Dad who popped over to help. 

Once we'd lugged all the poles and netting up to the plot (note to self, need a bigger car!) It was surprisingly simple to put up. First we laid out the top of the frame on the ground to allow us to mark where the uprights needed to go. 

Then we had to get the supports for the uprights in, this was by far the worst part of the whole thing as the ground was painfully hard and didn't seem to want the supports whacked in with a mallet however hard we tried. In the end we half dug holes with a spade and just bashed the supports in the last few inches.

Once they were finally in it though was a simple case of putting in the uprights and the door frame then, with Dad holding the roof bars in place, going round the top of each upright and screwing the mushroom caps in place securing the whole structure together.

Once it was all tightened up and looking 'right' it was time to put the side netting on. I honestly expected this to be a bit of a nightmare but it was actually really simple. Dad went round holding the netting while M and I put four cable ties round each upright to hold the netting in place. All that was needed when we got round the whole thing to where we started was to trim the excess netting off and bingo, sides done.

Last but not least was the roof. This again looked like it might be fiddly but once we'd worked out the corners (helpfully marked with white and green ties) it was just a case of stretching it over the cage and using the S hooks to attach it to the side netting pulling it taught.

Finally we attached the door latch and there we were, finished. Well, I say 'finished', we aren't quite, tonight we're going to rake over the ground and cover the floor of it with black weed suppressing fabric which we'll leave there for at least the rest of this year just to guarantee all the weeds are gone. Next year we'll probably plant things through it, make raised beds, or both, we'll see. For now though we've put the fruit bushes we've already got in tubs on the plot in there so it's officially in use right away and they'll be joined this week by a few more from home. 

It only took just over three hours to build which wasn't bad and the instructions provided by William Jams and Co were simple and easy to understand. I think I'll probably go round and tidy up a few of the ties and S hooks now it's up just to make it perfect but we're really really happy with it already. Can't wait till fruit bushes come back back in season and we can start filling it up now.

Preparing for the fruit cage

First time we've put a video on the blog, so this is a bit of a test really, hope it works OK... 

We've spent most of the day so far clearing the space for the fruit cage. It was a massive pain to remove the posts and wires etc that made up the old netted tunnel that had been there before but, armed with some wire cutters and a hammer, it eventually all came down. 

Then I dug up the worst of the weeds and dead bits of old fruit bushes etc out and raked it over. Tomorrow we'll  rotovate it all and, time permitting, get the cage itself erected. It's all starting to take shape, just want it up and finished now!
Hope you're all enjoying your bank holiday weekend too.

Fruit cage and other packages

Arrived home tonight to a lovely double surprise from Mr Postman. Most exciting was the arrival of the fruit cage from the nice people at William James & Co. It's just a big pile of metal tubes and a bag of netting at the moment, but come the weekend (weather permitting) it'll be transformed into the fruit cage of our dreams. I know, I'm far too excited about this...

There was also a second package, this was a bit unexpected as I'd kind of forgotten I'd ordered anything else in the excitement surrounding the fruit cage. It ended up being a selection of brasica plants and a Bilberry bush I'd ordered a few weeks ago. 

Perfect timing on the bush front, a bit less so for the brasicas as I don't quite have room for them at the moment and other jobs planned for the weekend. So, I quickly potted them up into something they'll be happy in till next week when I can get them in the ground. 

Now the fruit cage is here there's even more motivation to spend the next couple of evenings clearing the ground where it's going to live. Fingers crossed for the weather...

Surprise fruit and other things

I spent some time up at the allotment tonight after work, the plan was to work on clearing the space for the fruit cage but managed to get a few other jobs done too. The best bit was the surprise discovery of a damson tree on the plot. You may think that in our fourth year on the allotment we'd have long since discovered everything that was already on it when we started out, you'd be wrong.

In the 'messy' corner, where things get dumped, there's been a bush/tree thing steadily growing over the years. At first we didn't notice it, then it was left doing what it wanted because it was in the bit of the plot we used as a dumping ground. This year however it's suddenly borne fruit and it appears, to my un-trained eye, to be a damson tree. How cool is that, damson jam and other goodies await later in the year!

Other than that surprise the other fruit on the allotment is doing well too. The gooseberry plant we bought earlier this year has amazingly got fruit on it already.

While the red currant we put in a pot last year has started to get its first fruit on it too.

All this is perfect timing for the arrival of the fruit cage which, fingers crossed, should be here ready for building over the bank holiday weekend. With that in mind it really was time to start clearing the space. So, hoe in hand, I got to work and managed to get the back half of the area pretty much clear of surface growth. I still need to get the poles that made up one side of the old netted tunnel out of the ground and clear in there but it's at least started now.

The rest of the plot is looking quite under control at the moment too, I even managed to get the courgettes and marrows planted out tonight. Once the fruit cage is built it'll almost be how we imagined it when we first took it on, just a seating area with some flowers etc to go...