Search found 47 matches

by Vivien
Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:12 pm
Forum: Best practices
Topic: Kale - which variety?
Replies: 14
Views: 5815

dwarf green & red russian

I made my first pickings at the weekend of these chaps and they were really delicious. 3 medium sized leaves of each (leafy part 6-8 inches long) made a good sized portion for me & hubby. Texture was chewier than cabbage, but the flavour was very sweet with a hint of bitterness, but not overtly ...
by Vivien
Tue Nov 07, 2006 9:34 am
Forum: Best practices
Topic: Kale - which variety?
Replies: 14
Views: 5815

I'll vote for black tuscan - really delicious. Kings Seeds sell it and if you can get to an allotment shop they usually sell at a discount. I found it to be like a cross between spring greens for texture and savoy cabbage for flavour. Yum. I'm about to start picking some dwarf green and red russian,...
by Vivien
Sat Oct 21, 2006 8:33 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: E.U Interference!!!*****!!!
Replies: 91
Views: 30090

What a fantastic debate! Whatever the outcome, it's still so refreshing to see the extremes of opinion & everyshade in between expressed by normal people, without spin doctors and politicians sticking their oars in as they seem to with virtually everything these days. For what it's worth, I coul...
by Vivien
Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:34 am
Forum: General chatter
Topic: A Little Brainteaser.
Replies: 14
Views: 4920

Morning

And the moral of this story is...read the question! Or alternatively, give up exam revision and reading KG forum at the same time! As you quite rightly point out, though, JB, what on earth do you do with it? It brings its own problems and twist people around. Here's the next teaser...how many allotm...
by Vivien
Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:22 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: A Little Brainteaser.
Replies: 14
Views: 4920

At the risk of being boring...

Sorry - can't ignore my instincts to answer this one! £5,400 per day interest @ 6% Therefore, total annual interest = £5,400 x 365 = £1,971,000. Capital = £1,971,000/0.06 = £32,850,000 Assume personal allowance is insignificant and is, therfore, ignored. So tax per day @ 40% = £5,400 x 40% = £2,160....
by Vivien
Sat Oct 14, 2006 10:57 am
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Subscription renewal
Replies: 3
Views: 1959

Great stuff - thank you.
Vivien
by Vivien
Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:24 am
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Subscription renewal
Replies: 3
Views: 1959

Subscription renewal

I've just renewed my subscription (I'll miss a month as i was away on holiday in time for it to be continuous), but the lady who took the order said that there was no mention of a free gift (see above)- can Mr PH shed any light on this?
Vivien
by Vivien
Sat Sep 23, 2006 5:15 pm
Forum: Weeds, Pests and Diseases
Topic: new way to beat the slugs
Replies: 13
Views: 6919

Briars

Idigyourgarden - I have used bramble prunings (first left to dry to ensure they're dead) to keep pigeons off brassicas when I've run out of netting. It works really well placed along the rows between the young plants as it gives them nowhere to land. I didn't think of the slug/snail bit, but that's ...
by Vivien
Sun Sep 17, 2006 3:05 pm
Forum: Harvesting Q&A
Topic: Help to identify sloes
Replies: 17
Views: 11905

My brother is a big fan of sloe gin, but he has a different approach to making it, having a chemistry background. He picks the sloes when ripe, then pricks them all before packing into medium sized freezer bags with lots of granulated sugar. Whilst in the freezer, the sugar very slowly draws out the...
by Vivien
Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:21 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Radicchio & Marshalls
Replies: 0
Views: 1595

Radicchio & Marshalls

I've received my express salad starter plants today and was really disappointed to find that one of the 4 varieties, the radicchio has been substituted for an oriental spinach type. Nothing to do with salads, not red & doesn't really go with the rest of the salads. I'm getting some seeds tomorro...
by Vivien
Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:41 pm
Forum: Harvesting Q&A
Topic: Franchi seeds Butternut Rugosa
Replies: 24
Views: 13779

Hi Sue, Sorry for the late reply, but I grew these last year. They are quite knobbly compared with the usual butternuts, but bigger & equally delicious. They will take longer to ripen, so you might want to think about chopping off the ends of any stems that are running away so the plant puts its...
by Vivien
Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:21 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: We need help and motivation
Replies: 15
Views: 7302

Sorry to hear about the problems this year - so many things can get in the way of getting to the allotment and it does get you down to feel as though you've failed. I've had an exceptionally busy work year this year which has limited spare time. I've always struggled on with sowing seeds, pricking o...
by Vivien
Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:27 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Second go for french beans?
Replies: 6
Views: 2661

Hi Zena, They're essentially pureed fruit that you pour onto a tin and then dry out slowly. They end up like a fruit chew. I've actually ended up having a go at fruit paste this evening, but I'm slowly drying that out too. I've just been bad and nicked a bit off the edge and have to say that it's de...
by Vivien
Mon Aug 21, 2006 7:36 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Second go for french beans?
Replies: 6
Views: 2661

Second go for french beans?

I've just cleared out a couple of short rows of dwarf french beans that are done, so that I can get some autumn plants in (kale and the like). I wanted to leave the roots in the soil for the nitrogen, so cut them off at the base rather than dig them out. When I was doing this, I noticed that quite a...
by Vivien
Sun Aug 06, 2006 10:14 pm
Forum: Cooking tips
Topic: Beetroot
Replies: 39
Views: 25445

You could try a very traditional Polish recipe - it sounds a little bizarre, but don't knock it till you've tried it! Coarsely grate some boiled beetroot and then layer in a wide dish with as close as you can get to a 'sprinkling' of horseradish sauce. Do this in layers till your beetroot is all use...