Grapes to Raisons
I had a load of beautiful seedless grapes this year. The vines have produced a bumper crop. I thought I would have a go at making raisons. I did a trial batch of one tray, but then decided to fill the drier. The big surprise was the number of grapes it takes to produce...
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Bumbling on into Autumn
It was the Autumn equinox yesterday. The bumble bees and other insects are still out and about doing their late year foraging and building up stores for winter. Verbena bonariensis, seems to be a really good flower for pollinating insects. It continually flowers from mid summer all the way through to late autumn. The...
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Fox at Night
Caught Mr Fox on camera! But still not caught him in the trap! I have been far more diligent about putting everyone to bed since we lost Mrs Goose back at the end of July. Fortunately, we have had no more casualties. However, the Fox was eating the chicken food (I caught it on...
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Nutty September
Just picked my nuts! Well Hazel nuts, the Walnuts will come later in the year. I have planted up a little nuttery (an orchard where nuts are grown) in one corner of our field with cultivated varieties of nuts. Currently Walnuts, Hazel Nuts and Horse Chestnuts. These being my favorite, I probably won’t plant...
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Update on Nectarine Jam
So the nectarine jam was not what I would consider a success. I thought it might produce a jam similar to apricot, but it just didn’t have the flavour. The jam tasted sweet with a slight hint of a peachy nectarine flavour. In my opinion, it would have been nicer with a higher acidity....
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Nectarine Jam
Oh baby, yes it can be done and produces a tasty jam. Nectarine jam is a reality. Made from Nectarines grown in Devon, UK. Tasty, I’ll put the recipe in the website sion....
Good Crop of Nectarines …. Too Many to Eat!
If you remember a couple of months ago, I was picking peaches, nectarines and then apricots. Now we are harvesting plums and late nectarines. The trouble is, this year I am inundated with nectarines, after all there are inly so many you can eat. What else can you use them for? Last night I...
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RIP Mrs Goose
WARNING: This blog entry contains some pictures readers may not like. As usual, I went out last night to lock the animals away at dusk. The chickens always go back to their coup, to roost, so it is just a case of shutting the door. The dog lets me know if there is a...
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Selection of flowers in bloom
We are in full summer now, flowers blooming all over the place and the bees are busy. This glorious picture, nicely summarises some of the glorious flowers in bloom at the moment....
Apricots Galore
Just picked al the apricots, and a few nectarines and peaches. I’m going to keep a few for eating. Try freezing some, drying some and best of all making apricot jam this weekend! Yum, what does apricot jam remind you of?...