If this week’s post seems written in haste…it’s because I’m aiming to send it to you a day early, ahead of this Saturday’s ‘Troubleshooting Sourdough’ workshop with Holly Davis. So I apologise here in advance, before lovely Holly walks through the door and I find myself on sourdough time!
You see I’m kicking myself, because when I invited Holly here last year to run a wonderful workshop (that was so popular we ran it two days in a row!) whilst I snapped some lovely images and kept the workshop show on the road (afterall that’s my job!) I didn’t absorb anything she was actually saying to, or showing our participants! ‘Tis mostly the way for me, as workshops are for participants, not for me…no matter how much I would like to attend them! I have all the fun of arranging them as if they are for just me…but on the day, I’m a working girl!
And so it was, that I missed all the vital information that might have enabled me to fully comprehend the process. I’ve made a few stabs and failures since! I’ve nailed refreshing the starter, and faithfully refresh ‘Joseph’ (named after Holly’s father who raised her!) the 30-year starter Holly has had on the go and which she shared a little of with each of our participants last year to start them off. I’ve successfully made stage two, the leaven. But I’ve had dismal failures with an actual loaf of bread! I’m partly wondering if it was just the case that I was trying to make it at the hottest time of the year, when our kitchen can be stifling. But really…much as Larry was enjoying batches of sourdough pikelets, pikelets were not my aim!
And so…Holly is coming to stay in advance of Saturday’s workshop. And I need to get my head around the timing of this thing…so I can figure out how to work backwards to a timeframe that suits my schedule (I do not want to be playing fiddle to a loaf of bread, much as I want to bake and eat it!). So…this week’s post may be cut somewhat short…and hopefully next week I’ll be able to report that I’ve nailed the sourdough situation!
But let’s have a little recap of last weekend, when I encouraged you to go seed-sowing…in tune with the lunar calendar. Whilst I couldn’t wait to get stuck into a good gardening weekend, I was determined to sow seed first and backtrack to actual gardening later, so as not to miss that seed-sowing ‘window’.
There’s a particular lettuce that grows here only during the cooler months, called Australian Yellow Leaf. I first grew it so long ago I can’t recall…I originally got the seed from Diggers and have been saving it year to year ever since. It has glorious ruffled, chartreuse coloured leaves, that visually lift a winter and spring leaf salad; but I know there’s no point in sowing the seed ‘til the weather cools. So…I sowed a few punnets whilst I was at it and…I’ll aim to sow some more next month to extend the eating season. I always sow it into punnets - it seems to work better this way, rather than direct into the ground, and then I transplant when the seedlings are a reasonable size.
I also sowed some seed of Apple Blossom Stock, which is a flower I so adore to see (and to plunge my nose into with great delight) in the kitchen garden. Oh but I’m so late this year…I should have sown it months ago, but on searching high and low, I simply could not find the stem of seed I’d saved anywhere! So I went in search online and the few seed companies who sell it were out of stock (haha!). When an email dropped announcing it was back in, I pounced…and so now, I can only cross my fingers and hope and pray that it germinates quickly so I can get the row I’d envisaged to come to pass before it’s too late! How I love to see the spires of this pale pink beauty nodding amongst the grey/blue brassica leaves in the spring. But right now, it is but tiny seed, sitting below damp seed-sowing mix on the potting bench and covered with a layer of hessian…
Next up, was Peony Poppy seed. Although you can see there are already a multitude of self-sown poppies that have germinated, there are a lot of gaps too, so I sprinkled a few more around. I’m pretty sure I mentioned a few weeks back that these days, I sow them inside the fig tree cages, where their exquisite pods will be safe from ravaging birds when the time comes, down the track. I only began doing this a few years ago, in a bid to make sure I could save seed and to prevent birds from scattering it elsewhere. As the fig trees are dormant between now and well into the spring, it seems not to hamper them and ensures I create something of a quite mad vision around October!
I’ve been saving Peony Poppy seed from the original shared with me, for over 30 years…and I’ll repeat the story later in the year, when they come to flower. I did sow some too, in the Borders, as I just couldn’t resist. It’s where I’ve always sown them, in drifts…but these days, when the time comes, I remove their stems just after flowering, before the birds take an interest. It’s sad, but safer.
Next it was time for the sweet peas. Again, I’ve been saving seeds of ‘Painted Lady’ for over thirty years. Although there are colours out there that I prefer, she’s been part of the garden furniture here (as it were!) for so long, that any other sweet pea would be an imposter! I first ordered her seed all those years ago for two reasons: one, because I read she was highly perfumed, which she is (so many modern varieties have been bred for their flowers, rather than their perfume, which to me, is their point) and second, because I just love the fact that she dates back almost several hundred years! ‘First named in 1737, Painted Lady was one of the very first sweet peas to be bred by plant enthusiasts in the mid eighteenth century’ so says the Diggers (from whence I first ordered seed…so much of my early seed came from Diggers) description. It’s just such tantalising detail that grips my imagination today, as it did back at the beginning of my garden-making. Just imagine…she pre-dates Marie Antoinette! I wonder were there posies…or possibly great basket loads…at the Palace of Versailles? Or the Petit Trianon? Did she sow seed in her ‘rustic’ garden? If so, one thing is for sure…the seeds looked exactly like this!
I scattered some more seed in the kitchen garden too…rocket, dill, a little more chervil where my first sowing doesn’t appear to have germinated, a sprinkling here and there of nigella ‘love-in-the-mist’ and a whole row of coriander. Some of the peas on the guild side don’t seem to have taken off, so I sowed some more peas too.
And then…I went proper gardening! After two wet weekends in a row, there was just a lot to do. At this time of year, we still have rampant growth in some parts, and wet weather can encourage a yellowing-off of leaves, which are inclined to beget more yellow leaves, so getting rid of them is a priority. I was tempted to tie in the remaining tomatoes, but…decided instead to allow them to sprawl in their merry way - they’ve gone quite crazy and given the winter garden at this moment in time can look quite stark, I’m glad to see something wild and out of control…their sturdy stems growing every which way!
I know I mentioned in passing a few weeks back, that I’ve taken to using idle wire cylinders as temporary containers - almost as on-hand rubbish bins in the kitchen garden! It’s something that came about spontaneously awhile ago…when one evening I’d plucked all the remaining leaves from a lettuce, leaving only the core and roots in the ground, so the cylinder which had contained the last precious leaves of that lettuce was all but empty. I continued to pick other treats for our dinner, and as is likely to happen, there were a few ugly leaves that I picked up during the course of this exercise that I didn’t particularly want to take to the kitchen, so I dropped them on top of the remains of the old spent lettuce. And then I dropped a few other things in, just because it was there, and before I knew it, this became a habit…a weed here, a yellow leaf there, when not in ‘gardening’ mode but still tweaking whenever I see something askew, as often happens on my morning watering round as well as during my evening pick. It didn’t take long to realise the material I was piling in was breaking down very quickly and therefore, leaching nutrient into the soil. Take a look under a cylinder that’s been accumulating material over the course of a week or so, and you will find earthworms and other wrigglers at play….just what we all want to see in our soil!
So…now I do it on purpose…wherever there’s a blank spot, I pop a spare cylinder and pile in anything on hand. In the evenings, if there are outer leaves of a lettuce, or a yellowing kale leaf or a snail eaten cabbage leaf, in it goes - leaving the plant clean, but feeding the soil. No extra trips to the compost, less mess to the kitchen. Sometimes…it’s such a little thing that can create such enormous impact.
Now whilst I’m on that train of thought; during the last few weeks when I’ve had a (spare???!!!) moment, I’ve been watching Michael McCoy’s recently online-aired Hosting Nature Symposium. And wowsers….!!!! The ideas discussed in this symposium time around (not that they haven’t been in the past) have been simply mind-blowing! I love Michael’s enthusiasm and despite his own wealth of knowledge, his pure and sheer delight in learning new concepts ideas. There’s a ‘wilding’ approach to gardening that’s currently sweeping the world, but there are simply so many avenues of this concept to explore. I’m always thrilled when a real expert touches on something that I’ve been practicing here for a long time, just cos it seemed like common sense (and my cylinder idea above is not so far removed from a suggestion by one of Michael’s guests) but there was jaw-dropping, eye-popping stuff in these interviews that we all might heed and implement! There are so many extraordinary people out there doing so much good work and they have so much knowledge to share. Now that I’ve listened to all the interviews as they were presented live a few weeks ago (I couldn’t attend on that day); I’m going to backtrack to listen to the full and unedited versions of each to make some notes as there was oh so much to digest on first listen (if I can just find the time!).
I mention it here because…you can still catch it, if you’d like to latch onto some big environmental / gardening / nature / soil / thought-provoking concepts. Although I’d really rather encourage you to upgrade to paid here, with me on this platform (!!)…in this instance I am encouraging you to subscribe to Michael’s symposium as a one-off to gain access to these significant interviews! He says they’ll be available to watch at your leisure ‘til the end of June…so you have just over a month! And truly…it’s worth it to hear these incredible conversations on The Gardenist, hosted by Michael McCoy with guest contributors Isabella Tree, Claudia West, John Little, James Hitchmough, Emma Cutting and Simon Leake.
The spent flower heads of the Italian White Sunflower that had nodded all summer long down the back, were just begging to be picked. I’ve never managed to save their seed before, but this time their heads have clung on, even through the rain. I’ve thought a dozen times or more these last weeks that I must pick them…but somehow, because it’s a simple little job and there always something more pressing to do, I forget. But on Sunday evening I did! I find it difficult to get these delicate, pale creamy/yellow flowers to germinate at the best of times and am always annoyed I must try replacing them with another packet of bought seed. Well…not this year! I have a good mound sitting on newspaper on the kitchen bench…ready to be transferred to a glass jar, for sowing in the spring.
The fennel bulbs are well and truly in season now! And lemons are ripening on the branches with each and every minute of the day. On Sunday, we enjoyed our first Fennel and Lemon Risotto of the season…and it was a beauty! I’ll give you the recipe so you can make the most of its long season too. I no doubt, will make this a good dozen times between now and late spring, as it’s our favourite risotto of all!
Mickey’s Fennel & Lemon Risotto
Ingredients
1.5 litres chicken stock (gave you the recipe a couple of weeks ago)
500g fennel bulbs, trimmed of fronds, outer layer removed so you have lovely firm hearts to work with, then halve across, place the flat side down and slice very finely
75g unsalted butter
1 onion, peeled and diced
500g arborio rice
zest and juice of one unwaxed lemon
75g parmesan, grated
mint leaves, parsley or both and olive oil to drizzle
You know I pay scant attention to these quantities, but they’re the true ones published in The House and Garden at Glenmore! This is to serve 6. I fed three of us generously on Sunday with just over a half a cup of arborio and two good fennel bulbs. The key, I believe, is to be sure the fennel far outweighs the rice content! From there I go by eye but start with the recipe ‘til you have a feel for it!
Method
Bring the chicken stock to a simmer
Melt half the butter in a large, heavy-based pan then add onion and fennel…give them a good swish around to sweat ‘til translucent
Add the rice, give a good stir to coat and combine, then add a good pinch of sea salt and a few twists of black pepper
Add lemon juice and stir again
Then add a ladle of chicken stock at a time, stirring til the rice has absorbed all the liquid between ladles
When the grains are cooked and the rice is creamy, add the remaining butter, parmesan, lemon zest and give a quick stir. Then cover with the lid and allow to rest for a few minutes before giving one final stir.
Scatter a good few herbs and a drizzle of olive oil over each helping…bet peeps will come back for more! Even peeps who say they don’t like fennel!
I’m positive there were other things I wanted to tell you, but Holly Davis is going to arrive at any minute and I am going to enter a world of Sourdough and workshop prep! So…I might need to do a little backtracking next week!
I’ve just been told the Delicious Magazine article is out today! You’ll find the recipe for the Chestnut Flour, Rosemary, Raisin and Pine Nut Cake in there that I know some of you have been hanging out for! Amongst others…but I don’t have time to think on that now! I have speckled cranberry beans to soak, a leaven to make, furniture to move…!!!
I wish you all a fabulous weekend when it gets here and a terrific week ahead. And, notes below aside, I’ll look forward to catching you at the next post!
Mickey x
Productive garden notes:
Eating from the garden:
Pomegranate (last 2 on the bench!), rhubarb; clementines, navel oranges, meyer lemons are new arrivals; tomato, aubergine, zucchini, potatoes (see below). Leaves of all kinds - spinach, lettuce, radicchio, cavolo nero, rocket, red elk mustard leaf and always Warrigal greens - I never think to mention them! There is no doubt we will eat the first head of broccoli in the coming days! Jerusalem artichokes, fennel bulbs fennel fronds, parsley, mint, rosemary, thyme, chives, nasturtium and calendula petals, borage flowers. Still new shoot leaves of lovage and still eating onions and garlic from last season.
Going / gone: aubergines, zucchini, potatoes
Seed saving: tomatoes, Italian white sunflower
Sowing: Peas, beetroot, parsnip, cima di rapa, coriander, chervil, dill, rocket, mustard leaves red elk and giant red. Carrot, parsnip, nigella, poppies and sweet peas…there’s still time for all of these though I’ve removed broad beans from the list - I think we should all have them in now.
Planting: globe artichokes, leeks, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, kohl rabi, fennel, radicchio, lettuce and…onions! I’m aiming for one last visit to the market for seedlings this weekend…and then, I’ll consider my autumn rotation almost complete.
Ornamental garden notes:
Picking for the house: is scarce…a rose here and there and random stems from the kitchen garden, as well as scented pelargonium foliage which is a constant to plunder.
Perfumes and aromas: the stand-outs are fading…but go to work in the garden and the air quickly fills with all those good aromatic delights, from pungent tomato foliage to the sweet smell of just-pulled earthy parsnips; tread on a rogue stem of tansy or some sprawling pennyroyal and the air is soon filled with magic!
Pruning and other: the floating beds that make the ‘bee superhighway’ were all a bit of a mess! The tall, upended fennel stalks have spilled their seed now, so their stems went off to the compost. The last of the tall spires of burgundy flowering leaf amaranth came out and a lot of weeding was done. The grass from which those beds have been cut is inclined to try to creep back in, so weeding around them is a job that must be done from time to time. The Lemon Verbena in Anthia’s little bed had a severe cut back and all the stems of spent Echinacea in the same bed were pulled, their seed heads scattered in a bid to thicken up the swathe even more. Weeding. This is an in-between time…whilst a lot of pruning and winter work lies ahead, now is a gentle time, without pressure.
You must have been happy with the article in Delicious Magazine 😁.. and like you I tend to weed and feed much to my husbands annoyance. Mainly I do it because I have to unlock the side gate to get to the green waste bin, lazy I know, but I’m sure the garden appreciates it. Your mention of Love in the Mist reminded me I have a seed head I picked up somewhere, again in trouble. Lol… I will be circumspect as to where I plant it, or at least make sure I pick the heads before the seeds spread. Our garden isn’t big enough for them to take over.