I have left the nibbled parsnip in place in the hope that no others get touched. I might have to dig up the parsnips next week for Christmas to ensure that I have enough for the special day.
Today was cold and the frost on the ground didn't budge at all. The picture below shows the frost still lingering on the grass after 1500.
The walk over to the allotment was quite treacherous as the pavements were all frosty and slippy. Don't get me wrong - I am very happy to see it. Hopefully, it will kill off lots of pests and diseases. Apparently, the temperatures are slightly lower than usual at this time of year.
I think I was the only one on the allotment today. I popped over to check on things and to dig up some Jerusalem artichokes. Under the glass of the raised beds, there are some seedlings emerging from the sowings I made 3 or so weeks ago. There is clearly some warmth under there. No sign of the garlic I planted a couple of weeks ago. There may be a chance that the frost has put a stop to them. If I don't see any sign of them in a couple of weeks, I will assume they didn't make it.
The piccie below shows the results of 1 of the 5 Jerusalem artichokes I planted back in Feb.
I took them home before scrubbing and peeling them. I sauted some onion (red - from the allotment a few months back) and some celery (shop-bought) in some butter for 10 mins before adding 500g of the artichokes cubed. After a minute, I added some chicken stock (homemade) and simmered it all for 20 mins. I whizzed it up in a liquidiser and added some milk and seasoning. It was a lovely white colour and tasted fantastic, though I do say so myself. I ate some of it with a friend and neighbour. She loved it and has taken the leftovers home for her lunch tomorrow. She is not a big fan of veg and had never heard of Jerusalem artichokes. She knows all about them now. I still have some tubers left from today's harvest so I might try them chipped or roasted later in the week. I will hold a few back from each plant for planting in the New Year and for giving away to fellow gardeners.
Just to show that there was some nice sun today - below is a piccie of our cat sunning herself in a nice spot on the coldframe in the garden which catches the sun in the afternoon. She is not the lightest of cats so I hope she doesn't make a habit of sitting there, for the sake of the frame.
4 comments:
Looks like a rodent of some sort (though the piccie is too low a resolution to see the gnaw-marks properly).
Have you got a rabbit-proof fence?
If you have, I'd go for a rat.
No rabbit proof fence unfortunately (that would be a major investment in time and money) so it could be them. Cheers.
I love your blog. Your photos and articles are like escapism for me. I have no access to a garden or anything resembling one :(
The closest I've come is my uni days when I had a herb garden *cough* and an olive tree on the terrace. But I left them behind in the rush of moving.
Lush.
Thanks so much, Hayley. That's a lovely comment. I am not an experienced blogger and it is great to hear that someone else is getting something useful out of my ramblings.
I didn't grow anything at uni - no imagination, clearly. Are there any allotment sites near you? Guerilla gardening sounds interesting...
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