Sunday 19 October 2014

Grand October SFG Clear-Out.



I've had so much work over the last 18 months, plus other commitments which have put SFGardening right at the back of my mind, but the poor patch has been screaming for attention since July, when I last did anything worth while there, and two very kind friends came over and helped me bring it back into shape. We had a wonderful day working together, the weather was fabulous, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
I've removed all the grids and washing line which formed SF squares in the beds. The wooden grids were rotten anyway, and if I add new humus, compost and vermiculite next spring (I still have a couple of bags of horse manure waiting to be used) it will be easier to do without the grids there. I'll use fresh washing line which will look cleaner and nicer anyway.
I'll buy another couple of packs of plastic bed edging to replace the 4x4 which is really falling apart (where I had the squashes growing a couple of years ago). The great thing about this bed edging is that it also has holes in the upper surfaces exactly where the grids have to be positioned. The edging comes with pegs which can be inserted in case you want to add another layer on top, thereby heightening the raised bed. These pegs will act perfectly to wind the washing line around, creating a new 16 square grid.
This might be the last time I write about the garden this year...we'll see.

Saturday 11 October 2014

Recipe from 'Jerusalem' by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

Chicken with Caramelized Onion and Cardamom Rice. p.184

This was really easy and dead delicious.