Well, since I last wrote, the weather has been beautiful, but the ground has become very dry with a total lack of rain! I have had no excuse not to disappear to the bottom of my garden, and get to work on my vegetable patch. I am happy to report that my chitted potatoes are now planted underground, and I keep looking hoping to see the first sign of an early shoot, but have just checked again and still no sign 
However, I experimented with some new seed strips, which are seeds, placed on strips of what looks like toilet tissue, evenly spaced and ready to just lay in shallow trenches in the ground, and have just noticed that only one week later the rocket is just starting to appear in perfectly straight lines…. a bit of a cheat maybe for the serious gardener, but new and innovative and incredibly easy for a novice. Because of the lack of rain I have been watering daily to help with the germination process. The slugs have kept away from my lettuce seedlings thanks to the slug and snail deterrent however, I have had another resident in my vegetable patch since the Winter snows melted! Molehills have been germinating and appearing daily, and although they are the most gorgeous critters to look at, they can devastate gardens. Luckily I know a local man who is expert at trapping moles so it is with mixed feelings that I can tell you the mole has now gone.
In the Summer, when my homegrown fruit is plentiful, I freeze fruit such as gooseberries, which I top and tail first and then bag up. My gooseberries are the dessert variety so they are a lovely pink colour. This simple recipe is for good old-fashioned gooseberry jam. Makes a delicious and unusual sweet yet sour flavour, and this jam sets remarkably well as gooseberries are full of pectin. Remember to keep everything simple and it will taste absolutely delicious.
Ingredients
- 900g gooseberries, topped and tailed
- 900g-1kg granulated sugar
- 600ml water
Method: How to make gooseberry jam
1. To every 450g prepared fruit use 300ml water. The riper the fruit, the less water you will need, and also the pinker your jam will be. Put the frozen fruit and water into a large, heavy-based saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently until the skins are soft – they will not soften after the sugar has been added.
2. Add the sugar and stir over a low heat until it has dissolved completely. If you boil the jam before it has dissolved, it may crystallise during storage. Bring the jam to a rapid but steady boil and boil until it reaches a temperature of between 105°C and 110°C.
3. Meanwhile, wash some jam jars in hot soapy water, then rinse well. Put them into a preheated oven at 160°C/fan140°C/gas 3 until you are ready to use them.
4. Do the ‘wrinkle test’ to see if you have reached setting point. It should happen after about 15 minutes or so of boiling, and your jam should by now have become slightly more viscous and clear. Have a saucer ready in the freezer. Take the pan off the heat, spoon a little jam onto the plate and leave until completely cold. Then push it across the plate with your forefinger. It should wrinkle up if it’s ready. If it only slightly wrinkles, bring back to the boil and boil for a few more minutes.
5.Discard any scum from the top of the jam and pour it into the prepared jars, using a jam funnel if you have one, or from a jug. Cover the surface of the jam with waxed discs, wax-side down, and either quickly cover each jar with a dampened round of cellophane and rubber band or leave to go cold before covering with cellophane or a screw-top lid. Sealing the jars well will prevent the build up of condensation under the lid, which could lead to mould.
Just heard this weeks weather forecast, and there is the possibility of some ground frost over night, so I need to go and search out some protection for my lettuce seedlings and mangetout plants…..
Tags: Frost, Garden, Seeds, Summer, Vegetable Patch, Watering, Winter
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Loving the recipie for Gooseberry Tart……….I seem to remember having a friend that was a Gooesberry once