Growing our own

Years ago, when Dawn came down from Edinburgh, she used to have a herb and vegetable garden.  Being a thrifty Scot, she found ways to save her pennies as a single mum.  It turned out that her tomato plants and yummy beans, plums, cherries and apple trees yielded so much fruit that she never had to buy any.  And with little Madge's penchant for the odd plum or 20, that saved her many a penny.

Mark, on the other hand, does not possess green fingers.  His approach to gardening is simple; if it has petals, it’s a flower and if it doesn’t, it’s a weed (unless it’s over three feet high in which case it’s a tree).  In the past, he has consequently destroyed many, many pounds worth of expensive flora, whilst cultivating some nasty, unwanted plants at the same time.

But ever since experiencing the benefits of a bountiful herb garden when he was a Chef on one of Dawns yoga retreats (www.earthsky.org.uk) in the South of France,  he has lusted after some herbs of his own to grow.  Herbs can transform the simplest of dishes, making magnificient of the bland and boring.  For instance, the meal of the week (according to the students) on the Carcassone retreat was the simplest dish of Penne pasta in an oil and pepper dressing.  And that was entirely down to the fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary and chives that were picked and chopped moments before being sprinkled over the food as seasoning.

Therefore, after much discussion and perusal of gardening books and magazines, we decided to set aside a portion of our garden to veggies and herbs.

One of our friends who does this sort of stuff for a living passed on some hints and tips (cheers Pete!), the main one being “Don’t go too mad”.  So, armed with that advice, we set off to the local garden centre to buy topsoil, some tomato plants and a few packets of seeds… you know, some carrots, chillies, maybe some rocket and lettuce.

Two hours later, bank balance considerably lighter and car scarily bottom heavy, we returned with 1 tomato plant, 3 strawberry plants, 2 protective “Easy Nets”, a “VegTrug” complete herbal growing trough, a Willow obelisk, 3 windowsill grow-boxes, 2 pairs of gardening gloves, pair of wellies size 12 (for Mark, not Dawn), packet seeds of Basil, Purple Basil, Coriander, Tarragon, Mint, Parsley, Rocket, Lambs Lettuce, Gem Lettuce, Salad leaves, Spring Onions, Carrots, Tomatoes, Beetroot, Cucumber, French beans, 3 varieties of Chilli (mild, hot and blow-your-head-off), a bag of Horticultural sand, trowel, ties, labels and nearly 700 litres of Multi-soil compost.

With much excitement on Dawns part, the big planting extravaganza began.  It was a typical April Sunday.  Brillant sunshine, rain, hail and then brillant sunshine again.  Not to be deterred, in between showers and hailstorms we ran in and out planting seeds in the vegetable patch, the plants in pots with some tomato and chilli seeds on our windowsill.  The cat isn't too happy that his sunbathing spot has been nicked though!

Happy, filthy and tired we toasted our new venture with a Scotch or two.  And we will of course keep you informed of our thriving or dying crops, along with some delicous recipes direct from our home grown patch. 

Dawn has a bit of a Good Life fantasy going on with her eye set on a few hens and a little pig.  However, with six children already, I think Mark may take some persuading yet.  But Dawn is known for her powers of persuasion... so watch this space!

The next blog post will feature an oft-requested recipe for Garden Burgers, a vegetarian variety that are the stuff of legend down our way.  

Please keep those requests and suggestions coming, either by email or by commenting on the blog thread.