What Manure

[Tiercel 6,986]

Good on you son. Clearly I wish you all the best because we all need a bit of help with nature. I'm so looking forward to the new season and we are only in November. Can you believe that I picked a punnet of raspberries on Tuesday? Mad. Now then. Little tip. Riddle some ground for your carrots and parsnips and you will reap rewards. I couldn't for the life of me grow the things until being told.

The problem with veg gardening is, it takes a year to see your results and there could be half a dozen things causing the problems. Consequently we rely on old tried and tested methods handed down in good faith by more experienced gardeners. The problem with that is not every ground is the same, not every variety of the same veg needs the same conditions to get the best out of the seeds.

 

Personally I think gardening is always a 'work in progress', we all chop and change seeds of the same variety of veg each year. "next year I am going to try this variety" some work one year and then do not the next if we had all the answers we all would be market gardeners and gardening would just be boring.

 

TC

[jok 3,244]

I live next to a Zoo Any tips there Never thought I'd give it a thought? Snake shit, locust poo, tiger lumps, elephant heaps, cor blimey the list is endless.

[Tiercel 6,986]

I live next to a Zoo Any tips there Never thought I'd give it a thought? Snake shit, locust poo, tiger lumps, elephant heaps, cor blimey the list is endless.

Yep, what ever you get let it rot for at least six months, and if you can turn it to let air into it every week all the better.

 

TC

[vfr400boy 3,371]

Am lucky my plot is on sandy land so it's good for carrots, I will not put any muck on the bit were am going to put my carrots next year , will get some pics up when I get Time

[jok 3,244]

Mate. That is great for root crops. Let me know how you get on with Brassicas and onions.

[vfr400boy 3,371]

Had my best year for onions all made a good size but not as big as the old bloke next door , I will try get some pics up tonight , parsnips have been rubbish this year

[vfr400boy 3,371]

[Tiercel 6,986]

That's a cracking calabrese, your red cabbage and swedes are looking well also. You must be doing something right.

 

TC

[vfr400boy 3,371]

Was my first year of growing calabrese , only problem was it was all ready at ones , the pic with red cabbage and sweed on is from today

[terryd 8,411]

Some great looking veg there can't fault that

[Jamie m 668]

Don't forget to collect your leafes up now guys , Rot even quicker when there wet , a bit of sharp sand around the plots will do a lot of good to ,

[jok 3,244]

Yep. Your doing all right. Looks like everyone is happy Never could grow them eggs

[darbo 4,774]

Was my first year of growing calabrese , only problem was it was all ready at ones , the pic with red cabbage and sweed on is from today

Blanch and freeze your calabrese cabbage etc.

[darbo 4,774]

• • BLANCHING/FREEZING/STORAGE.
  • • Artichokes, Jerusalem
    • Asparagus
    • Aubergines (eggplants)
    • Beans, Broad
    • Beans, Flat
    • Beans, French
    • Beans, Runner
    • Beans, Yellow
    • Beetroot
    • Broccoli
    • Brussels Sprouts
    • Cabbage
    • Carrots
    • Cauliflower
    • Celeriac
    • Celery
    • Chicory
    • Chinese leaves
    • Courgettes
    • Fennel
    • Herbs
    • Kale
    • Kohlrabi
    • Leeks
    • Mangetout
    • Marrow and Squashes
    • Mushrooms
    • Okra
    • Onions
    • Pak Choi
    • Parsnips
    • Peas
    • Peppers
    • Potatoes
    • Pumpkins
    • Radish, Winter
    • Salsify
    • Spinach
    • Spring Greens
    • Sugar Snap Peas
    • Swede
    • Sweetcorn
    • Sweet Potaties
    • Swiss Chard
    • Turnips
  • Tips for Freezing Vegetables
  • Storing Herbs
• Sharing and Enjoying
• Finding Out

Click on the book to buy your copy

 

Harvesting and Storing » Freezing Vegetables A to Z

 

Here is some practical advice on preparing and freezing vegetables from Carolyn Humphries’ How to Freeze, which is packed with information on all aspects of freezing.

Blanching
Blanching is essential when preparing vegetables for freezing. It destroys enzymes that would otherwise cause the vegetables to deteriorate quickly. Blanching helps to keep their colour, texture and flavour and to retain their vitamin C content.

Prepare the vegetables. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Plunge up to 450 g/1 lb vegetables at a time into the water. Bring back to the boil quickly and boil for the exact recommended time. Drain immediately and plunge the vegetables into a bowl of iced water to cool them as quickly as possible. As soon as they are cool, drain and pat dry on kitchen paper. Pack in polythene bags in convenient quantities.

Remove the air, seal, label and freeze.

Deep-freezing
Deep-freezing preserves food by reducing the temperature so that bacteria cannot grow and chemical changes are halted. However, freezing does not kill micro-organisms, it simply keeps them in suspended animation, so that as soon as the food is thawed, these processes start up again, and the food will deteriorate as quickly as before it was frozen. For this reason, food should be cooked and eaten as soon as possible after defrosting.

Your freezer should be kept at –18ºC/0ºF and food is fast-frozen at –25 to –30ºC/–13 to –22ºF. Commercially deep-frozen foods are blast-frozen at temperatures as low as –73ºC/–100ºF.

Dry-freezing
This is a very quick way of preserving fruit or vegetables without adding liquid. Prepare the fruit or vegetables, then pack in rigid containers. Fruits can be layered with sugar, if appropriate. Remove the air, seal the containers, label and freeze.

Open-freezing
Open-freezing prevents the top of the food – such as a sauce topping on cooked dishes like lasagne or an iced (frosted) cake – being damaged by wrappers. It may also be used when you want frozen food to be free-flowing.

Made-up dishes: Simply freeze, unwrapped, in the container in which they were cooked. The dish may be lined with foil first so that it can be removed once frozen. When firm, remove the cooking dish, if liked, wrap the food securely in foil or a polythene bag, remove the air, seal, label and return to the freezer.

Free-flow foods: This is suitable for small fruits, vegetables, grated cheese, etc. Spread the food out in a single layer on a baking (cookie) sheet. Place in the freezer until firm. Tip into rigid containers or polythene bags. Remove the air, seal, label and return to the freezer.

Purée-freezing
Many fruit and vegetables can be puréed for freezing. This takes up less space and is ideal for those that would need puréeing before use in made-up dishes or sauces.
Cook, if necessary. Juicy fruits can be puréed raw. Purée in a blender or food processor, then pass through a sieve (strainer), if necessary, to remove any seeds or strings. Sweeten the purée with sugar, if appropriate. Other flavourings (e.g. cinnamon in fruits) should be added when the purée has defrosted. Pack in convenient quantities in rigid containers, leaving 2.5 cm/1 in headspace. Remove the air, seal, label and freeze.

Edited November 16, 2015 by darbo

[darbo 4,774]

You can have most vegetables all year round eating fresh by staggering your crops and also with a glut blanch and freeze to keep the freezer full. Hope this may help vfr400 just click on the links of veg for blanch and freezing and storage advice. i have done it for many many years. Also to remove any insects that may be in calabrese. caluiflower sprouts etc put in a pan of water with a tablespoon of salt in leave for 15 mins then rinse very well before blanching.

Edited November 16, 2015 by darbo