Such a perfect day

In an orchard with quite a view
Then later made jam for you
And then home

A few months ago a very nice couple bought some strawberry jam from my Auntie Allie stall and mentioned that they have some plums trees. They said they can never harvest all of them and would I like to have some when they ripened.

That would be a resounding “yes please”.

I got a call to say they were ready and so Dad and I headed out there with our full plum picking kit which, as it was a very sunny day, included hats, water, sticks with a hooked end to pull branches towards us without damaging them and crates for putting the plums in.

We turned up at the address, which turned out to be a lovely farmhouse where we met their very friendly Staffie dog.

These poor dogs have gained a terrible reputation, but from working at an animal rescue centre I just know them as very loving animals, who really struggle in the kennels because they crave human company. In fact, many people refer to them as ‘Nanny dogs’, as they are seen as being very suitable pets for families to have. Of course, as with all animals, it is nearly always about how they are raised and treated, but I digress from my perfect day!

It was then a short walk down a farmhouse track to the orchard – a bit more than just a few trees then. The orchard was created in the 1920s and included many varieties of plums including Blue Tsars, Victoria and Greengages.

We were there for the Blue Tsars, as the Victoria and Greengages aren't quite ready yet.

The trees were dripping with fruit. Blue Tsars are a variety I haven’t tried before and they are yummy. However, the key with fruit picking is to collect more than you eat!

There were quite a few wasps around, attracted by this fruity bounty, but I found that if I just kept calm and out of their way, they were happy enough to share.

Oh and this was the view from the orchard – not bad!

Once we had filled a couple of crates, Dad and I headed back to the farmhouse where we were treated to homemade scones, with homemade jam. Theirs is a kitchen that sits at the heart of the home, and they even have a Rayburn range cooker in the corner.

Although I could have moved in permanently, we did eventually leave with our haul. There was no cash payment made, instead I left them with a jar of homemade jam and chutney (not plum flavour) along with some salad and vegetables from the allotment.

I then decided to take full advantage of the sunny day, by heading up to the allotment.

They are also looking fabulous at this time of year and this was my afternoon view, which isn't bad either.

This is harvest time on the plot as well and my bounty included raspberries, lettuce, spring onions carrots, green beans and of course courgettes!

You can always tell someone who is new to veg growing, when they turn up at the allotments with ten little courgette plants for their plot. If you suffer with having too many courgettes, then here is a blog I wrote earlier http://auntieallieproduce.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/the-courgette-conundrum.html but again I digress...

The final part of my day was starting to make delicious stuff with the plums – there were so many, that I spent the next couple of days making various jams and chutneys for the Auntie Allie stall, oh and friends and family as well.

I have made a couple of batches of plum and cinnamon jam, some plum and apricot (also home grown) jam and finally a spicy plum chutney.

So this is the recipe for Auntie Allie’s perfect day - A farmhouse, a dog, an orchard, meeting nice people, working at my allotment, harvesting produce and making stuff from it.

This growing your own and making your own lifestyle is not an easy one, but it is one that soothes the soul, which is why I would love the opportunity to do it full time!

Feel free to contact me if you would like to help make the dream a reality – there will be a jar or two of homemade jam and chutney in it for you!

Step away from the rhubarb

That’s it, rhubarb harvesting season is over…

 … well, so my Mum says, but there are a few schools of thought on this issue.

The folklore is that you should stop pulling rhubarb on June 24^th, as this is the date the devil goes into it. This seems a very precise date, and with all the rhubarb growing, in the UK alone, he is going to be spread very thin!

However, like many of these stories, there may well be some sensible reasoning behind it. Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid, which is poisonous if consumed and an irritant if it is contact with your skin for an extended period of time. Over the course of the season this acid is said to start to travel down the stems, so it makes sense not to pull it too late. 

The general consensus is that the harvesting period is between May and July/August. However, I am not one to argue with my Mum, so no more rhubarb for me this year.

Thankfully, it has been a good year for this vegetable in my area, so I have plenty of yummy rhubarb chutney and rhubarb and ginger jam in stock. This is very fortunate as they are both very popular on the Auntie Allie market stall and in the Auntie Allie house.

If you don’t grow rhubarb already, then I can recommend it as an easy to grow, easy to maintain crop with lots of uses.

How I planted mine

I got mine from a fellow allotmenteer who was ready to divide his. Rhubarb crowns (the name for the plant which is over a year old) should be divided every 5 – 6 years and when the plant is lying dormant in the winter. You use a spade to cut it into three or four parts. It seems like a very destructive thing to do, but rhubarb is very, very tough – which anyone who has tried to get rid of it will know. 

You just need to make sure that each of the pieces has a large bud to provide the shoots for the following year.

I then dug a hole a bit bigger than the new crown, placed a load of alpaca poo in the bottom, then the rhubarb crown on top of that. I then firmed it in and watered well.

Harvesting

Now you need to show some patience, as your new rhubarb will thank you for leaving it be for a year to become established. In year two, it is worth showing a little restraint and then from year three you can harvest away, although don’t pull more than half of the plant at a time.

Pulling, is exactly the right term to describe how you should harvest your rhubarb. Reach down to the base of the stalk, give a slight twist and then gently pull, don’t cut it. Trim off the leaves, which are fine to go in your compost bin. I have also heard of some people using them as a weed suppressant, but I haven’t tried that yet to say whether it works or not.

Over winter care

The plant will start to die back naturally, but for the winter you should make sure the stalks are removed, as it is important to expose the crown to any winter frosts we hopefully get to experience. I also give the crown a good helping of more alpaca manure, which certainly seems to ensure a very good crop.

Cooking with Rhubarb

Rhubarb and ginger jam is very popular. Less well known, but very yummy is rhubarb chutney, which is definitely one I like to keep in my stores cupboard.

Rhubarb crumble is a firm favourite and is the pudding of choice for many a family roast dinner.

For the more exotic tastes you can try making a rhubarb and custard cocktail, rhubarb and ginger syllabub or you can always just stew it.

Au revoir rhubarb, until 2016...