Posts Tagged ‘radish’

DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman PARSNIPS

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

PARSNIPS Having waited for some decent, warmer, growing weather, it seems counter intuitive to be already thinking of next winter. But growing your own food year-round is only realistic if you plan some months in advance. This week I’ve been doing just that, specifically with my parsnips. These cream-coloured, taper-rooted cold season essentials reach their peak after [...]

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26 November 2009 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman COLD HANDS

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

COLD HANDS The bucket is full of roots. Of radish, celeriac, turnip, parsnip, swede, beetfruit*. All lifted within the last half-hour. Leaves twisted off  ’cept the celeraic, which we save as flavoursome additions to soups and stews. Rubbed clean by hand in icy water, their array of colours revealed from beneath the dirt. All aromatic [...]

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7 November 2009 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman LOOKING AT THE RIVER, HARVESTING RADISHES AT 5PM

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

LOOKING AT THE RIVER It’s a bright and chilly November morning. I’m back in Salisbury, on the footbridge which crosses the river fifty yards downstream of  The King’s Head Inn. The island where I watched coots on eggs in early summer is a decaying mess of brown leaves and two pink plastic bags. I can [...]

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14 October 2009 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman BLACK SPANISH ROUND RADISH ON THE MENU

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

Pulled the first Black Spanish Round radishes not long ago and loved them, thinly sliced, with lettuce in a sandwich. This season has kicked off later than most but never mind – it’s here now and I intend to relish in it while it lasts. Black Spanish Round is a terrific autumn radish. The ample [...]

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30 August 2009 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman SUNDAY MORNING AT THE END OF AUGUST, THREE LADS ON BIKES IN MISTY SHASTON, SOUNDS OUTSIDE THE BACK PASSAGE

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

30 August 2009 SUNDAY MORNING AT THE END OF AUGUST (Yesterday afternoon and) This morning the plots were full of allotment folk bending backs, hoeing, cutting, shifting piles of this and that. As a feather-soft drift of misty rain came in westerly before lunchtime, with quiet focus so we worked. Much to do, not a [...]

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31 July 2009 DIRTY NAILS’ LOG by Joe Hashman OBSERVING FLOWERS

Friday, July 31st, 2009

31 July 2009 OBSERVING FLOWERS

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20 July 2009 DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman WHAT TO SOW IN JULY

Monday, July 20th, 2009

20 July 2009 WHAT TO SOW IN JULY The thing with growing your own food is that by mid-July it can feel like the sowing season is over and that, if you haven’t got crops in the ground by now, then you’ve missed the boat. The good news is that aint necessarily so! There is [...]

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11 June 2009: DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman CABBAGES & CAULIFLOWERS, THE TROUBLE WITH HUMANS

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

11 June 2009 CABBAGES & CAULIFLOWERS Great excitement at Orchard Park today: the first round of harvesting occurred. The demo garden donated four of the best Hispi F1 cabbages I’ve grown – ever! – plus two beautiful and blemish free Andes cauliflowers as big as my splayed hand. Shona in the kitchen was very pleased [...]

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13 March 2009: DIRTY NAILS’ BLOG by Joe Hashman ON SWALLOWING A FLY, FIRST DIRECT OUTDOOR SEED SOWING

Friday, March 13th, 2009

13 March 2009 ON SWALLOWING A FLY Walking briskly along St James and down to Leyton Lane this evening for a doctors appointment at ten past five, I swallowed a fly. What happened was the hedges and verges had me so enchanted that my jaw was dropped as wide open as my eyes. Just beyond [...]

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