Let’s start with the carrots… like many of my vegetables this year my carrots haven’t been a great success. They were being eaten by a combination of slugs and carrot root fly. From two rows of carrots I managed to rescue enough good carrots to make a litre of carrot and coriander soup.
It is most disheartening particularly when it took me half an hour to sort out the eaten carrots from the good ones. As my friend and neighbour Dave said to me, it would easier to pop up to Tesco and buy a bag of carrots. The point of growing your own veg is the joy of when it goes well and the challenge when it doesn’t. Home grown always tastes better. The soup is delicious by the way.
To get round the Carrot Fly problem I decided to go back to growing my carrots next year in tubs. In previous years I had two tubs which were drainage pipes left over from the build. I cut those two in half to make four tubs which fit neatly across one plot. In theory the Carrot Fly is low flying and doesn’t get above 50 cms. These tubs are not that tall but at least they are a bit of a barrier. I could also try covering them with a fine gauze. If it works I should get long, slender carrots not riddled with carrot fly maggots.
Fingers crossed.
With the site ringed by mature trees there is always a lot of fungi at this time of year. I was picking up fallen twigs alongside the drive when I saw something bright orange out of the corner of my eye and thought it was a piece of litter. After closer inspection I realised it was a fungus called Orange Peel fungus (for obvious reasons). There were several growths in a small area. I haven’t checked whether it’s edible or not. Either way I won’t be frying it up for breakfast any time soon.
And to end with… my bread making activities continue with a combination of excitement and trepidation. This is a granary loaf which looks somewhat rustic where the top has not proved sufficiently before the machine started to bake it.
Despite how it looks it tastes delicious. It is pleasantly crusty without breaking teeth. Coated with butter and blackcurrant jam it’s a real treat to eat in front of the log fire. The white loaf I made over a week ago lasted really well and it was only in the last few days did I toast it because it was getting a bit dry.
