Farming Friends

“What, exactly, IS a courgette? Sounds like some type of squash. Must be a British thing,”asked Boggywoggy.

A courgette is;

• A small squash or marrow.
• The fruit from the plant.
• Also known as a zucchini.
• Yellow, green or light green in colour depending on the variety.
• Known scientifically as the cucurbita pepo.
• Often shaped like a cucumber.
• Used like a vegetable rather than a fruit.
• Usually eaten cooked.

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Back in November 2007 I received some raspberry canes as a gift from my cousin and his wife as a thank you for letting them stay with us in the Summer when they were over from Australia.

We planted the canes and added some straw on top of the soil to help retain moisture, keep the weeds down and to warm the soil.

I am looking forward to lovely raspberries in the Summer, so thank you Derek, Suzie and Charlotte, a very thoughtful gift that will be much enjoyed. They are a welcome addition to our flood damaged veg garden.

Although the recommendation is to plant strawberry plants in late Autumn, I have just planted three elsanta strawberry plants that I recently purchased from a local garden centre.

Which variety of strawberries do you grow?

Any advice on how to look after the strawberry plants through the Winter would be appreciated.

Join

Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As The Garden Grows for more information.

This weekend I harvested the medlars on our tree.

• Medlars can be harvested at the end of October and through November.
• Once harvested the fruit should be left in a box in a cool dry place until they turn a dark reddish brown and become soft and juicy.
• This ripening process is known as “bletting” the medlars.
• When the medlars are ripe the fruit can be used to make medlar jam, jelly, wine or cheese.

Click on this link for more information about medlars.

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Sunday 21st October (2007) was national Apple Day in the UK and I marked this occasion by picking apples from my orchard.

I also created this apple jigsaw puzzle.

I hope you had fun completing the jigsaw. How long did it take you?

This puzzle took me 3 minutes and 10 seconds - it’s harder than it looks!

Apples are very nutritious and Autumn is a great time to eat apples as this is their season.
How did you celebrate National Apple Day?

Here are the ingredients in the pan before the four hour simmer!

This is the ingredients after a four hour simmer.

Here is a jar of the damson chutney.

This damson chutney looks delicious - my thanks go to my mother in law and my friends Cherie & Neil for providing the damsons and Fiona for the recipe. I can’t wait to tuck in. It was Neil’s birthday the other day so I gave him a jar for his birthday and he said it tasted delicious. So don’t delay try this recipe today.

If you fancy making more chutney then checkout the fantastic courgette and green tomato chutney recipe.

vitamin C,
vitamin A,
calcium,
phosphorus,
potassium,
and dietary fibre.

The nutritional value of apples will vary slightly depending on the variety and size of the apple.

Other Health Benefits

Low in calories.
No cholesterol in apples.
No sodium in apples.

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