Here is a favourite recipe for Strawberry Jam from Maureen Gofton
Place 1lb. strawberries & 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in a large bowl, cover and microwave on full for 4 or 5 minutes until the fruit is soft.
Stir in 12oz. sugar & cook uncovered until setting point is reached (about 20 minutes) stir halfway through.
When cool spoon into clean jars. Seal & label.
Sounds delicious doesn't it? Do you have a favourite recipe that you would like to share? Email your recipe to contact@finningley.org or pass to a member of the Team.
August in the garden (2009).
Hi there ! Sorry but you've got me again!
Are you as fed up with the weather as I am? It seems that whenever I have time to get into the garden that's the time the rain decides to pour down. Still the water does seem to be doing the gardens good and everything seems to be growing well, especially the lawn which needs constant attention at the moment and the weeds in the borders.
In the flower garden I'm busy dead heading and also where possible collecting seeds. The ornamental poppies have been beautiful and now I'm collecting the “pepper pots” to use the seed again next year. There are lots of seed heads to collect at the moment. Pass them on to friends if you have too many. That's where my poppies came from!
Poppy Grape Vine
If you have a conifer hedge this is really the last month for cutting, any later and you risk die back. I'm watching mine very carefully at the moment as although it was cut mid July it appears to be showing more brown edges than normal and I wonder if it may have been affected by the blight that has struck so many. We shall see.
I never seem to have much luck with getting my wisteria to flower, so this year I'm really making an effort. The “book” has been out and I have, as per instructions for August, removed all whippy new shoots to five or six buds from the main stem.
Now is the time to shorten the shoots of any rambling roses you may have, if you wish to keep them under control and at the same time encourage young growth.
In the herb garden things are thriving and this year I'm going to remember to pot up some marjoram, thyme and chives to keep me going through the winter and save me having to buy them.
The runner beans and courgettes are going mad at the moment so I'm freezing any that I can't find an immediate use for, while the onions, their necks having bent over are now drying on racks ready for plaiting and storing.
Runner Beans Courgettes
Talking about courgettes, if you grow them there's a book out now called :-
What Will I Do With All Those Courgettes?
It's written by chef Elaine Borish and obtainable from:-
Fidelio Press, Gazelle Book Service, Lancaster LA1 4XS. Tel. 01524 68765
And finally how about a recipe for your courgettes, bought or grown.
Fry 1 small onion with 1lb. of sliced courgettes for about 3mins., add 3/4 of a pint of vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, season, and simmer gently for about 20mins. Allow to cool slightly then blend, I do this in the pan. Add 6oz. of ready made hummus and blend lightly. Reheat gently, taste, and adjust seasoning, adding a little lemon juice if wished. Ladle into warm bowls and sprinkle with parsley.
Enjoy!
Maureen Marson
August Gardening (2008)
Time to stop flowering shoots on your tomato plants.
Continue to feed them but gradually give them less water. This will encourage the tomatoes to swell & ripen.
Runner beans need regular picking, a lunch-time spray will be welcome! Freeze surplus or give to friends.
As you walk around your garden remove dead-heads esp. from dahlias (to increase stock look out for brown papery seed-cases on favourites) Black-fly can easily be removed with soapy water on your fingers.
Sweet peas need regular cutting, only leave seed pods if you want to grow them again next year.
Pansies getting straggly? Remove fat seed pods,
split them and press all the enclosed seeds into damp compost, an empty plastic egg-box will do. In 3 or 4 weeks you will have seedlings appearing to grow on.