So….my back kind of hurts but I am also very happy because we got a ton of things done in the garden during the Easter weekend. It was a 5 day-weekend for us because we both took time off from…
Edible Garden in March 2016
Categorie: Spring
Nettle risotto
My favorite weed is … the nettle! What – you don’t have a favourite weed? You just hate them all equally? In my opinion, weeds that are edible (and there are plenty) are already partially redeemed. But nettle is not…
Edible garden in May 2015
What a difference a month makes in the garden, especially in the spring! Even when the spring is as cold as this year. By now all our beds have been sown or planted with vegetables that are slowly filling in…
A week of eating from the garden/ spring
It’s fun to see how what we eat has changed so completely since the last time I wrote “A week of eating from the garden” three months ago. In spring, it’s the greens that dominate in the garden and on…
Rhubarb walnut crumble
Every year I put a considerable amount of thought into the first rhubarb dish of the season. I usually cover one of our 20+ plants (I’ve been meaning to count) with a big bucket to force and blanch it and…
Seasonal salad – weeds
Do you have weeds in your garden? I hope you do – at least a few. Because if you have none you must either be an OCD gardener who puts the rest of us to shame, or you spray herbicides…
Edible garden in April 2015
It is the kids’ spring break and tomorrow we’re leaving for France for a few days. I would like to take this opportunity to say how awesome it is to have kids who are big enough (and willing) to help…
Seasonal Salad – early April
As mild as the winter has been for us (with a total of one day when the temperature did not come above zero), as cold is the current spring. Which means I am delaying sowing directly outside, (except for some…
Edible garden in March 2015
People, if this is spring, I want a refund! What a difference from last year. There was a hail storm yesterday (actually several) and the ornamental plums on the other side of the street which are my barometer of spring…
Spring bulbs, 1st round
Truth be told, in early spring I do not spend that much time in the backyard. For this, the Dutch climate is mainly to blame (today for example it is cold and raining). I do get the necessary jobs done,…
Seasonal Salad – March
Last Friday I was invited as a guest teacher to the Permaculture Design Course in Deventer to answer the participants’ questions related to vegetable growing, edible forest design, mulching, improving soil fertility and anything else they wondered about. Since the…
Bulb lasagne in a container
I have been planting spring bulbs as long as I have had a garden but I still view them as prepackaged miracles: in the fall you put a bulb in the ground and in the spring, after you all but…
Chickpea, spinach and feta parcels
Though it’s still more than a week till summer officially starts, you wouldn’t know it by looking at the thermometer. The days are hot interrupted by a few storms, a walk through the garden yields a handful of assorted ripe…
Rosemary spelt cake
Many years ago I read a historical novel where the Russian Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna having moved to the Netherlands after marrying the future King William II was reported to complain that the wet Dutch climate was not suitable for…
May in rearview mirror
May has treated us to some very cold days, some very warm, some sunshine and a lot rain. It is weather like this that makes the full benefits of raised beds and mulching obvious. The raised beds allow excess moisture…