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Sheila’s Column, Summer 2011

June 21st, 2011

In spite of the lack of rainfall, dire predictions of global warming, drought and various types of pestilence waiting to fall on our poor old heads, what an absolutely marvelous season we are having, so let’s give praise and enjoy all our blessings.

The old Blackmore Vale clay cursed and reviled all the winter, turns up trumps when it really matters and grows us loads of lovely grass and fodder when drier, easier working soils have given up.

Silaging is going well as I write and the hay crop looks promising. When the cattle’s victuals are in the clamp and bale we can then relax – a little bit.

We have finished lambing, a very good crop indeed, the first new seasons lamb is in the shop – and going out again just as fast.

The last few cows to calve are still in the barn. Lagan Ladyship, who looked as if she was carrying quads, just got busy and produced a strong looking calf. What sex it is I cannot tell you, since she fixes me with a long cold stare, shakes her head, stamps her foot and clearly tells me to keep my distance. She’s bigger than me, so I think I will!

More drama again this morning – the little Kerry Bog Pony mare “Bessie” decided she was not going to foal in our carefully prepared foaling box, she was going to sneak off behind the hedge when we put her out in the field, and have it there. Whereupon the two other ponies decided to try and steal the foal for themselves to save themselves the bother of producing their own.

So confronted with a distraught mum, a thoroughly confused little filly foal and a stupid stallion trying to help, a certain amount of sorting out was needed. All’s well that ends well however, but isn’t it amazing how useless the males of all species are at times like these.

The Italian P.O.W.’s who worked at Park Farm after the war made several items in stone and concrete, one of which was a fountain. We bought it up here when we moved and at last it is now working as originally intended. It’s an awful timewaster outside my office window, so fascinating to watch all the different birds drinking and bathing in it. The starlings have a communal dip, as do the sparrows, but the little goldfinches are quite dignified and the wagtails are quite hilarious, their enjoyment is so obvious.

Hope you can all enjoy this wonderful summer to the full.

Sheila.

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Lamb Chops with Mint Yoghurt Dipping Sauce

May 31st, 2011

Ingredients

For the lamb chops:

3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 rack of lamb (from our own Lagan Farm Shop)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the yogurt:

1 cup plain yogurt
1 lime, juiced
3 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh mint leaves, plus extra for garnish
Salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika

Method

For the lamb chops:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Over high heat, preheat a large skillet with cooking oil. Liberally season the racks of lamb with salt and fresh ground pepper. Place the meat in the pan and sear all sides over high heat until evenly browned. Place the racks on a sheet pan and place in the oven to finish cooking. For medium rare, about 8 minutes; medium, about 10 minutes; and well done, about 15 minutes. These are general guidelines but the cooking times will vary depending on the size of the rack.

After they are finished cooking in the oven, remove the racks and allow them to rest approximately 10 minutes. Cutting from the meat side of the rack so that you can see the size of each chop, cut each chop individually.

For the yoghurt:

Place the yoghurt, lime juice and garlic in a blender and puree on high speed until blended. While blending, slowly add the mint and season with salt, cayenne, and cumin.

To serve:

Liberally cover a nice serving plate with the yoghurt sauce. Arrange the chops on the plate and decorate with extra mint leaves and pinches of paprika.  Delicious!

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Recipes from Callum Keir, at Holbrook House

April 1st, 2011

BRIXHAM’S CATCH OF THE DAY WITH ENDIVE MARMALADE

2 heads of Belgian endive    Juice of 2 lemons            1 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of salt            1 tbsp of thyme leaves        50g unsalted butter

  1. Boil the lemon juice, sugar, salt and thyme together.
  2. Add the diced endive and cook until soft
  3. Monter with the butter

CAPRICORN GOAT CHEESE FINE TART WITH COURGETTE AND TOMATO

Serves 4

puff pastry                6 tomatoes on the vine, sliced
2 courgettes, blanched        2 Capricorn goat cheese
1 bunch of rocket            vinaigrette

Cut out 4 discs of pastry. Glaze and place in the fridge for 20 minutes. Cook between 2 baking sheets for 8-10 minutes until golden.
Place the sliced tomatoes, courgettes and goat cheese in an orderly manner. Put in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Transfer on warm plates and garnish with a bunch of rocket tossed in vinaigrette.

ROASTED LOIN OF WILTSHIRE HORN LAMB, SAVOY CABBAGE & SHEPHERD’S PIE

Serves 4

200ml red wine        1 bay leaf            50g unsalted butter
4 shallots            1 litre veal stock        200ml double cream
1 tbsp oil            300g pancetta, diced        4 individual short pastry tarts
200g hot mashed potatoes
800g diced carrot, celeriac, parsnips
4 X 150g loin of lamb
500g lamb mince
1 savoy or spring cabbage cut in thin strips

  1. Preheat the oven to 200?C.
  2. First prepare the sauce. Reduce the red wine with 4 sliced shallots and a bay leaf. Add the veal stock and reduce down to 200 ml. Strain through a sieve and put to one side.
  3. Gently sauté the diced vegetables and pancetta in the butter until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the cabbage to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain off the butter, add the cream and reduce to a thick consistency. Stir in the cooked vegetables and pancetta. Season to taste and keep warm.
  4. Season the lamb loin, heat the oil in a pan and sear the lamb on all sides until well sealed. Place the loins in the oven for 3-4 minutes then set aside to rest. The meat should be brown on the outside and pink in the middle.
  5. For the shepherd’s pie, braise the lamb mince and spoon into the pastry tarts. Pipe hot mashed potato on top.
  6. To serve, spoon the cabbage onto one side of the plate. Place the shepherd’s pie on the other side. Coat the meat with the sauce.

RED POLL RIBEYE STEAK WITH ONION SPRING MASH

4 ribeye steaks        1 small bunch spring onions, sliced
300g mashed potato        1 bunch of watercress, picked
2 handful wilted spinach    300g Chantenay carrots, cooked

  1. Rub each steak with oil. Heat a heavy non-stick pan. Season and cook to desired texture. Remove the steaks from the pan and leave to rest.
  2. Warm-up mashed potato and add the sliced spring onion.
  3. Cook the watercress leaves and spinach in a hot pan with butter. Season.
  4. Heat up the cooked carrots.
  5. Pipe your mashed potato on warm plates and place the sliced ribeye on top. Spread around the spinach, watercress and carrots.

CHOCOLATE TART

sweet pastry
150g butter        30g dark chocolate        6 tbsp cacao powder
3 eggs            250g caster sugar        2 tbsp double cream
2 tbsp coffee extract (optional)

  1. Precook the tart case.
  2. Melt the butter, cacao powder and dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a bain-marie.
  3. Whisk egg and sugar together to a pale and ribbon stage. Add the double cream.
  4. Add the chocolate to the egg mixture. Pour into the pre-cooked tart case and bake for 35-40 minutes at 180?C.

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Plant of the Month – March 2011

March 8th, 2011

Big bloomers with Magnolia and Camellia

Magnolia Stellata

Magnolia Stellata

I am happy to admit that I really adore love magnolias! The fantastic blooms are simultaneously showy yet classy and perhaps because of this, it has always struck me as bizarre that this beautiful plant had the very bland coloured wall paint named after it.  After all, there are many magnolia varieties with colours ranging from deep purple to snowy white so why pick this plant name to represent such a nondescript colour?  The one thing the paint and the plant do have in common is their versatility – I think it is safe to say that most houses have magnolia paint somewhere in the building.  In the same way, I’m pretty sure that there is a variety of magnolia that would bring beauty and joy to any UK garden – even if it’s growing in a pot.

Camellias too are an early spring stunner with gorgeous blooms that easily rival those of magnolia.  Flowers tend to be white, pink or red and, like magnolia, some camellias will be happy living in good-sized pots.  Many magnolias and camellias are ‘lime haters’ which means if your soil is not acidic you’ll have to create suitable soil conditions in containers – but always ask the garden centre plant staff for the right soil for your plant.

With Mother’s Day on the horizon, what could be better than a perusal of this pair of ‘Big bloomers’?  The Mother’s Day gift is often a rushed purchase from the local chocolate shop or florist – this year why not consider a garden plant?

But where to start with so many varieties to choose from?  An all round popular choice is Magnolia stellata a great choice for smaller gardens growing only to 4 or 5ft after ten years. Does well in a good sized pot or in most garden soils as with the right care this plant will develop into a compact, well-shaped tree, gorgeous in bloom and also attractive in winter with its twig-like branches and velvet buds. Its beautiful pure white flowers resemble stars and are lightly scented.  After the flowers, light green leaves appear.

Magnolia Soulangeana  makes a large deciduous shrub or small tree with the most fabulous pastel pink and white flowers which emerge on bare branches in spring.  It is relatively tolerant of wind and alkaline soils and will eventually make a tree up to 15m and a width of around 6m.

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Plant of the Month for February

February 8th, 2011

Early spring flowering plants are really special – it is like a reward for having put up with a dark and wet winter! The Hellebores, Winter Cherries, and Witch Hazels are the first brave flowers to show, followed by Daphnes and early spring cherries.

The size of your garden will determine what you can grow – most hellebores can be found a space somewhere. They like a reasonable soil with good amounts of organic matter in it. This can be topped up each year to keep the soil in good heart. The Cherry, Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ flowers at odd times through the winter and has a grand final fling in early spring. It is a small growing tree that won’t shade out other plants and well worth the investment. It can give a good display of autumn colour as well.

Witch Hazel makes a gangly sort of shrub that keeps a low profile for much of the year, coming into its own in spring. The bare branches can be covered with flowers from pale yellow, gold, pink and bronzy-red. The yellow flowered varieties tend to have the sweetest scent, especially Hammamelis ‘Pallida’. The hazel-like leaves give a good autumn display with deep orange and purples.

Witch hazels are not hard to grow, and are as versatile as they are beautiful. Put one at the back of a wide border to add height, grow as a good specimen plant, or plant in groups. They’re fully hardy and tolerate most garden soils including chalk providing the soil is deep enough. Full sun or partial shade is fine, as long as there is some protection from winds. Maintenance is minimal, just a tidy up with the secateurs in late winter to keep the shape you want.
Daphne – are early spring delights with both deciduous and evergreen forms. The name is derived from the ancient Greek meaning “laurel.”  In Greek mythology, Daphne was the name of a nymph who was pursued by the god Apollo. Her father, a river god, changed her into a laurel bush to save her from him. Hopefully she was changed back when danger had passed, but I cannot confirm this.

Daphne laureola is better know as Spurge Laurel, and is a UK native with subtle lightly scented green flowers and glossy green leaves; it doesn’t get too tall and thrives in the shade. Very ordinary but works well as ground cover. Daphne odora is far more glamorous! Evergreen and reasonably hardy in this part of the world, it produces deep purple-pink and white flowers any time now. They have a strong scent – unforgettable once you have smelt it. The variety D. odora ‘Aureomarginata’ has leaves with subtle creamy-yellow margins. It is well behaved, slow growing and doesn’t get too tall.

Daphne mezereum, and Daphne x burkwoodii have a more upright habit, but are deciduous with their scented spring flowers carried on bare stems.

Alpine Daphnes such as D. bholua are particularly eye catching in a rockery but need to be well drained in winter. In general the Daphnes are not too difficult to grow and will cope with most soils except very acid ones, as long as they neither dry out nor become waterlogged.

Jobs for the Month

Catch up the winter jobs before spring gets going. General tidying up, finish winter pruning of dormant trees and shrubs, especially the fruit. I plan to get the roses done fairly soon on the basis of previous springs being relatively frost free, but we’ll see what the weather brings. Ornamental trees often need a little surgery and young trees need shaping, and mature deciduous shrubs often need thinning out [about a 3rd each year for many sorts]. It’s a good time to cut back overgrown deciduous hedges, and, of course, prune the wisteria. Evergreens are best left until March for pruning although hardy evergreen hedges can be dealt with now. Use secateurs on large leafed plants such as laurels to avoid leaf damage.

Bulbs are shooting up, and if it goes cold they will slow up but they’re tough and unlikely to be damaged. Snowdrops should be split and replanted after flowering – ‘in-the-green’ as are Winter Aconites.
Seed potatoes and onion sets are now in the garden centre – so for the best selection and the sought after varieties – get there early! The grow-your-own incentives have never been stronger and with a bit of decent weather there is no reason why any of us should be denied a decent harvest.

If you are growing vegetables from seed, it pays to cover an area of ground with black plastic to allow the ground to dry out a little and warm up – makes early seed sowing more productive.

Have some horticultural fleece on hand to cover up any early tender growth or fruit blossom if the frosts should return at an awkward time.

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Early sowing February 2011

January 20th, 2011

A bright sunny day, full of hope and a new growing season almost with us. Apart from the relief of having made it through another winter, there is the real optimism that comes with the knowledge that a fresh spring means a fresh start when you can try to avoid all the mistakes made last year and get it going properly! Garden writers always advise careful planning during December and January, and if the weather always, start to prepare the garden for spring. In reality a quick flick through the seed catalogue might just precede a visit to the garden centre and then you come face to face with the wall-of- colour seed racks! How to decide? My guidelines are very simple; know what space you have to work with. There is no point in trying to grow crops that need vast amounts of space if you don’t have it. Secondly grow the things you like to eat. Thirdly make sure that you can actually grow to maturity the crops you have selected; that means getting them sown early enough and in the right conditions.

Thinking back to my training (I studied agriculture) and I can clearly remember that the key to productivity was always claimed to be timeliness – getting crops sown at the right time, not too early when seed rots in the ground and not too late so that it cannot reach its potential. Plants are like that; they need time, space and respect and it doesn’t matter if you grow to eat or grow to admire, it always works the same way.

So, what to grow this year? I am lucky enough to have plenty of space and a tunnel to grow in. It worked well last year with tomatoes and salad crops. The plan is to get early broad bean and pea crops growing along with leaf veg such as spinach and various salads. The tomatoes will go out there as soon as they are large enough and the frost is gone. With rising food prices most of our energy will have to go into the veg garden although some early season work on shrub and perennial borders will mean that they can more or less take care of themselves until June. I do make compost, leafmold and chip wood plants so that gives me enough material to spread as a mulch, which is so important in suppressing annual weeds, retaining moisture and feeding the soil. No need to dig it in, the earthworms will do that for me. If you have the opportunity, get hold of Charles Dowding’s excellent book ‘Organic Gardening’ sub-titled ‘The Natural No-dig Way’.

You don’t have to garden organically but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t but more importantly the principles of improving soil quality through the addition of organic matter is fully explained without breaking your back!

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VAT ups and downs!

January 13th, 2011

Shoppers and retailers are concerned about the changes in VAT this week. Garden centres are no different from other retailers, and are now trying to find a sensible path through the mine field of price changes following the VAT increase to 20%.

Richard Cumming, managing director of Orchard Park garden centre, on the outskirts of Gillingham, said “We will be absorbing most of the increase in Vat as I really do not want to saddle my customers with an extra burden at this time of the year. I expect that there will be a few price increases later in the year but I am far more concerned about the effect of rising fuel costs. Already a number of suppliers have said that they will be charging extra or making surcharges to cover their increased costs. Again we will do our utmost to keep any increases to the minimum. It could be a real boost for local industries if they can produce plants or garden products within easy distance of the garden centre.”

The Lagan Farm Shop based at the garden centre has always had a policy of sourcing local wherever possible to keep the food miles at a minimum. The vast majority of the meat on offer has been bred and finished within a reasonable well aimed stones throw of the shop!

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Beef Stew with Herb Dumplings

December 20th, 2010

A fabulous winter warming dish to keep you warm during these cold and snowy days.

Ingredients

750g/1½lb Lagan farm shin of beef or stewing steak
500g/1lb small onions, sliced
40g/1½oz dripping
1 tbsp flour
900ml/1½ pint hot water
salt and freshly ground pepper
500g/1lb carrots, halved lengthways
1 bay leaf

For the dumplings

175g/6oz self-raising flour
75g/3oz shredded suet
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
Mixed herbs for flavour
good pinch salt and pepper
water, to mix

Preparation method

  1. Remove any gristle and surplus fat from the meat and trim into neat 4cm/1½in cubes.
  2. Fry the meat and onions in the dripping until lightly browned all over. Sprinkle in the flour and mix well. Gradually stir in the water and continue stirring until it boils. Season to taste.
  3. Cover and simmer very gently for 1 hour. Then add the carrots and bay leaf and simmer for a further hour, when it will be time to add the dumplings.
  4. To make the dumplings, sieve the flour into a bowl and add the suet, parsley, salt and pepper. Next add enough water to make a soft but not sticky dough, about 3 tbsp. Lightly flour your hands and roll the dough into eight small balls. Add to the stew and cook for a further 15-20 minutes.

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Plant of the Month for November

November 8th, 2010

Plants to bring a bit of cheer in the dark days; Skimmia, Pyracantha, Cotoneaster, Sarcococcca, Mahonia are all worth planting. Skimmias do very well in tubs; evergreen shrubs originating from the Himalayas and right across south-east Asia, China and Japan. The oval shaped leaves are dark green and the fragrant clusters of flowers range from white to creamy yellow. They are one of the early flowering shrubs, coming into bloom as early as February but carrying colourful buds or fruit through the winter . Skimmias come in male and female varieties, with the exception of two hermaphrodite sub-species reevesiana and reevesiana Robert Fortune. To make a female bear fruit, it must be pollinated by the male.

The most popular species of skimmia is Skimmia japonica Rubella which is a male, bearing deep red flowerbuds throughout the winter opening out into creamy-white fragrant flowers in spring. Skimmia reevesiana Rogersii is a popular female variety along with Skimmia x confusa ‘Kew Green’.

In general they like an acid soil, rich in humus. Ericaceous compost is a good substitute if your soil is neutral or alkaline especially if treated with sequestered iron solution or an acid Azalea, Rhododendron or Camellia feed as well. Skimmias can often look tired with leaves paling to light green or yellow, and this is a sign that it is in need of feeding. Apart from that they are hardy and easy to grow, preferring dappled shade to full sun.

Pyracanthas are well suited to clay soils and will tolerate a range of conditions from sun to shade. These are good wildlife plants; their dense twiggy nature is great for the birds feeding from the berries, and the small white flowers in spring are a great source of nectar for early insects. There are a number of different varieties to choose from to produce plants of varying heights from 60cm to 3m or more, and with yellow orange or red berries. Recent years have seen the introduction of disease resistant varieties [in some areas Pyracanthas can be susceptible to scab and fireblight] and it may be worth searching these out; look for the Saphyr varieties. Otherwise there are a lot of excellent free berrying sorts to give a fantastic winter show and keep the birds in your garden.

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Celebrity Chef at Orchard Park for Local Food!

October 20th, 2010
Paul Rankin at Orchard Park

Paul Rankin at Orchard Park

Michelin starred chef Paul Rankin visited Orchard Park last week in the search for good local meat which he found at the Lagan Farm Shop. It was part of ITV’s Saturday morning programme ‘10 Mile Menu’. Celebrity chefs team up with non-chef celebrities to create a menu with all the ingredients coming from within a 10 mile radius. Paul Rankin was working with Diarmuid Garvin, the garden designer, and they both visited to find what they needed. The meat in the farm shop comes from the farm just yards away, and is prepared by David Mortimer, the Lagan Farm butcher. Paul Ranking is pictured hear with Orchard Park cook Dave Warr talking menus!  Meanwhile, Diarmuid hopefully found a few gems in the plant area.

Orchard Park is on the Shaftesbury Road just outside Gillingham and was set up to provide a new home for the Lagan Farm Shop which had operated on the site for several years, and for Milton Garden Plants, the nursery and country plant centre from Milton on Stour.

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