January 2020 Issue #173

Hello,

What fun that we both love gardening. Thanks for joining me.

1) Eco system
2) Eco gardening tips
3) Raw Apple Crumble

I eat the plants, and I'm not a pest… and I do leave some for others!

Eco gardening tips

• Seed saving
  Saving your own seeds is a cost saving and rewarding exercise. Remember hybrid vegetables won't always give you true seeds; heirloom veggies will. Many gardeners and farmers save their seeds year after year, culling out weak plants, such as ones that bolt under stress easily, don't taste good, pest prone, fragile in certain weather and so on. Over time they have plants and seeds that are perfectly adapted to their particular environment and liking.

  Do have a read here about heirloom growing




• Find the fun side of gardening
  On a recent forum, readers were telling of bindweed and other weed problems. To quote:
  "… get a grip - and you can pull out yards of the stuff, very satisfying!" And this:
  "… Love it when the soil is damp and the roots all come out. Simple pleasure!"
  "… I did 4 hours yesterday and actually quite enjoyed it! Maybe that is the answer—embrace the weeding!!?"
  "… My granddad used to say Do not to let a weed see two Sundays."

  Click here for a comprehensive and very readable guide to weeds




• Help butterflies
  Who doesn't love butterflies – especially in your own garden? We all do, so if you have a very neat and tidy garden and there's not much surrounding bush or parks, try and hold off trimming back perennials and shrubs until springtime. The reason being is that butterflies and moths need winter refuge. Also a pile of logs or branches in a corner of your garden is good for hibernating butterflies to overwinter within.

One of the most popular garden gifts.

Never mind the dark... grab your cap, switch on its light, find some veggies for dinner without stumbling around treading on things that shouldn't be trod on, and without juggling torch, scissors, bowl, etc. Essential for slug patrol!

Click HERE

Raw Apple Crumble

A delicious and easy dessert to serve on any occasion.

Ingredients

Flling

• 3-4 apples, any variety, unpeeled and sliced
• ½ cup dried dates, preferably medjool
• 1 cup raisins
• ½ tsp orange zest
• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Pinch of ground allspice
• Pinch of sea salt
• Approximately ½ cup water.

Crumble topping

• ¼ cup dates
• 1¼ cups walnuts
• 2 Tbln shredded coconut
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground cardamom.

Method

1. Put all filling ingredients, except apples and raisins into blender or food processor and process until the mixture is creamy.
2. Put apples and raisins into flat bowl or medium casserole dish and tip creamy mixture in, mixing all together.
3. Place the crumble topping ingredients into food processor and pulse until mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then spread over apple mixture in bowl.

Notes: There are endless variations you can try, such as, use currants instead of some or all of the raisins; replace walnuts with pistachios, hazelnuts or some sunflower seeds. Dried apricots or figs can replace some or all of the dates.

Preparation time: 35 minutes
Serves: 5-8

Live, love and garden
Megan