Love your planet earth

June

  • It’s time to get planting in earnest ! You can continue to sow lettuce, pak choi, cabbage, peas and beans, kale, leeks, peppers, radishes, spinach, broccoli, spring onions, squash, sweetcorn, tomatoes, turnips, asparagus, beetroot, broad beans, brussel sprouts, carrots, celery , chard, courgettes, cucumbers and fennel.
  • You can also sow vegetables for a late Autumn harvest, such as pumpkin, broccoli, beetroot, carrots & parsnips
  • Cover brassicas with garden netting to protect against caterpillars and cabbage moth
  • Water fruit and vegetables often in dry weather
  • Cover developing and ripening fruits with netting or fleece to protect them from birds
  • Weed regularly, especially for younger crops
  • Potatoes should be earthed up once it has 10cm of foliage growth above soil level
  • Keep snails and slugs under control, by early morning or evening hunts.

I have added marigolds to try and help deter the slugs!

Foraging in June


Wild strawberry, sorrel, hawthorn, elderflower, sea lettuce, nettle, dillisk, carrigeen, sea beet, rock samphire, St George’s mushroom are available at this time of year. I love elderflower cordial so I have included the recipe below. I am also experimenting with steeping elderflower in oil to make soap and skincare products with later.

elderflowers

Elderflower Cordial

Ingredients

2 kg castor sugar
2 unwaxed lemons
20 fresh elderflower heads
85g citric acid (some grocery shops have this)

Steps

  • Put 1.5 litres of water into a large saucepan and add sugar, heating slowy until all sugar has dissolved.
  • When sugar has dissolved bring to the boil and then turn off the heat.
  • Zest the lemon skin then cut lemon into rounds and add to the water.Add the citric acid now also and stir.
  • Give the flowers a gentle clean in a sink of cold water, then transfer to the saucepan.
  • Cover and leave for 24 hours.
  • Use a large seive or colander and line with a clean tea towel. Sit it over a large pan and then pour in the syrup mix.Let it strain through slowly.
  • Discard the flowers and lemon etc left in the towel
  • Use a funnel to pour the strained elderflower cordial into sterilised bottles.
elderflower cordial