A day out at the Edible Garden Show

Last weekend my friend Laura and I toddled off to a special show at Stoneleigh in Warwickshire.We moaned about the driving rain on the over there, but thank goodness it was only rain. Today there's snow outside, ice and a biting, gusty wind to freeze the nadgers off a badger....

We went to this

Neither of us had been before ....but we were well prepared, with bags, a big four by four (to take all our purchases home), comfortable shoes, boots and rainwear.

On our way in we pitied the poor stallholders outside, huddled up trying to escape the rain, but once inside, we tried to be methodical...working our way around the huge main hall row by row so we didn't leave any of the 160 plus stalls unvisited.

First things first.. a  few little practical necessities, such as plant supports and something for a broken hose for Laura , bamboo socks and angora socks  for both of us...

A wander into the smallholder marquee, where I fell in love. With these....

I've never thought about owning a goat, although my dog Boo was  friendly with a rather jolly old goat who used to live in our village....but after seeing these...oh they were gorgeous. Perhaps I could keep a couple? Giving myself a mental slap for even thinking about it, we moved swiftly on, where we admired the hens and pigs.

Moving through back to the main hall, we found , by sense of smell, the specialist food tent..burgers of every description....and water buffalo ice cream...

By now, feeling peckish, we wandered along the food stalls at the far end of the hall. Each stall attracting those wanting to try and buy....who were hoovering up the free samples of jams, cheeses, bacons, relishes,dressings, breads, oils and vinegars.

We spent a while at the Wolmersley Fruit and Herb Vinegars stand, where I was bowled over by their intense flavours and the banter from Rupert Parsons. Their raspberry vinegar is simply divine..I shall be using that alot.....and the apple and apache chilli jam tingled my tastebuds.

I caught sight of other bottles too...wine bottles..

Those who know me understand that I'm utterly incapable of walking past wine anywhere....and luckily Laura is of the same persuasion....we tried  a few wines including a beautiful prosecco from Bat and Bottle, a specialist wine importer  from Oakham. Now Ben and Emma are the sort of people I'd like to go on tour with . A wine tour around vineyards...quaffing and buying.They're very knowledgeable, full of fun...and they drink buckets of the stuff. Just like Laura and I....

There was just time to stuff a peppermint in my mouth before heading off to interview the lovely Alys Fowler...who was running herself ragged at the show, giving talks about edible flowers and herbs for salads and fruitful crops to big crowds at the experts theatre, and talking to lots of people. More about Alys in another blogpost...

Also strutting his stuff , and equally passionate, about growing your own more exotic edibles,  was James Wong . He was inspiring lots of people to buy his book " Homegrown Revolution"  and seeds from Suttons. When I say people, many of them were women of a certain age!

I though had my eyes on a number of other products that I liked the look of....I bought a couple of grow bag frames for growing some tomatoes in the courtyard here at home...they were light and portable...and then I saw these..

 I've had my eye on one of these after reading about them....but it was good to see them in the flesh as it were. I'd love one of these ...planted with cut and come again salads, plus some dwarf beans, strawberries and carrots that I can pick without breaking my back. On the wish list for when I save some more money though.

But that's what I enjoyed about this show....lots of really practical products to help us all who want to grow our own food, plus expert advice and demonstrationsfrom both enthusiasts, celebrity chefs, celebrity gardeners, plus knowledgeable helpful people from associations and societies.too
We 're a growing band of enthusiasts too - the number of us growing our own fruit and veg have gone up from 34 per cent in 2008, to 43 per cent today. And despite the rain last weekend, there were lots of us at the Edible Garden Show at Stoneleigh.

Next year the show moves to Alexandra Palace...where the organisers hope to increase both exhibitor and visitor numbers. I wish them well, but.....and it's a fairly big but. What's wrong with Stoneleigh? It's accessible, has a central location, there's space for the show to expand...and I heard both exhibitors and visitors  questioning the move. Of course, I'm biased, Stoneleigh is close to home.....but will the Edible Garden Show attract us down to  Ally Pally next year ? Hey ho...watch this space.....

 Today's track is from the Lumineers  ....Ho Hey....a real sing along song ..and I do like their energy! Could do with some of that during the growing season!

 

seedy and snowy days

The holiday at home continues....the snow that was promised over the weekend arrived yesterday...

and there was more last night and this morning.

The weather is in a capricious mood today. One minute snow is falling with a sideways swipe, there's a biting wind. Five minutes later the sun is out...making everywhere look fresh and clean....

and then rewind....the snow is back.

All the gardening both at home and on the allotment I'd planned has had to take a back seat.  With so much to be done, it's frustrating.

I can still sow seeds though. Broad beans and Alderman  peas were already sown a few weeks back and are tucked up in the cold frame and plastic greenhouse outside.

But there's lots more to sow....these I got from Seedy Sunday at the beginning of the month.


An annual event, it's held in a nearby village....we all take a few packets of seed....and you get vouchers for each packet to swap with what else is there. It's very busy, with lots of jostling to get close to the seeds on offer..there's lots of people talking plants, the composting gurus from leicestershire County Council are there along with my favourite stallholders, volunteers from the Heritage Seed Library.

They're so knowledgeable, so enthusiastic ..I could talk to them for ages...but in the end come away with two lots of peas.

Peas are in the top three of my favourite crops to grow. Eyewateringly expensive to buy in the shops when fresh, I just love their sweetness, and crunchiness when eaten raw.

Clarke's Beltony Blue - which is a wrinkled heirloom variety of pea and was donated by Mrs Anderson. It was grown on her great grandfather’s farm in Co. Tyrone since at least 1850 (but possibly as far back as 1815). Apparently it's tall, with beautiful pale pink and rich maroon flowers followed by purple pods .Can't wait to see these grow.

As for the purple flowering russian peas ....they were brought back from Russia by a lady called Valerie Fordham -they're tall with pink and purple flowers.

I'm also growing again this year peas I've been saving each year for a while...they're yellow mange tout peas, ...yes, yellow mange tout! They're described as being incredibly rare...I got them from the Real Seed Company about four years ago...and with the exception of last year, they've done me proud.


There's some interesting varieties of beans I'm going to sow this year too.
I've bought some of Sarah Raven's organic Speedy Dwarf French beans ..which I've not grown before , but only take sixty days to mature.

From Seedy Sunday , I managed to get some of Mr fearn's Purple Flowering climbing beans..
I got these just for the name really, but have since found out that “They grow very well in a cold greenhouse – avoid hot sun or outside growing". That's from the donor Bernard Fearne who's been growing them since the war. ...but unfortunately I haven't got a cold greenhouse . I'll give them a whirl though....

But perhaps I'll do better with the "Sarah's Old fashioned black". I couldn't resist trying these too as although they come from Vancouver Island, BC, Canada, it's said that these beans seem to thrive in the British climate.

My seed stash this year seems to be larger than usual....so lots more sowing to do..but I'm also planning to visit the Edible Garden Show at Stoneleigh this weekend,  the only national event dedicated to growing your own fruit, vegetables and home produce.  Will I see you there?
http://www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk/


So the stash will no doubt get bigger....as Oscar Wilde wrote "I can avoid everything except temptation." And with so many exhibitors there, I know I won't come home empty handed.

Today's track is from New Zealanders The Black Seeds.....I kept humming this song as I wrote about Sarah's Old fashioned Black seeds...

I love this band, especially after seeing them last year here... http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/summer-sundae-days.html

This song is called fire...recorded live in Denver...