Red currant jelly

When we bought the house in spring 2011 there was four older red currant bushes which were just bursting with berries, unfortunately two of them were starting to show signs of aging and most of the branches have died over the years and while they are still alive it takes some years for new shoots to grow and begin to bear fruits. Despite that we still have more than enough berries to make jam (or jelly as it is actually called), cordial and to freeze for use over the winter. 

Last year (2018) was a particularly hot summer in Norway, while this summer (2019) has been so far rather wet and grey in spite of the heat wave that has ravaged the rest of Europe ? This has had a bad effect on some parts of my garden, but my berries seem to have enjoyed the extra water and were plump and ready around the beginning of the 3^rd week of July.

Deciding when to pick berries is an art as each year will vary a little, but for jam you want to pick them before they are too ripe. A few more hot days and they will be overripe and the jam or jelly will not set, albeit sweet mushy berries are perfect for making juice and syrup.

Here is the link to my tried and proven red currant jam: 

Jam recipe: http://roland-designs.blogspot.com/2012/07/red-currant-jam.html

Jam making tips:  https://roland-designs.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-red-currant-season-jam-making-tips.html 

Cordial recipe:  http://roland-designs.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-time-of-red-currants.html

Moumousse came to keep me company

Loads of berries, and organic too ! You should have seen how many snails and spiders I had to remove....

Picking berries for over two hours will leave your hands a little pink....

No fancy equipment needed.

The leftover berry mush (seeds and skins) went to the compost.

Vegetable boxes

My original garden boxes dated from when we first moved to our present house in 2011, my mother and I made them with planks from a collapsed shed on the property. They had held out pretty well until now, but were getting rotten and beside I wanted bigger boxes with enough space to pass the lawnmower in between. So this Easter, again with my mothers and even Emilie’s help we made new boxes, this time out of thicker, impregnated planks- these should hold out for many years.

For those who are curious here are the dimensions:

-         120 cm x 200 cm

-          2 cm thick wood

-         58 cm between boxes  

Maybe I should have removed the top layer of grass before putting the boxes down as it turned out to be quite a bit of work, but now it’s done and hopefully not too many weeds/grass will come up around the corners.

April 2019 - The old boxes ready to be taken down

My mom hammering away, I was a bit unlucky and hit the pointer on my left hand with the hammer. I had a bruised and painful finger for the rest of the Easter holiday.

Looking much better, and spacious.

Digging up the grass turned out be a bit of work, would have been easier without the box in the way.

Big grass clumps, these were removed along with sticks, roots, and even plastic bag pieces I found inside the ground.

Mr Kitty inspecting my work. The boxes are ready for sowing .....

But, patience is required in Norway. Here is the way the garden looked on the morning of May the 4th. Snow, and minus degrees in the night.

Plant a garden – But don’t become an environmental hypocrite!

"In the heart of a bulb is the promise of spring....."

The environmental cause is a true concern; nature is drowning in plastic, car exhaust fumes pollute our atmosphere and mountains of fast-fashion clothing rot away in landfills while we continue to drive cars running on fossil fuel and feel little, or no shame at picking up a bargain at the shop or online for items made thousand’s of miles away, while knowingly overlooking locally made products due to their higher price tags.

In Sweden a teenage activist named Greta Ernman Thunberg has been making news with her fight against global warming. Following in her example hundreds of scandinavian children and students have also gone on school strikes in March 2019 to campaign against climate change.

Had I been 16 I would have been the loudest and most eager participant, pushing my way to the front of the line, and shouting until my voice is hoarse “Stop using plastic !”. I am in the over 40 category now, and while I one hundred percent agree that the planet is sick and needs help, I might be seeing the situation from a slightly different vantage point. 

Yes ! The planet is not doing too good, and while it is easy to blame the older generation for the plastic mess, the truth of the matter is that plastic and cars alone are not the main cause of global warming and climate change – Greed and it’s little sister – vanity,  are the true origin of the problem!

Greed is the reason why the cucumbers at the grocery store are individually sold in plastic wrap ! Someone at one time figured out there was more profit to be made selling beautiful, matching vegetables wrapped in plastic than trying to convince customers to buy the short, deformed or damaged ones. 

Greed is also the motivating factor behind much of fashion industry, and any manufacturers that
produces and sells non-biodegradable / recyclable items, as well as those of inferior quality. Someone, somewhere is making a profit on the culpability of customers. 

Vanity is the reason we keep buying new items that are easily expendable. Think about it for a while, how many things do we have around the house that we do not actually use, need, or even like? Or, how often do we replace a perfectly good item for a shinier, newer version ?

We are all guilty, and while we feel good about going shopping with our recyclable nets, or tote bags the important question should be not in what we carry our purchases in, but what did we buy ?

Don’t get me wrong I do support the engagement for the global health of our planet, but demonstrations are not enough, what we need is a change of attitude, a change in our appetites and shopping habits. 

I urge all those who feel strongly about the environment to make a pledge, a personal vow to live simpler, more purposeful lives. To reject greed and vanity in not just their daily lives, but also in their career choices. 

Grow a vegetable garden, plant flowers bees are attracted to, be conscious and aware of your responsibility as custodians of our delicate eco system, recycle, and buy local products. 

But most of all remember actions speaks louder than words, and cliché as it sounds this saying is as true as ever  "To change the world you must first change yourself!" 

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Bare root roses

The weather is milder, the snow melting, crocuses and hyacinths are starting to come out of their winter rest…. Spring is well on it’s way ! 

Last week I received an order of bare root roses and seeds. I never placed an online order for plants so early in the year, but there was a good deal on roses and I couldn’t resist getting some beautiful historical roses – Ghislaine de Feligonde.

Bare root plants were also a new thing for me, and I have to admit I don’t have any experience with them so let’s see how it goes. The package arrived in the middle of a busy work week and even though I picked it up pretty quickly from the post office I did not have the chance to put the roses in water, so I left them in their original packing and plaved the  closed cardboard box in the coolest part of the house – the basement.

Today I unpacked them and placed the roots in a bucket of water where they will stay soaking for a good 24 hours  I also found in my storage some deep flower pots, a bag of soil and got everything ready for planting the roses temporarily indoor until the risk of frost is over; since this will take a month or more I will keep them in the cool, darker basement room in an attempt to prevent the plants from growing too fast.  The plan is to eventually bring the ‘wintering’ plants into the warmer rooms slowly but surely, and a little closer to the time I will take them outside. 

I read that there is no hurry to start plants indoor if you don’t have a green house or proper set up, as they end up sending long shoots to soak up the sun light, and these are often weak stems which break or get damaged easily. Better to be a bit patient and calculate your time according to your garden zone.

Pansies are pretty hardly little flowers, but if started too late will only bloom the second year. So I put some seeds to sprout and hopefully they will bloom this summer, but if not, then at least I can look forward to seeing them bloom in 2020.

These should be amazing !

Bare root roses in their wrapping

A little soil, still moist around the roots

A little soak in my mop bucket should give the roots the chance to rehydrate themselves before going into temporary flower pots.

For the curious ones, I ordered the roses from hageglede.no

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Disclaimer:  I am not affiliated or sponsored by Hageglede, but they do have a lovely assortment of plants/seeds and worth a visit.