Hedvig’s permaculture diploma

The last few months have been filled with lots of doing, and just not much writing.  My garden project is developing so quickly, which is super exciting and the last few weeks have been spent going round different DIY shops to sources a few things, and just getting on with painting the trellis, the shelving unit, transplanting the bolting mizuna, rocket, chard in the tree pit.  We have also got a new flat mate in, which is great.  She is much more into growing and lots of other good things.  We ordered a dumpy bag of compost, and have been happily distributing in the garden, the neighbours garden, the tree pit, mulching the pots, her allotment.  The potatoes are bursting out of their raised beds, we’ve been harvesting lots and lots of salad leaves, the broad beans and looking pretty fine, the calendula is flowering and doing its companion thing attracting lots of beneficial insects.  I have been harvesting chamomile and elderflower and drying that for teas. I’ve been busy in the kitchen as well with my local food project: I made elderflower cordial, been sowing more seeds to replace the stuff that is bolting.  Started getting a veg box from Ashurst (as I’m not working there as often), getting ready to do an infinity order.  The infinity order also involves setting up a food co-op, of sorts, and encouraging the neighbours to get involved. I have also been cracking on with my tools project.  I have made two bags so far, and loving figuring out how to use my machine.  It just feels so positive to be able to use it, and so much quicker.  I have been looking at my pile of ‘to mend/alter’ with greater conviction.   Next project is to make a purse, which involves sewing in a zip and making darts, so that will get new skills and tricks in the bag. The teaching project continues.  I co-taught the Intro to Permaculture for Transition Town Brixton, and I have been running a series of workshops in Regent’s Park for Capital Growth alongside my weekly growing club at Somerford Grove.  There have been other workshops as well, but less permaculture heavy.  Feels like I’m building up my own sets of resources, which is great, and the lesson plans are getting amended all the time.  Like it. I am in the process of creating a new website that will pull together my diploma and present it in a more project-oriented way.  Doing all that stuff has taken away a bit of time, and to be honest, inclination for writing up.  It has been great to get on with projects.  It feels like a summer/winter thing… in the winter is a good time to be writing up and reflecting, and at this time of year I want to be making the most of the longer days and warmer temperatures. But I recognise this means less writing up.  Not a good thing. The herbal project still continues with new version of my deodorant all the time, and I tried the chamomile dye again.  I still use the facial oil every day, and my lip balm.   My flat mate manages an essential oil company so scheming about working together on a little project…. more of that later…May/June has been a frustrating one for ALGs.  After the long dearth of ALGs and then forming two and being part of another, this month was the month when none of the meetings happened.  So it goes.   But one thing for sure, it is going.  Lots going on, and lots more going to be happening.  Good stuff, me thinks.

So from our three lemons I made this cake.  A simple sponge cake with lemon juice and rind in the cake.  The tree is doing really well and never seen it with more flowers.  The smell is delicate but as distinctive as those of Sicily and Eritrea.

My local community association sent round its latest newsletter with an little article right at the end about wanting to get some herbs growing in the planters that are scattered about the area.  So I contacted Marek, the chair of the association, and had a good chat about what was already going on around me: the guerrilla gardening, the tre-foil guild and the resident badger.  Great to find out more, and combined with my new found campaign (Pimp your pavement), and think fun and mischief will ensue.

It is that time of year again, the food-themed Green Sundays at the Arcola.  Sara and I went along last year.  It was there first Green Sunday, and I had met Jessie at a talk with Vandana Shiva.  We did a session getting people to grow heritage beans and talking a bit about Ready, Steady, Grow.  It was just in the two week period of the launch, so great timing for us.

This year I am working on it with Alex and Helen, and we had a meeting yesterday to discuss it and it was so inspiring and exciting.  It was just a cider-infused brainstorm about re-imagining the city with a lot more food all over it.  11th April, put it in the diaries.

One of the permaculture principles is ‘catch and store energy’.  And I feel that July did really evoke that.  Up until July, I had been observing different Introduction to Permaculture that were being run in London and Brighton, and in July, I was asked if I would like to do a bit of teaching.  This course was a different from the normal Naturewise courses, and it took place at the Friends of Tottenham Marshes site, along the canal.  It was an amazing weekend, and as always with these courses, met some amazing people.  But this time stayed in touch with some of them (you’ve gotta love Facebook).

One of the sessions that happens on an intro course is a practical session.  In our planning session there were lots of ideas about what to do: clear a seating area, check out the compost, clear the paths.  I threw in my idea: to go forage for things that were already growing.  We had about 40 mins, or something like that.  Basically not very long.

On the day we asked the participants which practical activity they wanted to do.  I had one volunteer.  John and I meandered off into the marshes, with a few containers and look what we came back with:

And so from this bounty, I decided that I would capture and store this energy, and ended up making a blackberry and elderberry jus.  Okay, so the jelly that I had intended to make didn’t really work, but the taste of this stuff is amazing.  It is so wild.  That is the only way that I can really describe it.  And it is great with yoghurt, on bread (if you’re quick) and ice-cream.

It’s a good reminder in the joys of foraging compared to cultivating.  Made me think I want to be doing more of that in the months and years to come.

from these wintery days that we are experiencing in the UK this year.  So it is great to remember, that not that many months ago I was picking  home grown strawberries from the garden.  This thought brings that added delight that despite being in a different house and town, this year I may have strawberries growing in the garden again.

And really, what could be more evocative of the June than strawberry jam?  And here it is:

And what a delightful end.  May is the month of elderflowers.  This was an amazing season for elderflowers.  Sara’s tree was laden, the avenues of Southwark round Naveen’s were full, Hackney marshes brimmed with them.  I had never had them in tea before Sarah moved into the house, but now it was a regular feature.  Perfect when you want the floral that jasmine offers.

So one Saturday, on the way back from Broadway market, I picked some flowers and dried them. The house smelled sweetly while they were drying, and when crisp I potted them up.  And there they sat, occasionally being used, but often being sniffed.

Yup, it still was a bit desperate in April.  But with a little extra TLC, the pot of oregano Irene and I had sown before I moved in the house, was flourishing.  Sarah was going through a chili moment, and there were a few extra lurking at the bottom of the fridge at the end of the month.  So April’s became:

The hungry gap is the period between the last of the stored stuff and the new fresh produce.  March can already belong to that period.  When you really do wonder what else to do with cabbage, or parsnip or suede.  I decided to refrain from preserving any of them, and took inspiration from further afield.

Years ago, my brother worked in India, and he came back with the prefect present for my dad: a pot of honey rammed full with nuts and raisins.  It was such a treat to come in from working in the gardening during the winter and to pick out a honey-covered cashew.  So I decided that, although not local, honey, raisins and nuts were a theme of the house, as we consumed copious cauldrons full of porridge.  In particular, after spending a good amount of time preparing almonds in Sicily.  So March, was:

February saw Get Growing really start to grow, literally.  We embarked on the mission to restore part of an old glasshouse so that we could create a seedling nursery.  It needed a fair bit of work, clearing, cleaning and moving extra stuff around the glasshouse.  Not an easy task.  One of the casualties was a bed of Cape Gooseberries.  There is a wilting pile of gooseberries, that I couldn’t bring myself to throw away (following of the permaculture principles of no waste) and so decided to make something out of it.

I researched recipes on the net, asked my mum if she had any from her collection of South African books.  Nothing.  No recipes for unripe cape gooseberries.  What to do?  Well, another useful permaculture principles is that the yield is only limited by the imagination of the designer, so I set about… making it up.  This time round at Sara’s house.  So one cold February afternoon, looking out over London Fields we starting making Cape Gooseberry Chutney.

Now, I have to admit, I’m not a great fan of chutney.  I associate it with the jars of unidentifiable brown stuff I would find lurking in the back of my great aunts cupboards.  But this stuff was so different, the unripe gooseberries are a vibrant!

And if I ate meat, I would be delighted to find this on the kitchen table on Boxing day for those turkey and ham sandwiches.  I’ve enjoyed with with curries, sandwiches and it has been such a pleasure to it, and a great encouragement to experiment and make and eat chutney.