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Ian

Ian's Blog (13)

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Fun in September

Ian, ably assisted by Kate, is hosting a weekend of gardening fun in September. The weekend is in support of Kitchen Gardeners International's commitment to encouraging vegetable gardening across all the nations of the world. The fun will start in France on Friday evening and go through to Sunday evening with visits to local gardens and markets etc. There will be ample opportunity to sample some of Perigord's exquisite cuisine and, after all, Perigord is one of France's gastronomic delights.… Continue

Added by Ian on May 12, 2009 at 11:58am — No Comments

Ian is on the sick

Ian was recently admitted to hospital and may not get back to the blog until early January. Continue

Added by Ian on December 8, 2008 at 2:50pm — 10 Comments

My Friend Bernard

I visited my friend Bernard the other day and was forced to try a couple of his wines.

The first was his 2007 AOC Bergerac Rosé. Of course, this wine was still very young at only a few months old but rosé is best drunk young. This one was a very
… Continue

Added by Ian on May 31, 2008 at 6:30pm — 3 Comments

FOOD GROWING BLOGGERS GET TOGETHERS

Some weeks ago the idea of a kind of international food growing bloggers get together was mooted. It was a kinda fun thing that grew out of various conversations by some blog writers, Patrick in Amsterdam, Kate in Adelaide and myself Well things have been quietly going on in the backstreets of the towns and countries around the world and I’m pleased to report that there are now Food Growing Bloggers Get Togethers planned for the next few years. They kick off this year with events on August 24.… Continue

Added by Ian on May 16, 2008 at 4:40pm — 1 Comment

Reflections on times past

I used to sit in a pub with a few friends and the conversation would eventually get around to gardening. At the time I was probably the only one out of the five or six of us who regularly met who didn’t grow food. You know the reasons, I was too busy, I worked long hours, I had a large garden which already took a lot of maintenance. So there we were, usually in a real ale pub, five fairly conscientious veggie growers and me. Every so often someone would claim they had grown the biggest potato,… Continue

Added by Ian on May 8, 2008 at 3:39pm — 5 Comments

Reflections on my garden

This is my first year growing vegetables and I’m discovering I’m not very good at it. I’m especially, not very good at raising seedlings. I sow tiny little seeds that I can hardly see and usually, for me, not a lot happens! The surface of whatever container I have used seems to get a bit disturbed but that’s all. After several months of this I have only just realised that the problem is mice eating the seeds and the new growth! I’m not very good with trees either. I planted some cypress to form… Continue

Added by Ian on April 16, 2008 at 2:05pm — 6 Comments

Who'd be a tomato?

I can tell spring has arrived! My workshop, normally the bastion of wood and metal bashing operations has suddenly taken on a fine green shimmer as boxes of seedlings sit in the window gaining the sunlight but avoiding the late frosts that still catch me out every year. This year, tomatoes and some geraniums fell victim to a late unexpected and unannounced frost. My normally reliable weather forecast showed an overnight temperature of 4C(about 40F) but in the morning the thermometer showed -2C (… Continue

Added by Ian on April 11, 2008 at 1:16am — No Comments

Oceans, play grounds or dump grounds?

Now that the weather has warmed up here in south west France I have gone back to taking a cup of coffee onto the terrace after breakfast and sitting for a few moments and enjoying the garden. This morning was no exception and donning my sunglasses, I settled into my favourite chair. I had only been there a minute or two when a pair of red squirrels emerged from the chestnut tree and played on the grass not 5m (15ft) from me. They seemed happy and totally oblivious to my presence and I enjoyed b… Continue

Added by Ian on April 4, 2008 at 9:44am — No Comments

Dangerous thing when you start thinking

I have been quite ill over the past couple of weeks suffering from Vertigo. I don’t know what caused it although it now appears that it may have been a simple ear infection and more importantly I didn’t realise what it was. Many of my friends across the Internet have sympathised with me and my various ailments as I tried to pin down exactly what the problem was. I knew I was being sick, constantly and I knew I was getting dizzy, sometimes falling over as a result and I made all sorts of perfect… Continue

Added by Ian on March 31, 2008 at 3:42pm — 1 Comment

Why do I garden?

It’s been a cold, wet miserable sort of day here today. The temperature has struggled to get above 50F, the sky is completely filled in with grey clouds and it’s been raining on and off all day. As I look out of the window I can see my cherry tree in blossom with much of the blossom now blown to the floor, where, in it’s damp state it has stayed. Several other trees in the orchard are also in blossom now and when they can survive the winds the bees are out and about fluttering from tree to tree… Continue

Added by Ian on March 27, 2008 at 12:00am — 3 Comments

Prunes and Grapes

This part of France is renowned for both it’s wine production and it’s Prune production. The hot long summer serves extremely well for “sun drying” plums as well as many other fruit and vegetables. I particularly noticed the grape vines, all now standing up straight and clean after being visited by the local vintner for a wash and brush up. Vines, some of them 100 years old, have survived the winter as they were left after the grapes were carefully removed last fall. As soon as the weather warm… Continue

Added by Ian on March 25, 2008 at 3:56pm — 1 Comment

OH DEAR!

This weeks blog was just about ready to come up here, but sadly, due to a little finger problem it vanished into the ether. I had spent a couple of hours writing it and am too tired to start again. I'm sorry. Ian Continue

Added by Ian on March 23, 2008 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Markets, Markets, Markets,

France is famous for it's markets and the Perigord region is no exception. Today, as on every Saturday morning, I visited a little village market in a town about 15kms (10 miles) away. It is the preferred market of both my wife and I. It's a beautiful market and is in the village where we moved temporarily when we first came to France, so brings back fond memories and friends. When I say small I guess there was about a hundred stalls in total. A huge array of food, both fresh and preserved, of… Continue

Added by Ian on March 15, 2008 at 7:00pm — 3 Comments

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Latest Activity

Glenn Fletcher commented on Glenn Fletcher's photo 'Holgate Windmill'
Hi Maggie There are some very nice places in the world, it is so easy to forget what you have on your own doorstep.
15 minutes ago
Glenn Fletcher left a comment for Michelle W. Flannery
19 minutes ago
Alex Brandt, alvin rutledge and Anetta Nash joined Kitchen Gardeners
1 hour ago
Penelope replied to Penelope's discussion 'Feeling Stuck'
I don't get the food channel, only free TV, so the cooking shows I watch at home are on PBS -- Lidia's Italy, the Scandinavian chefs who cook outdoors, Mario Batali and Mark Bittman cruising through Spain with Gwyneth Paltrow and a Spanish actress...
1 hour ago
amna mufti commented on amna mufti's photo 'dragon fly.'
Thankx Kathryn!
2 hours ago
Kathryn commented on amna mufti's photo 'dragon fly.'
that.is.the.most.beautiful.dragonfly.i.have.ever.seen.your.little.boy.looks.nice.to.you.have.to.take.a.photo.of.him.and.post.it.so.we.can.see.his.face.
7 hours ago
Stacey Libuit left a comment for Andy Cheng
8 hours ago
Michelle W. Flannery commented on Gillian's blog post 'Recycling to make a beautiful garden feature'
Beautiful and creative Gillian. I really like this idea, and the product of this idea!
12 hours ago
Michelle W. Flannery Our pantry provided a Thanksgiving feast for family and friends. And the garden is still giving up tomatoes and peppers by the baskets-full!
12 hours ago
Michelle W. Flannery updated their profile
12 hours ago
Laurie replied to Penelope's discussion 'Feeling Stuck'
I loved Jamie Oliver's show too. I wish there was a show with his gardener!!! In fact I wrote HGTV (owned by the same people as food network) and told them so. Would like to have the outdoor oven.
13 hours ago
Mary Riekert updated their profile
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Mary Riekert and Mussarat Nadeem are now friends
14 hours ago
Mussarat Nadeem added 2 photos to the album 'my special photo's'
19 hours ago
Cielce replied to Penelope's discussion 'Feeling Stuck'
I've found the same happening in my mind too. Always looking at the place veggies or fruit is from in the grocery store, and if it's stuff that can be grown local but is out of season I generally avoid it, or if it's in season I'll get it from the...
20 hours ago
amna mufti commented on amna mufti's photo 'dragon fly.'
My son always have these kinds of encounters with nature.He takes the caterpillars from the plants where they are exposed to birds and keep them in small boxes,feeds them with leaves,and when they become butterflies frees them in the garden.
20 hours ago
Salma Kamal commented on amna mufti's photo 'dragon fly.'
Close encounter with nature !
20 hours ago
Mike Taylor updated their profile
21 hours ago
amna mufti commented on amna mufti's photo 'potato seed.'
Fungicide more precisely.
21 hours ago
amna mufti commented on amna mufti's photo 'Pesticide spray'
YOU ARE RIGHT .
21 hours ago

From the KGI Main Site

Roast Your Own Chestnuts

More photos from KGI's first global gathering

Gardeners Have the Power!

Braised brussels sprouts with pine nuts

Garden Q & A: extending the salad season

New White House kitchen garden videos

KGI is going to the White House (and we want to take you with us)

Optimal timing for your garlic harvest

Garden Q & A: Harvesting tomatoloons

Roasted potatoes with basil vinaigrette

Notes

HOW TO - ADD A LINK

Several people have experienced difficulty putting working links into comments and blogs etc and I know it is clumsy.... so here is how you do it.....

First type the text you want to appear....  ie  IAN'S PAGE

Then go back and highlight the link text.

Then hit the hyperlink button...a pictogram of a chain link.

Your browser may intervene and request permission to allow temporary scripting or some similar message.   Allow it and go back and highlight the text again

… Continue

Created by Ian Jun 7, 2009 at 7:28pm. Last updated by Ian Jun 8.

Forum Policy

Hi, I'm starting to put together a few guidlines on using the discussion forum on here.

I would be happy to hear any comments you may have.  This is very much a work in progress so plese feel free to ask me to add anything you think is needed.

I don't want to make our community hide bound by rules and regulations but I think that, as the community has grown, some explanation of what is expected is needed.

Administration

You can refer any que

… Continue

Created by Ian May 23, 2009 at 1:55am. Last updated by Ian May 25.

Climate maps

Hi following recent discussion I have put climate maps of the USA, Australia and Europe on here for reference..

 Climate map of the USA

Climate map of Australia

Climate map of Europe

 

… Continue

Created by Ian Sep 12, 2008 at 6:20pm. Last updated by Ian Apr 14.

Recipes, Recipes, Recipes

Hi Everyone,  I've started to collect together recipes from various posts on the site and put them all together here.

If you have a recipe you want to add on here, just post it on the site and leave a comment on my page telling me where it is and I'll go and fetch it back here.

They are organised in Contributor Order but I'm open to better suggestions!

BEVA'S RECIPES

… Continue

Created by Ian Jun 2, 2008 at 9:54am. Last updated by Ian Apr 13.

US STATES ABBREVIATIONS

 

US STATE ABBREVIATIONS

AK - Alaska               AL - Alabama              AR - Arkansas
AZ - Arizona              CA - California           CO - Colorado
CT - Connecticut          DC - Dist of Columbia *   DE - Delaware
FL - Florida              GA - Georgia              GU

… Continue

Created by Ian Jan 27, 2009 at 4:27pm. Last updated by Ian Jan 27.

HOW TO - MAKE COMPOST

Recently there was an excellent discussion about composting. I’ve pulled together all the various comments here. You can also watch KGI's video on composting here.

 

 

KATE’S ADVICE

I used to have a tumbler that we made from a wine-barrel but

1 you have to fill it up all at once

2. it seemed mostly

… Continue

Created by Ian May 30, 2008 at 5:29am. Last updated by Roger Jan 15.

Notes Home

Welcome to Notes.

To view notes that are in the system hit the "all notes" button above.

Continue

Created by Ian May 28, 2008 at 12:10pm. Last updated by Ian May. 30, 2008.

A Note about Notes

I have just written this note so that I can see what we can achieve by using this new feature.

If you read this and have any suggestions then please leave a comment on my page or email me.

Ian

Continue

Created by Ian May 28, 2008 at 6:19pm. Last updated by Ian May. 28, 2008.

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