Lots of nice produce in the garden despite the horrible spring and summer we've had so far.

There's bad news and good news regarding the potato crop:

Firstly - we've got a slight case of potato blight and most of the potatoes have had to be lifted.
Secondly - most of the potatoes have been lifted and are perfectly edible - in fact, they're delicious. Head down to the shed to get some before they go.

Cabbages are also ready - here's one of the "Pointy" variety that I had for my dinner last night with spring onions, potatoes, chives (all from the garden) and pancetta and parmesan from my fridge.

The herb patch has had a bit of a clear out to give some of the less rampant items a chance to grow. Main points of interest are that the pretty flowers are not camomile as we had originally thought, but feverfew:

Also, Christina has discovered that the delicious smelling curry plant is not actually edible! I know I've tried a little bit of it a few times and didn't notice any ill effects, but it should not be consumed. It still smells great though. It will be getting moved to a non-edible section of the garden later in the year.

The carrots have been a big success this year, no doubt down to Clare's careful preparation of bed 5. Some have been lifted, some are still in the ground ready to be taken. There are also a few carrot flowers which we've left in just because they look quite striking and will provide seeds.

The onions have also flowered and look pretty:

Meanwhile, the garden looks pretty decent during the recent Annexe Communities open day:

despite some familiar troublemakers...

Spring in the back garden

The garden is showing signs of life.

Here it is this week - note the far away raised bed that Clare has given some serious TLC. If we get deformed carrots out of there this year we may have to give up on them.

If you've not been to the garden recently, it would love to see you. New for this year are eight fruit trees, a greenhouse that we actually might use this time, a seed rack in the polytunnel and various crops planted at the right time of year rather than the hurried planting we did last year once the garden opened.

Things that are already worth picking:

• kale
• rocket and watercress - both of which are pretty fiery
• cress
• lovage - and there's going to be lots of it, so do try to use it
  
• curry plant
• sage
• lemon balm - makes a nice relaxing tea
• sorrell - very fashionable and hard to get in the shops
• purple sprouting broccoli

Nina Baker, local councillor for the Greens, was round today with Harriet Brace, Freelance Multimedia Journalist and Assistant Editor (Local News) at the Glasgow Journal, who was filming in our garden for a project.

I'm not sure I want to see the finished results as they may involve me talking on camera, but Harriet has promised to show us the video once it's done. Here she is:

Andre 3000's recipe for kale

I came across this recipe for cooking kale - it's by Andre 3000 of Outkast. I can't speak for Mr 3000's culinary skills, but this sounds good. And we've got lots of kale!

http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2012/01/andre-benjamin-outkast-soul-fo.html