# General > Gardening >  Anyone interested to see my veg ??

## KEEP_ON_TRUCKIN

Pulled out the garden tonight - our first year at "growing things" pretty successful so far.... 

Minimal effort super tasting veg.........

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## joxville

Well done....and you managed to grow them all in the basket too.  :Wink:

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## KEEP_ON_TRUCKIN

haha yeah - mr trucking is very clever...... he even made them grow collectively in the one pile so you could pull them out with one swift swoop ;-)

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## Liz

Oh yum yum.

Lucky you having fresh veg.  I would love to grow them but not fit to so try to buy as much local produce as possible.

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## Kenn

That's alot of soup!

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## KEEP_ON_TRUCKIN

still plenty local good stuff to buy ..... I was actually suprised how easy it was - we just used a rotovator (on the back of MR Truckins vintage bulldozer (keeps him happy)) to loosen up a bit of hard ground and popped everything in - we weren't even very good at weeding or thinning but it all came out ok.




Does anyone know whats the best way to pickle beetroot?? at moment just been been cooking it fresh out the ground to order

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## Kevin Milkins

Well done KEEP ON TRUCKIN there is nowt better and more tasty than home grown fresh veg and it's a shame that more than half the nation has never had a go and it is as simple as you explained. :: 

Mrs M used to pickle lots of beetroot and I will ask her in the morning.

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## Aaldtimer

> Does anyone know whats the best way to pickle beetroot?? at moment just been been cooking it fresh out the ground to order


Just cook, peel, slice, and immerse in vinegar...simples,tcheek! :Wink:

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## KEEP_ON_TRUCKIN

thanks - is there a particular type o vinegar.... ?? or just the clear stuff?

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## BINBOB

> thanks - is there a particular type o vinegar.... ?? or just the clear stuff?


There is pickling vinegar...never used it ,but my dad did.

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## Kevin Milkins

> thanks - is there a particular type o vinegar.... ?? or just the clear stuff?


 
Mr's M said " Boil them for about half an hour (more if they are big), but dont keep poking them because it will make them bleed, peel them while they are still warm and slice them (add a small amount of sugar if you like them sweet) and add them to a large dish of ordinary vinegar, jar it up when cool".

If you have any for sale please PM.

Regards and good luck. KM

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## KEEP_ON_TRUCKIN

well we dont have many at all i'm afraid only about 25 plants.... so not sure what we will have but im sure if you're passing groats i could spare you a jars worth to cook yourself.....

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## Kevin Milkins

> well we dont have many at all i'm afraid only about 25 plants.... so not sure what we will have but im sure if you're passing groats i could spare you a jars worth to cook yourself.....


Cheers, will do.

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## northener

*"Anyone interested to see my veg ??"*

 :: 

You had me worried for a minute....

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## Bill Fernie

I published a few photos back in July http://www.caithness.org/fpb/2009/ju...lery=6&start=0 of a few of the fruit and veg we grew this year.  My hope was to encourage a few people to get ready to do it next year.  The big effort comes in the first year when the ground needs turned over and grass and weeds removed in large quantities.

I do not have lot of spare time for gardening and most goes into cutting the grass each year.  But a few hours preparing ground if you intend to keep going for a few years pays off.

The money save obviously depends on how much ground you have and what you grow.  We had strawberries that can be expensive in the shops for families whereas if you have a reasonable patch the whole of the faqmily can have big platefulls of them for a few weeks.  Then rasperries that often follow on but this year seemd to coincide were great.  Plenty of jam is one result but we ate plenty on their own and with ice cream etc.

It may seem cheap to buy potatoes rather than all the effort of growing them but as said above you do not need to be all that fussy about weeds unlless they are strangling the potatoes plants. I put some effort in when the plants are small but later they are usually large enough to fend for themselves. If you want it to look really neat then you can put more time in to weeding.

It is also very handy to have things in the ground - potatoes, carrots, turnips etc - no need to head for the shops - just get the fork out and bring them in for tea.

We have several compost bins and everything goes in their including envelopes etc ( not the plastic windows.  We get good amount of compost back out each year now with so much going in to the bins - saving it going the council places and saving what will become ever more regulated carbon emissions (Councils face stiff fines from Europe if they cannot stop landfilling)

There are lots of reasons to grow your own if you can - from less trips to the shops, saving a little money - or a lot if you go at it in a big way.  Many crops like fruits are seasonal from the same plants or bushes.  Raspberries once planted are almost like weeds and you need to control them but even if surrounded by weeds you will get a crop although probably better one if looked after as the plants will need to compete with the weeds for nutriions and that affects the total crop.

Finally the one thing most growers agree on is the freshness and taste from newly picked fruit and veg is great.  Nothing better than shelling a few young sweet pea pods as you are picking them.  Vitamin content is probably at its maximum the fresher you get them.

For these and many other reasons get ready to grow some of your own.  If you have garden unused why not offer it to someone for small share of the crop.

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## Anne x

> *"Anyone interested to see my veg ??"*
> 
> 
> 
> You had me worried for a minute....


 
that be a no then

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## Margaret M.

Your first year looks like a great success!  Well done.  My mouth is watering for a Caithness tattie.

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## Pony

I will show mine too K O Truckin!!! Leeks, carrots, parsnip, neep and tattie here. Also did onions, beetroot, courgettes, peas and various berries this year. And toms / peppers / sweetcorn in greenhouse. Been picking everything as we need it and have nearly run out now..... but still have strings of onions that should last to xmas and loads of herbs too. Courgette / Tomato chutneys and berry jams are made and in the cupboard for later on. Next year we might get braver and double the quantities cos it all tastes GOOD!!! Hard work though!!

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## Ricco

> Does anyone know whats the best way to pickle beetroot?? at moment just been been cooking it fresh out the ground to order


Tesco's sell a marinaded beetroot called 'Sweetfire'.  I am working on producing a similar marinade/pickle myself.  Getting quite close now and will post it once I reckon its good enough.

Anyone ever tried eating a small beet raw?  Deelicious!

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## Scunner

Chopped beetroot in blackcurrant jelly, and a little vinegar is quite tasty

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