Grow Your Own Magazine

Today we have picked 12kg of strawbs off the allotment .... along with about another 4kg in the last 7 days...

what to do with them.........

We have about 70 - 80 plants which is yielding this Qty....

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http://norburger.blogspot.com/
http://www.justgiving.com/jasonnorledge

WOW, lucky you. Wish you were nearer or I would make some into wine or jam for you (for shares)

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

Can you help a friend raise money for British Heart Foundation please. He is climbing Machu Pichu later in the year and needs to make all the dosh he can for a good cause. www.justgiving.com/simonquinn2010

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Doesn't help you for now but unless you have so much space you don't know what to do with it all then perhaps you'd be better reducing your number of plants next year as you do have a heck of a lot. Currently I only have 12 at the plot but will be building that up to 36 over the next couple of years and that will do us fine.

Re this year's haul, suggest that jam is the way forward, really love strawberry jam, especially in the middle of winter.

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Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

Jam, wine, freeze some for puddings later... or send them to me - we love them and I think my plants are in their final year as harvest is sloooooow this year and small.

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janeyo

Please have a look at my blog

http://janefruitandveg.blogspot.com/
updated February 19th 2010

You can't hurry compost...

Strawberries don't freeze well Norburger so I think the way forward is jam.
Maybe you could sell some at the gate or swap them at your local fruit shop for something else.
I think you have too many plants so maybe you need to cull them and sell them as above.
I feel quite envious as this is our first year in this garden and we have no fruit bed yet - but hope to have one for next year.
Enjoy your strawberries - hope you don't come out in a rash.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

That's just amazing - what a haul. How about some strawberry ice cream and coulis as well as the jam - yum. Perhaps you could swap for eggs with someone if you don't have your own hens.

I have 67 plants between 3 beds and if I get half of your yield I will be just delighted.

Jam, jam , jam. You can't beat homemade strawberry jam. I have 54 plants and last year I harvested over 20kg. We gave loads away to neighbours, ate loads ourselves, and made about a dozen jars of jam as well.

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Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it.

Yes - thanks guys, my thoughts already had been to half the plants even since I took the plot on. In the space I'd like to put black currents.

Have some lovely coulis for freezing, its gorg over ice cream.

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http://norburger.blogspot.com/
http://www.justgiving.com/jasonnorledge

For those you want to use immediately they make a great summer drink, whizzed up in the blender with milk and/or natural yoghurt. They can also be frozen successfully while still fresh if sliced and lightly sugared.

also delicious whizzed up and put in dry fizzy white wine. summer in a glass!

We do fab jars of strawberries in syrup with a teaspoon of brandy and a sliver of lemon peel in each - yum!

Can you tell us how you make your strabs in syrup?

A very approximate receipe...

2kg strawberries (not too ripe)
500g sugar
1 litre water
peel of 1 lemon
Brandy
(a drop of red food colouring is a cheat to stop the strawberries looking grey when you come to eat them)

Pack dry strawberries tightly into jars
Boil the sugar and water to make the syrup (5 mins ish)
Pour boiling syrup over the strawberries
Place sliver of peel in each jar and a teaspoon of brandy
Seal the jars
Sterilize jars for 5 mins in a bath of boiling water and leave to cool in the water before removing

You can leave the brandy out/add something different
Very nice!

what variety of strawbs you got norburger?

i have only had one strawb so far this year. all the others wont be ready for a while yet

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above the clouds the sun is shining and the sky is blue. if you look hard enough you can just about see it!

Another way you could store them is to use a food dehydrator.

Westfalia do one for under £30!

i have been in to home brew in the past and i would be tempted to dabble with some apple and strawberry cider!!!

in fact im trying to think up a recipe now for when i have some spare lol

nice crop tho

I would certainly go for the wine option, I was given 52lb last year, the cold room went wrong and part froze them, so loaded them into a 5gal bucket and whizzed them with a plaster mixer on an electric drill wound up with 5gal puree, split in halfs topped up with water added sugar to SG 1090 added yeast etc etc, after straining and clearing I had 8 gallons of strawberry nectar!! at about 13% abv. talk about a "merry" Christmas....

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Eat well, live well, drink moderately and be happy (hic!)