Kitchen garden tour & red currant jelly recipe

I thought it was about time I gave you a kitchen garden update!

I am loving my kitchen garden. We've had an interesting time though! The weather has been extraordinary. We got off to a really, really dry spring and then we've had a really wet summer so far. In fact, we're slightly water-logged in here at the moment, but I wanted to give you an update and show you how we're getting on.

There's been some ups and downs, some things have been thriving, others not so, but let me talk you through it.

This spinach has been doing so well. The bigger outside leaves I give to Billy the Tortoise. Then the baby leaves, which we have been really enjoying in meals at home. I love spinach, whether eating it cooked or simply fresh like this.

Beyond the spinach, we've got some kale, which has been doing really well and is thriving too.

The broad beans have been erratic. They haven't done so well, to be honest. We have suffered a little bit with black fly and all sorts of things, lots of ants too. I think some of the compost that we put down is quite hot. The second delivery was really, really fresh and I think that probably didn't help. Only a couple of the edamame beans that I planted just beyond the broad beans have survived, which is disappointing, but again, it's trial and error. This is our first season of growing and so, you know, there are ups and downs with everything in life!

I'm really thrilled with my broccoli and purple sprouting bay. We have hazel that we've bent over the bed to create the foundations upon which to attach the netting. Broccoli gets really badly affected by all sorts and so it's really important to net it. In hindsight, it probably would have been a good idea to have netted a few other things as well.

The net is attached to two bits of wood that we had leftover from some fencing, which means I can lift it up to get into the bed to either pick it or do some weeding. I'm super excited about this. I love cooking with broccoli and there's nothing better than a bit of homegrown!

Within my leek bed, I planted a couple of different varieties of leeks and some of them haven't done so well, but some are thriving so that is pretty exciting!

I've never grown potatoes before, but they seem to be really thriving and are doing really well. I've got some additional compost to put in if needs be.

Over in another bed, I've got carrots, a couple of rhubarbs and some rocket which has been slightly affected with little things enjoying it, but that doesn't matter and I'll net it shortly.

The sweetcorn's been rather disappointing. I seem to only have three growing and I planted a lot more, but hey ho, at least some is growing!

Next up I've got my climbing beans, which actually seem to be coming on quite nicely, climbing merrily up the poles.

Then there are my sweet peas, which I need to pick and tie-up.

To tie them up, I just use some regular garden twine and normal scissors. I don't cut the twine with my secateurs because it damages them. I start by snipping off lengths of twine about 20cm long and get tying.

This is really something that you need to do once a week, last week I was frantic but it is important to try and keep on top of these things.

It is really important to pick your sweet peas regularly. The more you pick them, the more they will flower, and if you don't pick them they will go produce pea seed pods.

The smell is just heavenly. It makes me want to dance and sing, I wish you could smell them through the screen!

My sweet peas by the orchard gateway are perennial, and I just love the fact that you don't have to do anything with them. They just come back year after year, and the colour is so vibrant. They don't smell amazing, but they just look really pretty and are completely effortless to look after and enjoy.

I get so excited every time I come up to the kitchen garden to see the progress and see what's happening. Of course, there are some little disappointments, and in hindsight, I would have put another layer of cardboard down. There are a few weeds that are sneaking through, so I'm keeping my beady eye on those and pulling them out the second I see them rear their ugly heads.

Today I've managed to harvest a real haul of fresh redcurrants, so it's time to make my homemade redcurrant jelly!

One of the many things I love about redcurrant jelly is that it is one of the easiest things to make. You don't take the stalks off, you just leave them exactly as they are!

Redcurrant Jelly

Ingredients:

900g/2lb redcurrants

500g/1lb 2 oz granulated sugar for every 500ml/18 fl oz of juice

Method:

Give your redcurrants a rinse and drain.

Keep the stalks on, do not top and tail.

Cover with 400ml of water and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and give them a good squish.

Put them through a strainer, and leave overnight. Do not squeeze the muslin or else the jelly will become cloudy.

Once completely strained, add 500g granulated sugar to every 500ml of juice, and continue as if you were making jam. Be aware, the setting point happens quickly with redcurrant jelly so keep a good eye on it!

Jar up and enjoy! We love ours with meats, cheeses or even spread on a little toast!

It's just so exciting to grow something and then make it into something delicious that you want to eat. Let me know if you give it a whirl!

Wishing you a gorgeous weekend, lots of love and I will see you again very soon.

Love, Charlie x