Corianders Rival

After pondering a thread in which fellow allotmenters were discussing 'lessons learned this year' I got to thinking...

Coriander seems to be one of those herbs you either love or hate - a bit like Marmite. Angela Hartnet has named it 'The Devils Herb' and this view is subscribed to by Tim Lovejoy on Something for the Weekend too. I must agree with them...I hate it too.

But I have a very strong contender for second place - What do you think of giving second place to the Jerusalem Artichoke? To be honest, I think the only reason anyone chooses to grow it is because they are given a few tubers from a 'friend' and they stick them in. Does anyone actually buy tubers? Once they're planted, one feels quite proud as they shoot up, give a lovely yellow flower, and all from those couple of gifted tubers. But then what do you actually do with them when you harvest the hundreds that come from that small handful you were given back in the spring? A nice recipe is found, and feeling all positive one steps into the kitchen only to spend an age scrubbing or peeling the blighters. With all their knobbly bits they are a genuine pain. But unthwarted one continues with the recipe. Upon completion the meal is OK, and one feels content. Until the Jerusalem Artichoke starts 'round two' later the same evening (no more detail needed). I mean really, there are a limited number of recipes to try. We even tried wine one year, however, didn't manage to get all the mud off and ended up with...well...muddy Jerusalem Artichoke water.

All one seems to do is repeat the cycle and pass a few on to a 'friend' amidst bucket loads of enthusiasm on how easy they are to grow. Yes they are, but it's all the rest that's a pain. Not to mention the tubers that you didn't just manage to get out that grow again and again year on year.

I put mine in a bucket to grow last year, and after leaving them for two seasons have decided to scrap the lot. My plot is free of Jerusalem Artichokes. That was my lesson learned...don't bother with Jerusalem Artichokes...ever!

I'll put my thinking cap on for my third place. After watching  HFW on repeat, Cauliflower is his pet hate...but I don't think I can let that into third place. Anyone else got any thoughts?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1st June Update

Image
I've had 9 months (almost) since I took over my new garden and I thought it was time to look at a before and after picture. The first image is once we took down the large trees. Unfortunately, I haven't got any of before we started any work which is a shame. The second is this morning in the glorious sunshine looking magnificent. We're currently self sufficient in cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, spring onions, broad beans, herbs and, of course, eggs. Garlic will be harvested in a couple of weeks and I've already pulled up the last of the spinach that was sown last year - it bolted but went to the chickens so not a waste. Currently in the ground are onions, peas, French beans, soya beans, parsnip, carrot, beetroot, lettuce, sweet corn, tomatoes, courgette, several squashes, cucumber, and an array of brassicas. I'm growing potatoes in bags and hope to do the same with my sweet potatoes. Ive never grown sweet potatoes so its a first for me. In the greenh...
Read more

Attack of the Gooseberries

Image
I know Pyracanthia is regarded as a good hedge for deterring intruders but ranking a pretty close second has to be the Gooseberry bush! I've been 'training' mine (no, not to attack) for the past two seasons as I inherited them in quite an overgrown state and continued with the obligatory summer prune yesterday. The patch they're on has a lot of bind weed in it, so that had to come out too, and boy did they put up a fight. I have numerous battle scars, but I won, and have gained two new plants in the process as two of the lower branches have layered themselves. One I'll use to replace the one which just upped and died this year, and the other will become a bartering tool....what do I fancy swapping it for? On the subject of fruit, my strawberry runners are doing well. More bartering fare coming from this bed me thinks! However, there seems to be a bit of a North South divide going on, which surprises me for a 10’ x 5’ bed. I didn’t think it happened on s...
Read more

January Jobs

I received my email 'to do' list via Gardeners World and thought it opportune to see how well I was doing myself, and look back over the month to assess my progress.  January Jobs Winter prune apple and pear trees to remove any dead, damaged, congested and diseased branches  - Yep...done. All six apple trees have been 'tamed' and are ready to burst into bud once the weather warms up.  Sort out your seeds, throwing away empty or out-of-date packets and noting down any to buy for the coming season - Well I'm a sucker for old seed packets and I know I have a few beyond their dates!  Plan this year's crop rotation to ensure you grow each type of crop in a different bed to previous years  - Done. I have divided up my new beds into 4 and hope that I'll have enough space. The jury is still out as to whether or not I'm going to do potatoes this year. You can’t beat home grown, but space is now limited so I may have to go without.  Prune goo...
Read more