Jam

Something I like to do, as a way of marking the seasonal change from summer to autumn, however small that change may be here in Western Australia, is make a batch of preserves. Some years it's pickles, others chutney or relish, and sometimes I’ll make a more than one, depending on what is seasonally cheap at the market or comes my way. This year it was a two kilo bag of undersized blood plums, some ripe, some not so ripe. Perfect for jam. 

My favourite, and really the only recipe I’ve ever used for plum jam, is from Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management; it’s a no fail. The Mode does instruct that the preserving pan should be stood, “by the side of the fire to simmer gently”, but simmering on the lowest setting of the gas jet works just fine. 

This particular jam, is always done in the time allocated by the recipe, and Mrs Beeton doesn’t give instructions on how or when to test for setting point, but I always do it anyway, using the old fashioned ‘wrinkle’ method. 

Here are the jars all lidded and labelled. The tiny one is for my Mum, and will be posted early next week with some biscuits, to arrive (hopefully), in time for Easter, and the medium jars will go to friends. That's the best thing about 'preserving', there's always plenty to go around. 

In the garden...

The potted roses have survived another, and hopefully their last summer cooped up in containers, and are looking surprisingly good. Unfortunately though, a mini plague of grasshoppers have decided to take up residence, and are feasting not only on the leaves but the tight little unopened, rose buds. 

Perhaps because its foliage has a rosy scent, this Reine de Violette has been the worst hit; there are always half a dozen or so, big and small, grasshoppers making a meal of it. 

When I’m quick enough I catch these seemingly insatiable pests, and release them in the far corner of the garden, hoping naively they won’t find their way back. They always do though. You see, it’s not all beer and roses  for grasshoppers in this yard; many are recognisable by their missing legs. This is thanks to Indi and Bertie catching them and releasing them, catching them, releasing them, catching, releasing.... If you know cats, you'll know what I mean.

These robust little plants, the results of the tomato seeds I planted a few of weeks ago, are in amongst the roses, but have been largely ignored by the grasshoppers thankfully. 

I don't remember how many seeds were in the pack, but the germination success rate was surprisingly high, so I thinned them out to the strongest looking ten plants, and re-potted them into the largest pots we had on hand.

Three or even two tomato plants per pot, is still too many I know, but I just couldn’t bring myself to thin them any further, and hopefully, with lots of TLC, they’ll do okay. 

This lanky shoot has grown from the green bump on the side of the ginger rhizome, I planted at the same time as the tomato seeds. According to the article on growing ginger published by Tropical Permaculture, it will eventually get to about a metre high, and the ginger root can be harvested 8 to l0 months after planting. 

Ginger is a tropical plant so dies back in colder climates during winter, but Perth winters are mild, so it should keep growing. So, fingers crossed, as long as I keep it moist, or in the case of heavy rain (is that a thing!), ensure the potting mix doesn’t become water logged, we'll be eating home-grown ginger sometime in spring.

Through the window...

Though the window March 1^st, 2016.