I have been in the garden a while today, the sun is beautiful and it
is warm. The bulbs are finally coming through but the tuplips are
more advanced that the daffs!

I can see small growth on the periniels and something just poking
through, it looks like the tip of a daffodil but I think it is a
Lily. I brought a dwarf Rhodendron from the UK in a large pot and I
wonder if I should put that into the ground now or leave it in the pot
for another few weeks?

The common mimosa trees are all pruned now to try and make them into a
boule as they were huge, unfortunately it's too cold to grown the one
we had in England in the Conservatory, the one with the pretty fluffy
yellow flowers. It will be interesting to see what I have to nurture
here as I brought all my Dahlias which were in huge pots, in the UK I
never gave them any cover and they were fine, I wonder if they will
survive here.

As I continue my ramble here, I bought 36 packets of seeds yesterday
at Lidl, I think it was Martin who educated me on the value of Lidl
and I went when I saw their advert in Issoire. I will try black
carrot this year as I have never had it before. I couldn't get
parsnip seed so I will be in the UK in 2 weeks time and I will get it
there. Edward is the veg gardener and I am the flower one. He bought
some melon seed but I'm not sure they will grow here but he will give
it a try. Now I have to go and finish packing although I would much
rather be in the garden, it feels so good to be out there again, it
makes me feel glad to be alive.

Judith

On 9/2/08 15:32, in article
, "Judith
in France" wrote:

I have been in the garden a while today, the sun is beautiful and it
is warm. The bulbs are finally coming through but the tuplips are
more advanced that the daffs!

That's very unusual! Have you had a spring there before? I know you've
lived in that house as a holiday home for some time but I'm just remembering
that last year we had a lively discussion on urg about leaves coming through
in someone's garden. They turned out to be Alliums.

I can see small growth on the periniels and something just poking
through, it looks like the tip of a daffodil but I think it is a
Lily. I brought a dwarf Rhodendron from the UK in a large pot and I
wonder if I should put that into the ground now or leave it in the pot
for another few weeks?

I think wait until the ground has warmed up just a bit. You'll know best
when that's likely in your area but it won't do much if the ground is cold,
anyway.

The common mimosa trees are all pruned now to try and make them into a
boule as they were huge, unfortunately it's too cold to grown the one
we had in England in the Conservatory, the one with the pretty fluffy
yellow flowers. It will be interesting to see what I have to nurture
here as I brought all my Dahlias which were in huge pots, in the UK I
never gave them any cover and they were fine, I wonder if they will
survive here.

Almost certainly not! I should think frost must penetrate your ground to a
fair depth. I think yours will have to be dug up and brought indoors to a
frost free cellar or shed.

As I continue my ramble here, I bought 36 packets of seeds yesterday
at Lidl, I think it was Martin who educated me on the value of Lidl
and I went when I saw their advert in Issoire. I will try black
carrot this year as I have never had it before. I couldn't get
parsnip seed so I will be in the UK in 2 weeks time and I will get it
there.

For some reason, parsnips seem to be almost unknown in France. I think the
French is 'panais'? I've read this over and over again in many different
articles. I'm indifferent to them, myself but Ray absolutely adores them.
One of my daughters hates them so much that she leaves the room when I'm
peeling them. Cunning ploy, eh?! ;-)


Edward is the veg gardener and I am the flower one. He bought
some melon seed but I'm not sure they will grow here but he will give
it a try. Now I have to go and finish packing although I would much
rather be in the garden, it feels so good to be out there again, it
makes me feel glad to be alive.

Judith

I've never grown melons but if your neighbours do....... Perhaps your
summers are hot enough to allow melons to be grown from plants reared
indoors or in a heated greenhouse? It would be interesting to know, Judith
because so many of these things can be pertinent to gardening in parts of
UK, too.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:37:50 +0000
Sacha wrote:

On 9/2/08 15:32, in article
, "Judith
in France" wrote:

[]
As I continue my ramble here, I bought 36 packets of seeds yesterday
at Lidl, I think it was Martin who educated me on the value of Lidl
and I went when I saw their advert in Issoire. I will try black
carrot this year as I have never had it before. I couldn't get
parsnip seed so I will be in the UK in 2 weeks time and I will get it
there.

For some reason, parsnips seem to be almost unknown in France. I think the
French is 'panais'? I've read this over and over again in many different
articles. I'm indifferent to them, myself but Ray absolutely adores them.
One of my daughters hates them so much that she leaves the room when I'm
peeling them. Cunning ploy, eh?! ;-)


[]

Panais indeed. They are a forgotten vegetable here, but have recently been
making a bit of a come back. A family in our village grows veg commercially,
they have started doing them. You can sometimes even get them at the
supermarket.

In the reasonably local town of Argentan one of the top dogs is (this being France)
a well known philosopher. He's started a free "University of Taste" where once per
month a famous chef comes and elocutes on some ingredient: "the tomato,"
"the turnip," etc. They did one on the parsnip some months ago, very successful
I'm told! All this will be coming to a cooking channel near you, just desserts for
making the rest of the world deal with Jamie Oliver (Ramsey was bad enough!)

As chance would have it we were short of taters for dinner last night, and were
out with a flashlight looking for parsnips to supplement. Didn't find, but in the
light of day today there were 6 fat ones left.

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies
Questions about wine? Visit http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

Emery Davis says...
As chance would have it we were short of taters for dinner last night, and were
out with a flashlight looking for parsnips to supplement. Didn't find, but in the
light of day today there were 6 fat ones left.


Today I dug up the last of the parsnips. There were quite a
few left so it looks like we'll be having parsnip chips too
for a week or two. Yum!
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:41:38 +0100
David in Normandy wrote:

Emery Davis says...
As chance would have it we were short of taters for dinner last night, and were
out with a flashlight looking for parsnips to supplement. Didn't find, but in the
light of day today there were 6 fat ones left.


Today I dug up the last of the parsnips. There were quite a
few left so it looks like we'll be having parsnip chips too
for a week or two. Yum!

We dug up the rest of ours today, too. Can't beat parsnips, you just leave 'em
in ground til you need 'em... Awfully good, too. Do you par boil before frying for
the chips? I've never tried that one.

For some reason this was a bad year for parsnips, we usually don't have much
trouble but only ended with a couple of dozen this time.

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies
Questions about wine? Visit http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

Emery Davis says...
Today I dug up the last of the parsnips. There were quite a
few left so it looks like we'll be having parsnip chips too
for a week or two. Yum!

We dug up the rest of ours today, too. Can't beat parsnips, you just leave 'em
in ground til you need 'em... Awfully good, too. Do you par boil before frying for
the chips? I've never tried that one.

For some reason this was a bad year for parsnips, we usually don't have much
trouble but only ended with a couple of dozen this time.


We just cut them up into chip size and deep fry them from
raw, the same as potato chips (or should that be French
fries :-) They are sweeter than potato chips so don't
necessarily work as a straight substitute depending on the
meal. They make a nice side portion. Just take care not to
over fry them or they can go a bit woody.

The best use for parsnips though has got to be including
them in a roast, wrapped with some meat in foil and cooked
until they caramelise. Not very often we eat them just
boiled.
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
Emery Davis says...
We just cut them up into chip size and deep fry them from
raw, the same as potato chips (or should that be French
fries :-) They are sweeter than potato chips so don't
necessarily work as a straight substitute depending on the
meal. They make a nice side portion. Just take care not to
over fry them or they can go a bit woody.

The best use for parsnips though has got to be including
them in a roast, wrapped with some meat in foil and cooked
until they caramelise. Not very often we eat them just
boiled.
--

Curried parsnip soup is good too!
Graham

graham says...
Curried parsnip soup


That sounds good. A little googling has brought up a recipe
on the BBC cookery site so I will give it a try.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/da...rryparsnipsoup
_71761.shtml

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

On Feb 11, 5:41*pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
Emery Davis says...

As chance would have it we were short of taters for dinner last night, and were
out with a flashlight looking for parsnips to supplement. *Didn't find, but in the
light of day today there were 6 fat ones left.

Today I dug up the last of the parsnips. There were quite a
few left so it looks like we'll be having parsnip chips too
for a week or two. Yum!
--
David in Normandy. * *
*To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
*subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

Parsnips (panais in French) were one of those so-so discoveries I made
when I arrived in Ireland. They were not sold in France in my youth,
and never grown in our cabbage patch.
The way they used to be cooked here (boiled, then mashed up, sometimes
in association with carrots) never did it for me.
But with greater culinary adventurousness spreading like wildfire
through the British Isles, I discovered the roasting option.
Delicious with other veg such as butternut squash and sweet potatoes,
with a tiny drizzle of honey, salt and pepper.
I'm drooling...
What does the OP mean by "black carrots"? Are we talking salsify? To
me, that's the opposite of the parsnip. I was raised on salsify, but
no-one had ever heard of it here. To this day, the only way to get
some is to grow it yourself - which I do, religiously, from Lidl seeds
every year ;-).
Cat(h)

On 12/2/08 14:03, in article
, "Cat(h)"
wrote:

On Feb 11, 5:41*pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
Emery Davis says...

As chance would have it we were short of taters for dinner last night, and
were
out with a flashlight looking for parsnips to supplement. *Didn't find, but
in the
light of day today there were 6 fat ones left.

Today I dug up the last of the parsnips. There were quite a
few left so it looks like we'll be having parsnip chips too
for a week or two. Yum!
--
David in Normandy. * *
*To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
*subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

Parsnips (panais in French) were one of those so-so discoveries I made
when I arrived in Ireland. They were not sold in France in my youth,
and never grown in our cabbage patch.
The way they used to be cooked here (boiled, then mashed up, sometimes
in association with carrots) never did it for me.
But with greater culinary adventurousness spreading like wildfire
through the British Isles, I discovered the roasting option.
Delicious with other veg such as butternut squash and sweet potatoes,
with a tiny drizzle of honey, salt and pepper.
I'm drooling...
What does the OP mean by "black carrots"? Are we talking salsify? To
me, that's the opposite of the parsnip. I was raised on salsify, but
no-one had ever heard of it here. To this day, the only way to get
some is to grow it yourself - which I do, religiously, from Lidl seeds
every year ;-).
Cat(h)

Aren't black carrots the original ones the Romans brought to us? The normal
orange variety is a comparatively modern invention. ;-)
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Good article about the history of the carrot from ancient times he

http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history.html

On Feb 12, 2:52*pm, Sacha wrote:
On 12/2/08 14:03, in article
, "Cat(h)"





wrote:
On Feb 11, 5:41*pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
Emery Davis says...

As chance would have it we were short of taters for dinner last night, and
were
out with a flashlight looking for parsnips to supplement. *Didn't find, but
in the
light of day today there were 6 fat ones left.

Today I dug up the last of the parsnips. There were quite a
few left so it looks like we'll be having parsnip chips too
for a week or two. Yum!
--
David in Normandy. * *
*To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
*subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

Parsnips (panais in French) were one of those so-so discoveries I made
when I arrived in Ireland. *They were not sold in France in my youth,
and never grown in our cabbage patch.
The way they used to be cooked here (boiled, then mashed up, sometimes
in association with carrots) never did it for me.
But with greater culinary adventurousness spreading like wildfire
through the British Isles, I discovered the roasting option.
Delicious with other veg such as butternut squash and sweet potatoes,
with a tiny drizzle of honey, salt and pepper.
I'm drooling...
What does the OP mean by "black carrots"? *Are we talking salsify? *To
me, that's the opposite of the parsnip. *I was raised on salsify, but
no-one had ever heard of it here. *To this day, the only way to get
some is to grow it yourself - which I do, religiously, from Lidl seeds
every year ;-).
Cat(h)

Aren't black carrots the original ones the Romans brought to us? *The normal
orange variety is a comparatively modern invention. *;-)

And, according to childish french lore, they give you "pink thighs".
Don't ask.
But you do learn every day!
http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history.html

Cat(h)

On 12/2/08 16:03, in article
, "Cat(h)"
wrote:

On Feb 12, 2:52*pm, Sacha wrote:
snip
What does the OP mean by "black carrots"? *Are we talking salsify? *To
me, that's the opposite of the parsnip. *I was raised on salsify, but
no-one had ever heard of it here. *To this day, the only way to get
some is to grow it yourself - which I do, religiously, from Lidl seeds
every year ;-).
Cat(h)

Aren't black carrots the original ones the Romans brought to us? *The normal
orange variety is a comparatively modern invention. *;-)

And, according to childish french lore, they give you "pink thighs".
Don't ask.
But you do learn every day!
http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history.html

Cat(h)

Pink thighs! Is that good or bad? Les cuisses roses sounds much prettier,
though. ;-)
Thanks for the link. I'm going to print that off for the person that does
the veg. sowing here!
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

"Judith in France" wrote in message

The common mimosa trees are all pruned now to try and make them into a
boule as they were huge, unfortunately it's too cold to grown the one
we had in England in the Conservatory, the one with the pretty fluffy
yellow flowers. It will be interesting to see what I have to nurture
here as I brought all my Dahlias which were in huge pots, in the UK I
never gave them any cover and they were fine, I wonder if they will
survive here.

What do your winter temps get down to Judith? And what is your rainfall and
how is it distributed throughout the year?

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...
graham says...
Curried parsnip soup


That sounds good. A little googling has brought up a recipe
on the BBC cookery site so I will give it a try.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/da...rryparsnipsoup
_71761.shtml

I would add a potato to that and cook until it disintegrates. That will
make a smoother soup when you blend it.
Graham