2024 Autumn Season Preserving Workshops

Autumn is traditionally the time of plenty - the glut of courgette, apples, plums if we are lucky and we all have our favourite methods of dealing with these. We hope to introduce some ne ideas though - and some new ingredients, things that have always been there but we have never covered. Like fresh figs for instance - and not just a fig chutney.

Moving away from dealing with the garden and allotment prodigious produce we will give some attention to Hedgerow Foraging, look at what there is, and what we can make with it. I think my advice would be just because you can, it doesn't mean you should! My mantra has always been there is no point preserving everything and giving valuable shelf room to things that you just don't fancy eating. A waste of jars, other ingredients, time and energy. We might come down on the side of trying everything once because if you haven't tried it how do you know you won't like it? ( My Mother's words haunting me here!)

Keep on top of harvesting if you have planted tomatoes, beans, courgette especially as they very quickly get on top of you. Avoid other peoples gifted marrows unless you genuinely know you can use them. Last year, my courgette-thet-thought-they-were-marrows came in handy for the chickens. Cut in half and then down again to make quarters they loved pecking out thr seeds and the softer flesh and gave them something to do. Problem solved