Botanising on a bike

On the Try Cycling in Edinburgh (TCIE) bike ride last weekend, we went out to Newhailes House. Nice day for cycling, and nice to catch up with Maggie, Darren and the other cyclists. But the main thing that stood out in my mind was spotting Himalayan Balsam all along the side of the path.

I was quite chuffed to be able to spot the balsam while cycling past, but sad to see the extent of the species. When balsam bashing at the Hermitage of Braid, it wasn’t in flower. Now the pale pink to white flowers are standing proud, and once I had my eye in it was quite easy to spot. (the plants are the tallest on the block.)

The balsam is along the NCN1 (just North of the railway line in the map below), with some along the Innocent Railway Path. One particular stretch is full of botanical bully boys: the balsam, fireweed, thistles, nettles, brambles, …

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Good news and good food

Received word from the RBGE that I’ve passed the Certificate of Practical Horticulture with merit. Not only that, but because that was the first year the course was run and there were some teething problems with the course handbook etc., all the students have been offered a free place on a one-day course next year.

The course was enjoyable, the assessment day was fun and I’ve got something to show from it. However I won’t be able to make the award ceremony since I’m at Typography: thinking with type on that day.

This evening I headed to the allotment via Waitrose. I wanted to make Summer Pudding, so wanted to get some cream. The thought of the ride from Shandon to Morningside, through Craiglockhart Woods and to the allotment was also enticing. At the plot I picked redcurrants, raspberries, strawberries and blackcurrants and then headed home, getting there just before the rain came on.

Summer Pudding adapted from Nigel Slater’s Appetite

Put the fruits in a pan with enough water to cover them, then boil for a couple of minutes. This will burst the skin and release the juice. Into a suitable receptacle (I used a glass tumbler), layer sliced white bread and the fruit mixture, keeping the bread very moist. Then pop it in the fridge for an hour, turn out and serve with goat cream.

tasty Summer Pudding with cream

In other news: I’ve signed up for the four week long beginners course in Italian at IALS starting at the end of this month.

Bird ring from a racing pigeon

Last week I found some feathers and a bird ring on the plot. My theory is that a pigeon was eating brassicas, and got itself eaten by a fox.

A friend at work let me know about EURING, who coordinate bird ringing throughout Europe and provide this clearing house for ring recoveries, so I reported it. I had a nice email back saying the bird came from Bonnyrigg and that the owner will be informed.

In other news, I was at the RBGE library today (revising for tomorrow’s exam, rather than displacement activity like this). Noticed a couple of societies:

• Botanical society of Scotland includes the 2006-2010 BSS field project of community woodlands, and published the Flora of Edinburgh and the Lothians. £32 per year
• Edinburgh natural history society

Homegrown feast does not raise GDP

Felt contented last night. Went down the allotment straight after work and picked onions, broad beans and blackcurrants to bring home, and ate the first couple of raspberries (just to test!) and some alpine strawberries. Nearly a cornucopia…

Evening meal included onion tart. I’m not sure that Nigel Slater’s recipe even needs cheese when the onions are fresh and one uses the amount of butter he recommends.

The side dish: take young broad beans, podded but left in their inner skins, and blanch for a couple of minutes in boiling water. Put olive oil and a little chopped garlic in a bowl and throw in the drained beans. Grind black pepper on top and serve.

Plus carrot and tomato from the ECO box and green salad and the hardest avocado I’ve had ever tried to eat from ASDA.

I’d rather eat more self-grown food. I’m still learning about vegetable growing, but mostly it’s taking the time to grow and cook them that stops me. In a misguided attempt to help my employer, I’ve agreed to work an extra day per week. I get paid more, but I’m spending more: on childcare; on disposable nappies, because I don’t have the energy to wash and do real ones; on food, because I’m not preparing my lunch on the days I do work. It’s good for GDP but not good for me and my family.

Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) and friends

Monday 23 June, went out with the Friends of the Hermitage of Braid (fohb.org) for my first attempt at balsam bashing. I’d heard of the invasive nature of the plant but wasn’t prepared for its ecology, so spent an uncomfortable evening on the side of a hill. Himalayan balsam lives with robust friends: nettles, brambles, roses. Harry Henniker pointed out that he’s never had to weed a nettle patch before…

From a botanical point of view, it’s superb: a fleshy plant, succulent and attractive to animals, that gets in among tough plants that the animals steer clear of. It’s also shallow rooting, suitable for other inaccessible places with minimal soil cover. The seed pods explode when touched and spread a thousand seeds over a wide area; and it likes hillsides so the seeds can travel even further. The SNH report (see earlier posts) says it’s the tallest annual in Britain.

Cleared a large patch, but noticed lots more. Am wondering how viable the seeds are and how long can they remain dormant in the soil. Apparently the Ranger has many groups working in the area although it’s got to be a big job… The SNH report shows that it’s all along the 5 rivers surveyed for the report.

There are good points, though! The Hermitage of Braid is lovely and the sun was out until 9pm when we finished. Even though we were on the North side of a hill there were great views over to the Braid Hills.

One of the group had previously found Hound’s Tongue (Cynoglossum officinale) in the vicinty. Looks like comfrey and it turns out that the plant is a member of Boraginaceae. However, looking through Phillips’ Wild flowers of Britain, I also see that forget-me-nots (Myosotis sp.) are in this family, so I’ll have to look a little closer than the obvious. (I also think some scrophulariaceae leaves and habit look more like comfrey than forget-me-nots.)

Phillips reckons it’s fairly common in central and South West England, becoming rare elsewhere. Smith et al.’s Plant life of Edinburgh and the Lothians records more genuses in the family than Phillips and notes that C. officinale is rare in the Midlothian vice-county having only been recorded in Polton (near Lasswade). Its habitat is also listed as coastal scrub, dunes and meadows which surprises me seeing as it was growing on the side of a hill.

• pic from floralimages
• Boraginaceae from bioimages.org.uk
• Flora of Northern Ireland
• USDA site

Onions…

Yesterday: Pulled the first onions from the plot. Radar variety of Winter onions, so they’ve been in the ground over six months. Seems a long time, but it’s worth it: made white onion soup with chorizo. It’s so nice to have fresh onions, cooked slowly…

five onions, freshly pulled

cooking onions

the girl with onions and mint

Today: down the plot again to get more onions, and cooked the onion and cheese tart. Onions from the allotment, thyme from the garden, cheese from my partner’s recent trip to Rome and the the first time I’d used puff pastry.

words…

Not brilliant on a blog when there’s much repeated text; fun nevertheless.

The girl has a watering can…

…and is much more helpful than when she was swinging a wee fork around. I think the broad beans can survive a dousing better than decapitation. However the poor strawberries got trodden upon; must build raised beds to keep the feet out.

the broad beans need water

Do you need watering, too?

lovely grin

All tired out

It’s been very windy but the broad beans look OK. The onions are coming along nicely, and I’ll make something nice this weekend; probably onion tarts from Nigel Slater’s Appetite or white onion soup with chorizo from Paul Merret’s Using the plot.

Accomplished…

Feeling very accomplished today. Been out with the Lothian Conservation Volunteers on Wester Craiglockhart Hill, and made 3 lbs of rhubarb and ginger jam.

Wester Craiglockhart Hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), sitting 5 km from Edinburgh City Centre. It’s also about 1 mile from my flat, so I was very happy to help LCV do some gorse bashing.

The site was designated a SSSI due to its two grassland habitats, one acid one calcareous, which together have to a 133 plant species counted on the hill.

The latest SNH report is that the condition is unfavourable so it’s a good job that LCV did the day’s work; and we made quite a difference: pulling up invasive rosebay willowherb, cutting down oat grass, and cutting back gorse on the grassland and on the access path to the summit.

Gorse grows new spines at the end of the branches, and the old spines dry out and fall off. Hacking away the spine mulch, which can be up to 5cm deep under the oldest bushes, reveals a relatively barren habitat from a botanical point of view. Although I saw several species of invertebrates living there with a cursory inspection, I doubt whether these are specific to gorse mulch. Gorse is also a legume, so it’ll fix nitrogen and improve the soil and, may facilitate the arrival of other species to out-compete the wild flowers.

In other news, Rhubarb and Ginger jam takes ages to boil and reach the setting point. I’m actually quite worried about how much energy it takes to preserve food; this took the best part of an hour on the hob, and I’ve only got 3lb of jam. Putting energy considerations aside, I’ll let you know how the jam tastes…

Survey on parks in Edinburgh

Apparently CEC are trying to decide where to spend money on parks and
they’re doing a survey at:

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/parksurvey

How to get involved in CEC parks