Why my weekend has been like a GBBO technical
Flowers & photograph by India Hurst of Vervain
Monday 12th October. A chill in the air and I fear a frost. Not so much on behalf of the dahlias, I have cut more dahlias than one person could ever need this year and like so many, I think I’m a bit over them. But I have a late sown Purple Emperor nasturtium that has been on the cusp of flowering for a week. I am tempted to cut it to scare it into flowering. Did you know they do this? If you cut a nasturtium and just hang it somewhere cool and a bit damp but without putting it into water, you will get more flowers than you ever imagined possible. The nails on the fence by the back door that used to hold up the jasmine is now rather garishly adorned with dangling vines of yellow spotted blooms.
Tuesday 13th October. A trip out to Bath. Even within the West Country, the trees are turning at different rates. The field maples are mostly butter yellow everywhere now, but there are green beeches here and there are golden beeches there. From the road, the view is of rolling hills, defined by darkening hedges. I take a little detour to go through a particular village which has the most beautiful, ancient espaliers along their front wall. They are overgrown and I wonder what possibly could have happened.
Wednesday 14th October. More apples means more apple recipes. As I chat to my neighbour, our conversation about why on earth a neighbour would have had a removal lorry outside her house when she is not moving is punctuated by thuds. Her apple tree, which so generously hangs over my pumpkin patch, is dropping big fat cooking apples at a rate of about one every ten minutes. We always thought it was a Bramley but she was told it was an old Somerset variety, only she can’t remember what the name was. I waste more time than is strictly sensible trying to identify what apple it is. It turns out, apart from russets, many apples look exactly the same on the internet. I show my appreciation for the tree’s fecundity by making another lot of apple lemon curd (the first batch did not last long; mixed with a teaspoon of crème fraiche and with some lightly toasted hazelnuts, I defy anyone not to go back for a seconds). Also, parsnip, apple and cheddar cheese soup. Stewed quinces with apples. Quarters of apples put in the roasting tray with sausages, at the last minute so they keep their shape. We start talking about needing a bigger freezer.
Thursday 15th October. There is nothing quite like being able to ask an expert. A zoom call with Christine Lewis, natural dyer extraordinaire. I now own multiple books about natural dyeing, have fallen down the rabbit hole of a number of blogs, have messaged and emailed quite a few people quite a few questions. I feel like I am in one long GBBO technical. There are instructions of what steps I need to take, but none of the lists seems to have all of the information I need and absolutely all of the sources of information say to do ever so slightly different things. There is assumed knowledge, unexpected chemicals, unfamiliar vocabulary and percentage calculations. Christine, with infinite patience, talks me through everything. My husband finds it disingenuous that I often write about things that I am still finding my way through (and the things that I am expert on, truly no-one would want to read about those) but I can tell you now, a book about dyeing written by a complete beginner is absolutely the book you need by your side when you embark on this. This is going to be natural dyeing for dummies. With number steps. Made very very simple.
Friday 16th October. A box of vegetable plug plants has arrived. I know, the ultimate in decadence, but my timings have been completely off this season. I am ok with my spring sowing and generally my autumn sowing (although I do rely a lot on self-seeding, which I then pretend is entirely intentional and me respecting nature) but sowing winter veg in the height of summer catches me out every time. I spend the whole day restoring my kitchen garden to its former tidiness, if not quite its glory. Fortuitously, a box of elephant garlic cloves arrives at the same time. If you have not grown this before, I can highly recommend. (I get mine from The Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight and it is always excellent quality.) In clearing the space for more planting, the last harvest of the summer crops. A row of kohlrabi that have swollen to bigger than cricket balls, a rather exhausted looking courgette, rogue rainbow chards that have come up in the wrong beds. A whole basket of yellow beetroot. I roast them with shallots, coated in thyme and honey. A day of satisfyingly visible progress.
Saturday 17th October. This weekend has been all about dyeing. Armed with my list, a stock pot, washing soda (which confusingly has about four different names and it is the first time since my chemistry A-level that I have had to consider identifying something by its formula. Sodium Carbonate if you are interested. Although mine was Sodium Carbonate Decahydrate which added a whole other layer of uncertainty), Dr Bronner’s organic soap liquid, and hours and hours at the cooker. I have finally made it through the second stage of dyeing – scouring. I am choosing to class ‘sourcing your fabric’ as step one, although it bears an uncanny resemblance to buying metres and metres of linen from the Merchant and Mills website. (It is a beautiful website and I can highly recommend it.)
Sunday 18th October. In amongst pots of boiling linen, a day of shop admin and emails and watching the most wonderful videos that India Hurst of Vervain has made for Gather. Thank you to everyone who has already ordered seeds, and to everyone who messaged me to find out when the shop was opening; there was a virtual queue outside the door when we finally opened up again. I declare the sweet pea sowing season officially begun.
