Gwernyfed Walled Gardens
This week we have a special guest blog from Charlane from the fantastic Gwernyfed Walled Gardens.
In 2007, when we started to renovate the glasshouse and gardens we had a huge task ahead of us as nature had taken over but slowly we have brought the glasshouse and garden back to life. We hope to open this year to the public with a small tea room and market garden.
Our aim at Gwernyfed Walled garden is to produce good quality nutrient-dense fruit and vegetables with great flavour on a no-dig regenerative principle sequesting carbon into the soil.
We are a 2-acre garden consisting of the Victorian Walled garden and surrounding woodland and water gardens. Increasing our biodiversity with a huge variety of trees and plants.
We also run a veg box scheme from Gwernyfed Walled Gardens. This year we have grown some interesting vegetables such as Aztec Broccoli and Monks Beard, which proved popular in our veg boxes. Currently, we have a few winter staples in the garden and don’t buy in any veg to pad out our boxes. Which are collected from the garden on a Thursday or Friday.
At the moment our picking list is as follows:
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Parsnips
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Leeks
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Red Russian Kale
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Spring onions
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Brussel Sprouts
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Kale Sprouts
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Wong Bok Leaves
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Collard Greens
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Cavolo Nero
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Minutina and
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Shallots
A 10 item box is £15 and a 5 item box is £7.50. Our picking list is emailed weekly to you, with orders in by Wednesday, they are available for collection on a Thursday or Friday afternoon.
We also have our own Honey at £6 a jar.
Here’s a fantastic recipe for our Parsnip soup:
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2tbsp of Olive Oil
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1 Large Onion
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1kg Parsnips
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1tsp Ground Turmeric
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1tsp Ground Coriander
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40g Root Ginger
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1.4 litres of Vegetable stock
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Juice of ½ a Lemon
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A good grind of Pepper
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12tbsp of Double Cream to serve
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole. Add the onions and a pinch of salt, and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat until starting to soften. Add the parsnips, ground spices and ginger and stir well to coat. Cook gently, covered, for 10 minutes, making sure the spices don’t catch and burn. This helps to bring out the full flavour of the vegetables.
2. Add the stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are completely tender. Blend the soup until smooth, then adjust the seasoning and consistency, adding lemon juice to taste and extra water if the soup is too thick.
3. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a swirl of double cream to serve.
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