Celeriac

Not been blogging much in the last few days as we have been decorating. What a disaster. Having got the plaster repaired and painted white we brought some "cheap" emulsion at that well known DIY store. The coverage was patchy and the colour dull and nothing like the display. We waited for it to dry thoroughly in the hope of it looking better.  So disappointed, instead of finishing the room we will have to repaint it and buy some decent paint.  Oh well.

We grew one row of celeriac this year as my husband likes this (but not keen on celery?).  It is a very slow grower and has just about matured now. We mix it with mashed potatoes to top shepherds pie but our favourite is rosti. Makes a nice lunch with egg or as an alternative with fish.


(picture from web)
It is 50/50 grated potato and grated celeriac, beaten egg, seasoned, with some dried sage. The various cooking web sites suggest a variety of  spices and additions which I might try.  Lightly fried in good oil  they are delicious!
Growing them was quite easy. RHS say "Celeriac is a moisture-loving plant that needs fertile, organic rich, moisture retentive soil and prefers full sun. Keep the soil constantly moist – it should never be allowed to dry out. Water before the onset of drought; mulching helps, too. Keep the ground weed free."  
 I think we needed to get more water and get more mulch into the soil a bit more as our ground dries out and that causes flowering. You start them in early March in seed trays and plant out once temperatures are consistently above 15C. Not much other work is needed.
Well worth the room.

Had a terrible fright over weekend. Best friends from Hampshire are touring in New Zealand at present, when the news came on about the helicopter crash at Fox,s Glacier, our hearts stopped.  Thankfully their some emailed to say they were off hiking in some mountains to the north of there. Felt very sorry for the families of the people involved.