Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2008 | Page 75

GARDENING

Pumpkins
How to store
pumpkins:
Store ripe fruits in cool conditions
(10°C/50°F), in a dry shed or
similar building. Pumpkins don’t
keep much past Christmas, so use
these first. Squashes keep longer,
sometimes until early spring, but
to do this they need to be kept
very dry and reasonably warm an unheated indoor room or the
understairs cupboard would be
ideal. There’s no need to worry
about excluding light.

Recipe idea:
It seems a shame to throw away all
that pumpkin flesh after carving,
as there are many tasty recipes
that involve pumpkin fruit. For
a nutritious winter warmer, try a
simple Thai-spiced pumpkin soup.

Serves 4
1kg of pumpkin or squash
(de-seeded, peeled and chopped)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled
and finely chopped
4 tsp red Thai curry paste
450ml vegetable stock
400ml can coconut milk
handful of fresh coriander leaves
salt and pepper
Heat oil in large saucepan and add
the onion and ginger until soft.
Add the curry paste and cook for
one minute. Add the pumpkin and
mix well. Pour in stock and coconut
milk. Cover saucepan, bring to the
boil, and simmer for 5 minutes – or
until pumpkin is tender. Allow to
cool slightly, adding salt and pepper
to taste. Add a generous handful
of coriander before using a hand
blender or food processor to puree
soup. Serve with warm, buttered
crusty bread.

life

Sally's gardening
tips for October
and November

Tradition has it that dahlia tubers – which are
tender – are lifted and stored in a frost-free
place this time of year. Increasingly gardeners
are taking a chance and leaving them in
the ground as our winters are becoming
much milder. I’d still be wary if you are in
frost-prone area, or have very wet soil.
• Autumn is the time to plant garlic. Break
bulbs into individual cloves and plant outside
deeply and about 15cm apart. For something
different, try Provence White, the new variety
out by The Garlic Farm (Newchurch) this
year.
• For a beautiful jewel-studded lawn in the
spring, plant daffodils and crocus in your turf
now. Natural-looking drifts can be created by
scattering bulbs randomly over the lawn. Plant
wherever they land with a bulb planter. They
will bulk up over the years to give increasing
impact. After the bulbs have finished
flowering, you will need to wait until the
plants have finished their growing cycle before
mowing (about 6 weeks), so mow around them
in the meantime.
• To tidy or not to tidy? Recent train of
thought has it to leave the garden until
spring for the big tidy-up. This is kinder on
wildlife over the winter, will protect more
tender plants, and leaving seedheads can add
winter interest. It also means less work for
the gardener! If you are a fastidious person, it
may be unbearable for you to leave the garden
in a mess, and of course, there is always
a chance large populations of slugs will
overwinter in such cosy beds of plant debris.
I’d be interested to know what IOW gardeners
think on this debatable gardening issue.
• For a bit of winter colour by your front
door, pot up an attractive container with
violas, winter cabbage, and trailing ivies.
Keeping to one colour of flowe