This week's harvest is dominated by a good harvest of quinces and a couple of surprises.
Martyn wrote about picking the quinces on his blog here and he is now working his way through them stewing and freezing for use later.
The colour of the stewed fruit was a bit surprising.
The variety that we grow is Meeches Prolific which produces pear shaped and sized fruit. A couple of people on the site have actually mistaken the fruit for pears. The fruit is really hard and any attempt to eat the fruit raw is likely to result in a visit to the dentist. We were concerned that the fruit could have developed bitter pit bit so far only a handful of fruit have been spoiled.
Martyn wrote about picking the quinces on his blog here and he is now working his way through them stewing and freezing for use later.
The colour of the stewed fruit was a bit surprising.
We seem to have quite a few cauliflowers coming together so we are hoping that they last in the ground until we need them.
The cabbages are really solid and produce a large amount of edible leaves so we have been cutting them in half and sharing them with my sister.
The major surprise of the week was the late potato harvest. The potatoes - Harmony - were planted at the end of April and never seemed to grow, Hardly any top-growth formed and so we had assumed that they wouldn't have produced a crop. Martyn decided to dig the bed more to tidy up than to harvest potatoes. The surprise was that potatoes were actually revealed and decent sized tubers at that. About half the bed was dug last week so we are likely to find more potatoes yet.
The second surprise was finding a rather small Crown Prince hiding in one of the buddleias.It was growing on a spare plant that had been growing in the courgette bed.
I think that I may have picked the last of the sweet peas now as the plants are looking very tired but they have produced masses of flowers this year so I'm not complaining.
 9 October |
The second surprise was finding a rather small Crown Prince hiding in one of the buddleias.It was growing on a spare plant that had been growing in the courgette bed.
I think that I may have picked the last of the sweet peas now as the plants are looking very tired but they have produced masses of flowers this year so I'm not complaining.
A complete list of our October harvests here.
Once again I am linking to Harvest Monday over at Daphne's Dandelions.
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That's a great quince harvest, and it's always nice when you find something you didn't know you had growing.
ReplyDeleteAnd we love quinces, Jo
DeleteNice surprise you had there with your potatoes. I started digging some up yesterday. They didn't have much to p growth but then again there isn't much under the ground either...none the less i will persevere and get them all up...and the new potatoes that are still in the ground too..they will come in for something somewhere!!
ReplyDeleteWe always thought tio growth was a good indicator of potential harvesting, Tanya so it is very strange.
DeleteThere really is nothing like a harvest you did not expect - what a treat! Those potatoes sure do look wonderful.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right Margaret
DeleteI'd have assumed those were pears like some of your fellow allotementeers Sue. You had a great harvest this year and what a treat to find those potatoes.
ReplyDeleteThose carrots look wonderful, i'm sure I'd be munching on them before they made it into the kitchen.
These type of quinces are very pear like to look at Angie but not as fer as taste and texture are concerned.
DeleteWhat a lovely harvest! I've thought about trying to grow a quince since I believe they are hardy here, but I've never even tried to eat one. That's good to know that one does not eat quince raw! I will have to try one and see if I like them enough to grow.
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer. They have the kind of taste you will either love or dislike - they are certainly not bland
DeleteOur quince trees have some awful disease (fireblight?) and we have not had a single quince in three years. We used to get lots. We may have to dig the trees up if there are no fruits next year.
DeleteOne of our pears had fireblight a year or so ago, FinD and I had to cut the top out completely so now it is more a bush than a tree
DeleteGreat harvest, I don't know how the taste it look like, it must be so fresh and tasty
ReplyDeleteI can't describe it, Endah as it is a unique taste,
DeleteThe quince do look like pears. If you hadn't told me I would have guess a pear. What a nice harvest of them too. I've never had them.
ReplyDeleteIt's the best harvest of quinces we have had since we planted the tree, Daphne
DeleteWhat a harvest! I have never had much success with caulis so you have my deepest respect for your successful cauli crop. As for quince... we wait and we wait.... maybe next year.
ReplyDeleteWhat variety if quince have you planted Sarah as ours produced some fruit fairly quickly - do you get flowers?
DeleteA lovely surprise harvest, I always like to find things lurking in the undergrowth. Usually the stuff I find is too big to eat though. That's a really good amount of quinces this year. I hope you have mince too.
ReplyDeleteWe have mince at the ready in the freezer CJ now all we need is the piggy wig and the turkey.
DeleteNice quinces sue! These look like ones I've had before when someone at work brought a bagful in a few years back. How do you check for bitter pit?
ReplyDeleteSometimes the only way you find bitter pit is when you peel the fruit, Kelli. There are brown spots or patches throughout the flesh which you can't pare them away. Sometimes there are sunken patches on the surface of fruit or there are brown patches on the surface.
DeleteTo be honest bitter pit was a guess as to our problem last year. Checking the symptoms it was the nearest diagnosis we could make. It;s caused by lack of calcium in the same way as blossom end rot in tomatoes. A watering issue but when watering is down to the weather it is difficult to control.
Glad to see you are still getting a harvest. My garden is put to bed for the year. Interesting about the quince. I planted pears this year. Unheard of at this altitude. Hope springs eternal.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the pears Bonnie, Nothing ventured nothing gained.
DeleteYou are not alone in linking quinces to runcible spoons! That's an impressive crop if the fruit, they must smell wonderful. What a lovely surprise to discover so many potatoes lurking under the soil.
ReplyDeleteEach year that poem just won;t leave my head at quince time, Janet.
DeleteYour quinces look like pears ! Great photos !
ReplyDeleteGreetings
Thank you Ela
DeleteYour caulies and those extra spuds are great!
ReplyDeleteI still haven't tasted quince but would love to add a tree to my garden, you have converted me! I hear the fruit is really fragrant and if left in a bowl result in a delicious smelling room?xxx
We don't really keep any in the house but the garage is perfumed, Dina. Pity you don't live nearby or you could come for a sample.. It;s a taste some people won't like.
DeleteBucket full of fruit! yummy!
ReplyDeleteQuinces are only yummy after cooking, Malar,
DeleteA fantastic harvest, Sue - and I'm impressed that your sweet peas are only just giving up, mine died weeks ago, lack of rain during the summer I guess. I hope I have that many quinces one day - and a big freezer to go with!
ReplyDeleteWe've been trying to decide why the sweet peas are lasting so long, Caro September was very dry so it's not moisture. We have been efficient at pocking the flowers this year so maybe that's it!
DeleteIt's our first mega quince harvest this year,