This week our harvests have been much reduced for two main reasons. The first is that the rain though very welcome has meant that we haven't made as many visits to the plot and the second reason is that we have entered into a lull between two heavy cropping periods.
The midsummer fruit crop is winding down - the summer raspberry canes that have fruited are just about ready to be cut down but happily the autumn raspberries and blackberries are tiptoeing onto the scene.
The flower harvest is stepping up with regular pickings of sweet peas. Having grown named varieties this year I want to try and keep track of which perform well so I can decide which will earn a place on next year's list.
The annual flower bed is now also providing additional cut flowers. For those of you wondering cutting back the sweet Williams didn't result in more flowers.
The first batch of peas are now finished and the next lot are not yet ready but the Carouby de Mausanne mangetout are filling the gap. We have optimistically sown some more peas as if the weather stays as cool as it has been it may well suit them.
Other than the odd pod the broad beans have finished, the climbing French and runner beans are well behind with a sprinkling of tiny beans just setting.
So far we are keeping up with the courgettes and picking them small but in anticipation of a glut, I have resurrected my "ways to use up courgettes" page on the blog sidebar.
Finally we had a little treat from the greenhouse - a few more figs.
Our complete July harvest is listed here
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Such beautiful produce---and flowers!
ReplyDeleteI am VERY impressed with your record keeping. I always mean to, but seldom do more than just jot a few notes on the calendar . Love your very thorough notes.
I can't take credit for the harvesting and sowing notes Sue that us Martyn's work.
DeleteHi Sue ~ tried to email this link to you, but wouldn't let me, so if you don't want it here, fair enough you can remove it, but I came across this today and it has loads of information on storing your harvest and I found some new ways on here that I did not know about, and I immediately thought of you Anyway, as I said, you can delete it if you don't like it, but I had no other way to share it.
ReplyDeletehttps://sjefgardentips.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/15-storige-tips-for-your-harvest/
I love all your flowers. I never thought of verbena bonariensis as a cut flower ~ I leave them overwinter as the goldfinches and blue tits love them and it is free entertainment around 3:00 p.m. every day in Winter, sitting by my window.
That's fine Debbie I'll take a look, Not sure the email didn't work I've checked it and it seems to be working fine, Thanks for thinking of me.
DeleteWe watch goldfinches on sunflower hearts - lovely birds.
Mmmm, figs, yum! That looks like a perfectly nice harvest for a lull, Sue. You've reminded me to sow a few more peas when a gap presents itself.
ReplyDeleteThere may not be many figs but what they lack in number they make up for in taste Caro
DeleteYour lull is bigger than my glut! And I'll probably never have enough flowers to be able to justify cutting them for bringing indoors. I'll just admire yours instead...
ReplyDeleteIt's between berry and bean picking which is late for us this year Mark.
DeletePretty harvest, Sue. I have many courgettes too, what is your recipe? I prefer to freeze them for winter time.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice week!
We use courgettes in all sorts of ways Nadezda and have collected some ideas on this page we also ear them raw in salad.
DeleteIt all looks gorgeous and your flowers beautiful. Enjoy it all, dee :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Dee we will :-)
DeleteOh yum...those figs look incredible. I'm with everyone else...that would definitely not constitute a lull in my books. I would love to have one bed just for cutting flowers - probably won't be anytime soon, but one day I'll get there.
ReplyDeleteThe bed is really just a hotch potch of annuals, Margaret some make better cutting material than others.
DeleteIt must be nice to have a cutting garden. My yard is so small, if I cut my flowers, there wouldn't be any left to make the yard pretty.
ReplyDeleteWe don't cut flowers from the garden, Daphne just the plot
DeleteThat's very good harvest of berries and vegetables! flower cutting will be really great in house! So lovely flowers!
ReplyDeleteThank you Malar they perfume the house too;
DeleteHi Sue, lots of lovely produce to enjoy - those are the sort of photos I look at in November for some inspiration! They are the best bits of gardening!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your views on sweet peas, as I am always looking for good varieties to try . Do you grow any in the greenhouse for early flowers ? I don't , but was reading about it on another blog, and wondering whether to try it.
I don't grow in the greenhouse, Jane the greenhouse is filled up as it is. So far Noel Sutton in a favourite. It would be interesting to hear of other peoples favourites wouldn't it?
DeleteI'm very impressed with your cutting flowers Sue, it's something I've not mastered just yet despite committing my PT to it this year lol.
ReplyDeleteAs for those figs - yum, yum yum :) I've bought my fig trees out into the garden for the last couple of years so they don't really produce Figs at the right time to ripen but when I grew them in the PT they ripened and tasted lovely. Surprisingly I have always thought I hated Figs, didn't realise I liked them until I tasted one in my PT.
I was like you - I too thought that I didn't like figs. Is your fig likely to find its way back into the PT?
DeleteA few more figs? Lucky you! I haven't had one....I am out of broad beans too, I just love them boiled for a few minutes then eaten with with salt and pepper....Your harvests are inspiring, as always, and like you I cut sweet william back and didn't gain a single new bud or flower...xxx
ReplyDeleteThe sweet Williams were worth a try Dina
DeleteI like your annual flower bed, so colorful!
ReplyDeleteThank you Endah
DeleteHehe, your lulls are like Daphne's - still a great harvest! I didn't have any luck with peas this year (slugs), I think I'll wait to try again next year.
ReplyDeleteWe do sow the peas very thickly, Lou which increase our odds.
ReplyDelete