Last week saw the last of our major tree fruit harvesting. This fruit always keeps us guessing as it seems to wait until the last possible moment to increase in size.
The fruit on this variety - Meeches Prolific - is pear shaped, in fact many people think that it is a pear tree.
After the fruit was picked I cut back any upward pointing branches or any extending too far.
There are still one or two branches that I couldn't reach with the secateurs which will be trimmed back when I take the loppers. I also need to cut out the suckers around the base of the trunk.
We lifted the first lot of carrots from the third sowing - the first two lots were cleared by slugs.
We haven't anything like out usual quantity but at least we have carrots to harvest which at one point seemed an unlikely prospect.
We also picked the first calabrese and just in case you didn't notice them in the group photo, we cut a couple of lettuces to supplement the salad leaves growing in the garden.
When I went to cut our one and only pumpkin, I found another butternut squash that I missed last week.
We don't usually grow pumpkins or butternut squash but Marshalls sent us some trial seeds of both - the pumpkin is Knucklehead - so we gave both a try. Neither have yet been subjected to a taste test.
We are still picking a few berries and cherry tomatoes. The raspberries are now spoiling on the canes if they are not picked as soon as they are ripe. Strangely in this topsy turvy year the yellow raspberries are lasting on the canes longer than the red ones. The yellow ones usually spoil quickly.
I'm still managing to pick some small posies including a smattering of sweet peas.
As for the little nut tree - nothing does it bear except two lonely cobnuts. Last year we had a good harvest. The tree is already sporting immature male catkins but will the girls come out to play early next spring? Last year I didn't notice many female flowers.
The fruit on this variety - Meeches Prolific - is pear shaped, in fact many people think that it is a pear tree.
We also picked the first calabrese and just in case you didn't notice them in the group photo, we cut a couple of lettuces to supplement the salad leaves growing in the garden.
We are still picking a few berries and cherry tomatoes. The raspberries are now spoiling on the canes if they are not picked as soon as they are ripe. Strangely in this topsy turvy year the yellow raspberries are lasting on the canes longer than the red ones. The yellow ones usually spoil quickly.
I'm still managing to pick some small posies including a smattering of sweet peas.
As for the little nut tree - nothing does it bear except two lonely cobnuts. Last year we had a good harvest. The tree is already sporting immature male catkins but will the girls come out to play early next spring? Last year I didn't notice many female flowers.
Our complete October harvest so far is listed here
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Glad your carrots came good in the end, it was touch and go there with those pesky slugs, wasn't it? The pumpkin is fab, perfectly round, it would be a good specimen to carve but I'm sure you have other plans for it. I'm still harvesting blueberries, I picked enough yesterday to take round for my mum and dad to sprinkle on their cereal each morning this week, they've done really well this year even though only two out of the three bushes have produced anything.
ReplyDeleteIt was touch and go, Jo. We thought we may have a carrotless year. I don't really have any plans at all for the pumpkin yet it is rather large.
DeleteFunnily enough my yellow ones are lasting longer before spoiling than the red ones too. Lovely pumpkin the one I grew was rather small but big enough for some soup x
ReplyDeleteIt is weird Jo because usually it is the other way round. The yellow ones end up with black bits on them and need throwing away but this year they seem to have been remarkably clean.
DeleteWell, the greens sure look good on the carrots! Our spring planting rotted in the ground due to all the rain. I never got around to sowing the fall crop, so we will be buying carrots here.
ReplyDeleteWe had just the opposite problem, Dave it was so dry that lots of things were planted really late. The leeks are still quite small but the brassicas seem to have caught up.
DeleteFrom the looks of those leaves, you'll be getting a much better carrot harvest than I will - most of mine are still tiny and I'm trying to wait as long as possible to harvest them. No slug to blame on my end, just a planting that ended up going in much too late I think.
ReplyDeleteWe usually leave the carrots in the ground, Margaret and just lift them as we need them. Maybe if it isn't too cold they will just keep on growing a bit.
DeleteSome carrots are better none, I suppose, and overall you are still getting wonderful harvests. I'll be interested to see what you think of the pumkin, I think they look amazing, but have always assumed they will be nowhere near as tasty as a good squash.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely better than none, Janet. I'll be interested to see What we make of the pumpkin too.
DeleteI agree with Janet: in my opinion pumpkins are for carving, whereas squashes are for eating!
ReplyDeleteThe orange halloween style pumpkins have a very mild flavour and unpleasantly watery flesh that doesn't make good eating. These types are primarily grown for carving and not eating qualities. On the other hand, richly coloured, dense fleshed, sweet pumpkins such a crown prince or kabotcha types are very tasty and easily rival butternut squashes in the kitchen.
DeleteWe enjoy the Crown Prince squash too, S and D. It may well be that we don't end up eating the orange pumpkin, Mark it was something we wouldn't have grown if we hadn't have been sent the seeds.
DeleteLovely update Sue thank you for sharing and both of you have a blessed day
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda.
DeleteIt's funny how trees vary from year to year isn't it? Last year the lawn was carpeted with beech nuts, this year there are hardly any!
ReplyDeleteAnother wonderful harvest, what a variety you still have so late in the year. I'm glad you finally got carrots, I haven't had time to pick mine yet! The posies so look so pretty.xxx
Maybe this year is just not the year of the nut, Dina. The squirrels will not be at all happy will they?
DeleteAre you going to use the pumpkin for Halloween? hahaha....good harvest Sue!
ReplyDeleteI haven't decided exactly what we will do with it yet, Malar
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