Last week our harvest consisted of crops that we either wanted to use straight away or things that just wouldn't hold on until later.
We picked the first ripe cob from the sweetcorn.
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| 5 September |
We also picked the first and last plums from our Marjorie's Seedling tree and just like the Oullins Gage and Victoria about half of the plums had unwelcome inhabitants - plum moth grubs.
The inevitable happened and our outdoor tomatoes were hit by the dreaded blight. Last year incredibly we managed to escape its attention but to have a second successive blight free year was highly unlikely.
The only tomatoes that we grow outdoors are plants that can't be found a place in either of our greenhouses. It's a case of planting them outside on the plot or consigning them to the compost heap. Any resulting fruit is a bonus and we did manage to harvest some ripe tomatoes before the plants were annihilated.
Some plants had been placed in large crates in a different area of the plot and these were less badly affected.
As is often the case blight had started to affect the tomato plants in the plot greenhouse but so far we have slowed its progress by removing as many affected leaves as possible so maybe we will manage to harvest more fruits before wipeout occurs.
In the garden greenhouse the tomato plants have developed a lean but so far are unaffected by blight. It's an advantage that none of our neighbours grow tomatoes.
I'm still managing to keep the house supplied with cut flowers.
The sweet peas are still ticking over but now some of the plants are fading.
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| 6 September |
The apples were starting to fall from the trees. The apple hedge was the first to discard fruit. As the row of old cordon apple trees - affectionately known as our apple hedge - was inherited, we have no idea what the varieties that make up the hedge are.
The ones below are larger fruits and the flesh has a pinkish tint just under the skin. The flesh is crisp and the flavour delicious. We think it may be Discovery but that is just a guess .
You may remember that when I cut down the old broad beans that I noticed that some of the plants were shooting at the base and even producing flowers. As we didn't need the space straight away we left these to see what would happen. The beans below were the result.
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| 9 September |
Last week we harvested the first fruits from the small Bramley apple planted on the plot. These in fact harvested themselves as they fell from the tree. As more apples had fallen, I decided to pick the rest before they risked being bruised. They parted from the tree easily and so were ready to leave the tree.
We planted our autumn onion sets last week but are still lifting onions planted last autumn - a prime example of the cyclical nature of gardening. It's a bit like cleaning only more rewarding and more fun.
I picked more beetroot - some of these ended up as a side salad or dip.
We have found that we quite like the yellow tomatoes that are masquerading as Gardeners' Delight. I'll have to email the company that supplied the seed to see if they can suggest what it actually is. This year we tried a variety called Sunchocola. It has a thickish skin but we like the taste of that variety too and has probably earned its place on next year's list.
We have found that we quite like the yellow tomatoes that are masquerading as Gardeners' Delight. I'll have to email the company that supplied the seed to see if they can suggest what it actually is. This year we tried a variety called Sunchocola. It has a thickish skin but we like the taste of that variety too and has probably earned its place on next year's list.
More cutting material meant that I could replenish the vases in the house.
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Beautiful flowers, and a bountiful harvest. Blight is nipping at the end rows of my outdoor tomatoes too, the worst for quite a while. Strangely the crop was the best for quite a while this year. The end is in sight now though as the blight moves along the bed. I've been picking my first apples as well, Worcester Pearmain. My others aren't quite ready yet. Great trick with the broad beans, nice to have them at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteAs Mark commented it has been just the sort of weather that blight enjoys, CJ Last year was quite a different story.
DeleteSue, I always look forward to your posts-the pictures are fantastic.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry about the blight. Thankfully, it held off for a bit. At this time of year, it's getting time for things to slow down--us included.
Have a great week.
We see blight as more or less inevitable. Sue. When it doesn't strike it is a bonus. Enjoy your week ahead too.
DeleteShame about the blight but not surprising - it's been warm and damp recently, ideal conditions. The rest of your harvest is extremely impressive :)
ReplyDeleteNot at all surprising, Jayne in fact we had expected blight to strike sooner.
DeleteWonderful harvests. I think blight has started to affect hour greenhouse tomatoes, thankfully they are at the end of their lifespan now x
ReplyDeleteGlad you managed to beat the blight somewhat, Jo.
DeleteThat top shot really shows an autumn harvest - how lovely. Then the vase with the Cosmos. Shame about the blight, but at least you got to eat plenty before it struck
ReplyDeleteWe have the tomatoes in the garden greenhouse that are unaffected too, Belinda.
DeleteI have to say your flowers almost steal the show from your edibles! It's all lovely and colorful though. Too bad about the blighted tomatoes, but it is good you have the greenhouse plants for backup. I am fortunate the blight hasn't hit around here, and there aren't a lot of other gardens near to where I live.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest the greenhouse tomatoes are our main plants, Dave the outdoor ones are just an additional bonus if we manage to harvest anything from the.
DeleteI love the flower arrangement, you wouldn't get those varieties in a bought arrangement. What a shame about the blight but at least it didn't strike earlier, I hope you manage to get a few more tomatoes off the plants yet.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Jo the lowers we grow wouldn't have any commercial value as they don't last long enough but we have a plentiful supply and can replace them often.
DeleteI'm glad you managed to save at least some of the outdoor tomatoes. Weather conditions down here have been really very blight-conducive - warm and humid. Remind me: do you ever get blight on the toms in your garden greenhouse, or is it only the one on the plot? (I'm considering buying a small greenhouse for growing toms and chillis...) It's a shame about the maggots in your plums, but I think it must be a particularly bad year for them. Some of the plums we have bought have been similarly afflicted, and I bet the commercial growers spray theirs.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting about the shop bought plums, Mark. I am probably going to regret writing this at some point but we haven;t ever had blight in the garden greenhouse and we do keep the door open. However, when we grew tomatoes outside in the garden we didn't have blight. When our allotment site was only sparsely populated and we were surrounded by head high weeds we didn't get blight there either. I guess the disease needs a corridor of plants to spread along. If you already get blight in your garden it may be a different story for you. Do many of your neighbours grow tomatoes in their garden?
DeleteI so love your flowers - I normally place some fresh cut flowers in the house throughout the season, but this year things were just so chaotic that this fell through the cracks. And blight is a beast - consider yourself lucky for having one blight free year. I had one - my first year with the garden - and that was that. We do have neighbours that are similarly affected, so that may be a contributing factor.
ReplyDeleteWe always expect blight to turn up ever year, Mrgaret.
DeleteEverything is beautiful, and the flowers are brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda.
DeleteDespite the blight it is still quite a harvest. I had to smile at the three red raspberries in the punnet of golden ones
ReplyDeleteThey were from the Joan J that I split and replanted earlier this year, Deborah. Hopefully next year they will bounce back.
DeleteOh the dreaded blight! It shows up every year here, but my hot and humid climate is perfect for blight. Your flowers are gorgeous and those apples look delicious!
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't need many waem and humid days for blight to strike here, Julie.
DeleteBlight got our outdoor toms too before they even started to ripen. I have picked what green ones are unaffected(yet). I will put them towards some glutney chutney later this week. Like you our indoor toms are okay so far, fingers crossed
ReplyDeleteGill
Let's hope that blight leaves our healthy tomatoes alone, Gill.
DeleteThat's good harvest Sue!. The first corn look huge!
ReplyDeleteHope your tomatoes give enough harvest! ;)
The flowers are so beautiful!
We picked more corn today, Malar.
DeleteBlight always hits here as well, but we're lucky in that tomatoes ripen so early here and it usually strikes after the plants are finished. Your ear of corn is nice and big, very impressive. And it seems like your yellow courgettes did very well this year.
ReplyDeleteThe yellow courgettes have been better than the green ones this year, Phuong
DeleteThat's a great harvest Sue, things are slow going on my plot this year as I am still trying to get back into it. Luckily (touch wood) I have never had blight problems on my tomatoes but and allotment neighbours has just had to cut hers down due to blight so I hope I'm not affected. My fruit trees don't seem to have done so well this year though we did get a lovely plum harvest. Those pink apples look lovely!
ReplyDeleteI hope that you remain blight free, Tanya. The apples are delicious too.
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