Monday, August 24

Vegetable Bonanza

Our broad beans have been a disaster this year. In spring when the plants were just right for planting, the weather was awful, consequently having to wait for some improvement in the weather, the plants became really leggy. When they were finally planted out, the plants had to contend with gales, very dry conditions and fluctuating temperatures. They didn't like it and just refused to grow. Had the plants been stronger when they went out maybe they would have coped .

Martyn was browsing seed suppliers, as you do, and noticed some broad bean plants for sale that should crop in autumn so we decided to give them a go. In the event they didn't arrive as early as they should have. The supplier rejected the first lot from the grower. The plants arrived last week and were planted out on the same day. To be honest they don't look any better than the ones that we planted originally. On top of that we had gales the day after planting. We are not hopeful.

Other than this planting, our jobs on the allotment have been confined to tidying, clearing beds of spent crops and harvesting.

The blueberry net has been removed as the bushes have just about finished fruiting.

Another bed that has been cleared was a bed housing onions and shallots. The photo below makes the onions look far better that they were. Most of the onions were very much undersized and the shallots were tiny. For some reason, the onions in this bed just haven't grown, unlike the onions in another bed that have thrived.
Sungold and Apricot Dream tomatoes are now ripening. Unlike Sweet and Neat, Apricot Dream is an indeterminate variety. The sweet tasting fruits are small and plum shaped. Both Sungold and Apricot Dream produce much better flavoured tomatoes than Sweet and Neat. Incidentally when I was looking up Apricot Dream, I stumbled across the symbolic interpretation of the name. I quote: 'Dreaming of apricots represent the feelings of joy you have for someone or something that has not been easy to achieve.' Seems appropriate for many aspects of gardening.

Mini Munch is still producing and we pick lettuce as needed to add to our salads.
We've hit the peak of our vegetable harvesting period now and our collections are becoming more varied. 
18 August
Another bed that we cleared was our trial potato bed in which we planted four tubers each of six varieties. Two varieties, Ulster Prince and Pentland Javelin had been lifted earlier and produced good crops. Two of the remaining varieties, Sarpo Una and Mayan Rose produced disappointing crops. Mayan Rise in particular produced a very small harvest. The only positive was that the tubers were pretty as the taste wasn't anything special. The other two varieties, Gemson and Maris Piper performed better with Maris Piper being the best. Gemson like Mayan Rose didn't impress in the taste test. The other two varieties haven't been sampled yet.
We were worried that the first carrots that we lifted would turn our to be a fluke but we are continue to pull pleasing roots. So far we have only lifted one variety - Romance.


We now have lots of All Gold raspberries. So far the fruits have stood up well to the poor weather as in the past  rain and wind has spoiled the berries. We don't need to net these as the yellow fruits don't seem to attract the birds

Our second brassica bed is nearly ready for clearing. We picked the last of the broccoli and  the last cauliflower so only a few cabbages remain. The cauliflower went into a Vegetable Jalfrezi and the broccoli and more cauliflower went into a pasta bake both of which I failed to photograph.
20 August
Courgettes are in full production so the fruits are finding their way in as an extra ingredient in many meals such as curries, pasta dishes, stir fries and coleslaw and sometimes even taking centre stage as in a Summer Courgette Risotto.
I adapted the recipe slightly. I used a mix of yellow and green courgettes. I used less rice and more courgettes. I also added a little turmeric.

The blackberries have now overcome the earlier drupelet problem and providing a steady supply of fruits that need picking on each plot visit. Picking wild blackberries is a memory I have of walks with my granddad. Those blackberries needed soaking to flush out the grubs hidden inside. Our cultivated blackberries don't seem to be affected but I always check the fruits as I pick them. If the core is clean and intact it is grubless.
I'm now pulling from the second sowing of peas which although the pods are smaller, despite being the same variety,  they are in a much better condition that the earlier pickings.
Although we only so far have a dribble of runner beans, our climbing French beans are now cropping with the green Cobra producing more beans than the yellow Sunshine.
Apples are now falling and so we have started picking what we think are Discovery apples growing on our apple hedge. I thinned the fruits this year but at the moment I can't honestly say that the apples are any bigger than when I left nature to its own devices.
You may remember that the first lot of Victoria plums to ripen were badly infested with plum moth maggots. Happily we now appear to have clean fruits. Fruits that ripen prematurely are often occupied. Often our earliest variety Oullins Gage is the most badly affected but I'm wondering whether the poor weather early on in spring delayed plum moth activity and cause them to go for the later variety. 


The plums above went into a compote which is popped in the freezer to enjoy during our fruitless months.


NB: Links are to either appropriate videos that we have posted on our vlog or online recipes.


Stay safe and healthy

This week I am linking to harvest Monday hosted on 

Dave's blog Our Happy Acres

You don't have to have your own blog in order to join in conversations. It may seem that everyone who comments knows one another but bloggers always welcome new commenters, after all that is how we all started. 

PS: It's not just our gardens that suffer from blight. Martyn and I are currently suffering from an influx of blog blight. It seems that it is the season of the spammer. One in particular is persistently targeting our and what appears to be lots of other people's blogs. Most are sent to the spam or moderation folders as we moderate comments on posts over five days old. These spam comments are deleted and never see the light of day but unfortunately some do sneak through. I apologise for any that sneak through and end up being emailed to those who subscribe to comments, Please do not click on any links in spam comments which gives these nuisances satisfaction and encouragement. They can track where click throughs originate from and will target a blog even more if they think that this is causing more people to visit their site.

Copyright: Original post from Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments http://glallotments.blogspot.co.uk/ author S Garrett

23 comments:

  1. With another named storm tomorrow your Broad Beans will need all the help they can get. We really are taking a pasting. Tidying up what I can this afternoon, it hasn't been a good year at all. My blackberries are a bumper crop {that is, the ones that the neighbour didn't splash with paint while painting his fence} but my apples are an odd crop this year. Stay safe!

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    1. It's windy here, Deborah but supposed to get the worst of it tonight. My sister had a neighbour like that

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  2. The risotto recipe sounds like a good way to use a variety of garden veggies. I haven't made a risotto in a while but I do love the dish. Your blackberries look perfect! I rarely see bugs on ours, though Japanese beetles do love the foliage.

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    1. Risottos and stir fries are great fir using bits and pieces of veg, Dave

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  3. What a lot of lovely grub! It’s a shame to hear about the Mayan Rose, what a great looking potato!

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    1. We've grown Apache that looks similar Belinda - just hope that when we lift it that it has produced a better yield.

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  4. I wonder if anywhere in the world had a good gardening year. Not here.

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    1. I think that we have all had a rough year tpals.

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  5. I am surprised that you have peas this time of year. Here they would be cooked in the garden. Your harvest looks great. How do you like the yellow berries? I agree with the birds they don't look as appetizing to me either.

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    1. It is rare for anything to cook in summer in our climate, Lisa. The yellow raspberries taste just the same as the red ones so it's a bonua that the birds leave them.

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  6. You have been very busy! As always, lovely fruit harvests and the flowers are always heartening.

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    1. We have to make the most of when the weather is being kind, Sue

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  7. Obviously not the year of the broad bean. I hope that the new arrivals perk up Sue. Your summer courgette risotto looks most yummy. We picked a few yesterday along with the first apples just in time before today's strong winds.

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    1. Not for us, Anna. The weather isn’t encountering any perking up.

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  8. Sue, I love your yellow raspberries and blackberries. I've never tasted yellow ones, are they sweet? You have pretty crop, especially of Victoria plums. I've cooked jam with my plums.

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    1. The yellow raspberries taste just the same taste as red ones, Nadezda.

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  9. Good luck with those broad beans, they don't look happy. It's interesting to me that you can buy plants, I've never seen them offered as plants here, only seeds.

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    1. I’m not very hopeful, Michelle as the weather has been awful since we planted the beans

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  10. The weather has been so unpredictable this year. It's often hit or miss with certain crops isn't it, shame about those beans and some of the onions. A fantastic harvest though.xxx

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  11. P.s loved those dishes!xxx

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    1. Unfortunately at the moment the weather is just predictably bad, Dina

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  12. Such pretty potatoes and your vegetable risotto looks amazing. Your vegetable harvests are peaking, and ours have come and gone. We've already tilled the garden for fall plantings.

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    1. Most of our beds will be empty until early next spring Phuong.

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