 |
| 28 August |
The cucumbers have knocked the courgettes off first place in the crop that keeps on giving spot. Some may be anything but straight but that just adds to the interest.
Another contender for the gold medal is the bean. We could spend all our time picking beans. This year we intend to harvest mature pods and just use the seeds in stews etc. I'm going to try freezing them. I know I could dry them but I would never feel confident that they had dried correctly and they weren't going to poison us.
The apples that we think are Discovery have been harvested. In spite of the tree being loaded and us being reluctant to thin out the fruits they are a decent size.
There was no need to even consider thinning the fruit of the Tickled Pink variety as it only had five fruits. We were happy with that as it was five more than it ever had before. We picked one earlier but decided it wasn't quite ripe. Then on Saturday an apple had dropped off. We decided to share it when we had a coffee break. The flesh is almost completely red and the juice actually stained the paper towel.
It has a rather unique flavour. As you bite into it there is a sweetness which becomes tarter as you chew.
The skin of the apple is a very dark red - most unusual.
We keep harvesting a few figs - I think this is their best year.
The sweet peas are still producing lots of flowers although now many of the stems are much shorter. The plants have grown much taller this year, so much so that Martyn has to pick the flowers at the top.
The tomatoes are ripening quickly now. Many are picked as we need them and don't feature in any photos. It's been time to convert some to a sort of tomato passata to freeze.
The All Gold autumn raspberries have really responded well to the rough treatment they were subjected to back in April/May
The last of the potatoes were lifted. These were the second lot of Winston. You may remember that the previous row of Winston were consigned to the garden waste bin. This row grown in a different bed showed no sign of scab and initial signs were promising. They produced a good yield but on closer inspection the tubers had suffered a high level of slugs and wireworm damage. Winston will definitely not feature in next year's plan.
 |
| 2 September |
We picked the first of the Clapton cauliflowers. Despite the brassicas being covered with enviromesh a small white butterfly had sneaked in and its baby was lurking on the curd. This small green caterpillar was evicted. I am hoping no large whites have crept in as unlike their small cousins they lay a cluster of eggs and consequently the caterpillars cause more devastation
The onions have now been dried off and stored in boxes. We seem to have had less wastage through rotting this year which is maybe down to the dry weather. Drying also has been more successful but only tme will tell whether the onions will keep well.
As well as filling the house with vases of sweet peas, the perennial and annuals beds on the plot are still providing cut flower.
Posts
