June 25

First and last harvests

 

This year is proving to be different as far as the weather is concerned. Having had one of the wettest winters and a very late spring, we are now experiencing heat and no rain.  I love the heat but the allotment is starting to droop so watering is important at the moment and seems to be taking longer and longer.  The heat also means that produce is either early or over quite quickly. However, lots of things are just starting to get into their stride.

Mara de Bois strawberries and Loganberry

These are the last of the strawberries for the moment. I understand that Mara de Bois  are meant to be perpetual strawberries but I suspect they have worn themselves out and won’t fruit again for some time. They are worth it though because the taste is fantastic.  They took along time to get going and didn’t really fruit for 2 years. I think they were too dry in our soil – the name does not suggest sandy dry conditions. I did wonder about trying some planted between the fruit trees as if they were in a wood.  What really helped was a mulch with Strulch, a straw based mulch with an inbuilt slug deterrent. It is expensive but I didn’t lose many strawberries to slugs. The other berries in the dish are the first loganberries. Again, there aren’t many but they are just about to get going. The thing about loganberries is that once they are ripe they have to be picked and eaten or frozen on the same day. They do not keep at all which is presumably why you can’t buy them in the shops.

Globe Artichoke Gros de Leon

The first globe artichokes of the year. They are fiddly to cook and eat but I love them dipped in mayonnaise. They do all seem to be ready at the same time so that means I have about 20 on the plants all good to go.  Sarah Raven’s globe artichoke tart is another favourite way to eat them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other firsts are the outdoor garlic, courgettes and sweet peas.  I grew soft neck garlic but have just learnt that if you want garlic scapes you need to grow hard neck garlic. Next year!  The courgettes are British Summertime (dark green), Yellow Stripe and Tondo Chiaro di Nizza (globe).  Over the last few years I have found the yellow courgettes to be more productive than others so British Summertime is a new variety to me and I am hoping more productive than Green Bush which I normally grow.

Lettuce Iceberg 4

This is one enormous lettuce! It fills the sink.  The seeds were free with a gardening magazine and I only sowed them to see what it was like, not having much hope that I would like it as I don’t really like the iceberg lettuces you can buy in supermarkets. However, this is a winner!  Large, green and crunchy with a good lettucy flavour. I will be growing these again.

What’s growing well in your garden?

Many thanks to Dave at Our Happy Acres for hosting the Harvest Monday posts. Do have a look at all the linked posts.

June 4

Harvest Monday 4th June 2018

I do love this time of year. Everything in the vegetable garden starts to get going and there is a choice about what to have for lunch, not just spinach!

This is probably the earliest cucumber I have ever grown. I bought a grafted plant, Mini Star, which already had some small cucumbers on it and this one didn’t go yellow and drop off with the cold but grew.  It will take a little while for the next one to be ready.

This is the first beetroot from outside. It is a mixture of Boltardy and Bona and is the first year I have grown Bona. It has done just as well as the Boltardy the only difference being in the shape of the root: it is a globe with no point on the bottom.  On the back of the packet of the seed it says that they are as good as any hybrid which made me wonder if I could save my own seed from them.  I think I will sow some more, let them grow through to next year and save the seed just to see what happens. Tomorrow, however, I will make beetroot and feta samosas with them.

All of my outdoor carrot seedlings were eaten by slugs and snails. Grrrr! So, I only have the carrots in the polytunnel at the moment. Some of them are a little wiggly because I garden on sand and stone. I am going to eat these with the peas below, broadbeans and a lemon and mustard dressing.

Again, these peas are from the polytunnel. The outdoor ones won’t be long but it does show how the polytunnel extends the season at both ends.  These are Douce Provence and I will definitely be growing them again. The plants seem to be stronger and a little tougher than the Hurst Greenshaft I normally grow. The peas, however, are tender and sweet.

The smallest harvest ever of potatoes. One of the Nicola potatoes was flowering so I thought I would just take a look.  They are small but were delicious cooked with mint. Patience!

And soon to come are the strawberries and the globe artichokes. I can’t wait!

My thanks to the wonderful Our Happy Acres blog for hosting the Harvest Monday posts.