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.
To my surprise, the garlic in the polytunnel had started to bolt. Last year, I planted all of my garlic outside and each clove sprouted due to the cold and then hot then cold weather. The bulbs were very small and it really wasn’t worth it. This year, I decided to plant half in the tunnel and half outside. The half that is outside is not ready yet but this lot was. I pulled it, strung it up to dry out and planted some aubergines into the space they left.
It is the first year that I have grown spring onions, red and white, and they are doing well. I keep thinning them and eating the thinnings in stir fries. The carrots are also bushing up and starting to thicken so these are also being thinned and eaten. My carrots outside have not germinated particularly well so my next visit to the plot will involve resowing both carrots and parsnips.
The main job this week has been planting out in the polytunnel. I have a lot of tomatoes to plant: Costoluto, Sungold, Zlatava, Black Krim, Green Zebra, Tigerella and Black Cherry. You can’t have too many tomatoes, can you? I have interplanted several varieties of lettuce and am hoping that the tomatoes will provide a bit of shade for them until it gets too hot in there. I also planted lettuce outside around my courgettes which should stagger production.
The first thing you find is that the local cats have been using the top of your much loved Helianthemum as a toilet. It is after all quite cold at the moment and who would want to put their little botty near the cold floor when there is a nice, cushion-shaped plant near by. So, you clear that up which is not easy and then continue.
One thing I am very pleased with though is my bowl of salad in an unheated greenhouse. I planted the pot up in early November. I don’t keep records (but I might make it my New Year’s Resolution to do just that) so I am not quite sure when, but we have had a picking each week from it throughout December and now into January. I just pick the outer leaves, leaving the growing inner leaves and they seem to have replenished a week later. I will definitely be growing more of these pots next year. I found some old polystyrene boxes in a recent clear out of the garage and they would be fantastic being slightly insulated. In the pot there is Little Gem lettuce, Mustard – which seems to be taking over and needs more frequent picking – Catalogne lettuce (I think!), fennel and coriander. There have been several mornings when I have looked at them and they have been very droopy. It is quite cold after all, but they have all recovered as the greenhouse has warmed up. So, salad with tea tonight.
Chinese Cabbage Scarlette
Lettuce Pigale Pills
Cabbage April
Tomatoes
Rosella as a deep-pink cherry tomato (nearly red!) with the taste of blackberries, raspberries and other summer fruits. I couldn’t resist but I am a little doubtful. I will of course update you. Zlatava is orange on the outside and guess what colour on the inside? I thought they might be an interesting. Kings do say that they have an excellent flavour. We shall see.