(to be viewed while listening to the Tra-la-la song by the Banana Splits… which will only be familiar to those of a certain age. I could have put the soundtrack on here but decided not to drive you [...]
Archive for September, 2009
The spud game
Posted in Allotments, Harvesting, Storing, tagged potatoes on September 30, 2009 | 7 Comments »
Rogues’ Gallery: Mildew
Posted in Allotments, Fruit, Rogues' Gallery, tagged courgettes, cucumbers, gooseberries, mildew on September 27, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Leaves of beech trees and blueberries may be getting ready to turn fetching shades of red and orange at this time of year: but those on my courgette plants turn white. Mildew is as regular a sign of autumn as mists and mellow fruitfulness (and people quoting Keats at each other). It’s a fungus which seems to go off and do something else [...]
Help – I’ve run out of rain
Posted in Allotments, tagged watering, weather on September 24, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Well. Say what you like about veg gardening: but it’s never predictable. I’ve been out with the watering can this morning, soaking my parched veg which haven’t had a drop of rain in almost two weeks now. The sun is beating down, and after a whole summer of relying on the (copious) rainfall I suddenly find myself, two [...]
Pick of the month: September
Posted in Greenhouse growing, Pick of the month, tagged tomatoes on September 18, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Tomato ‘Country Taste’ I’ve tried a few beefsteak tomatoes in my time – ‘Brandywine’, ‘Belriccio’, ‘Beefeater’…. Without exception, they’ve been a pain in the neck. It’s not growing the plants that’s the problem: they aren’t any more difficult than ordinary tomatoes to get to fruiting point. The trouble comes when the wretched things start to [...]
Of ghosties and goblins…
Posted in Allotments, tagged pumpkins on September 15, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I’m getting secretly very excited about my pumpkin plants this year. I’ve got two of them, and they’re bubbling up like some witch’s cauldron of giant green leaves in a heap in one corner of the plot. The reason I’m getting excited is that I’ve never had much luck with them before. Either they’ve been [...]
Recipe of the month: September
Posted in Recipe of the month, tagged cooking, cucumbers, gluts on September 11, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Cucumber relish All right, yes, I know, it looks a bit bilious. But you’ll just have to take my word for it – it tastes absolutely scrummy, with just the right amount of crunch. If you want it a little less yellow and a little more green, cut down on the turmeric (or cut it out [...]
Totally tomatoed out
Posted in Shows, tagged heritage varieties, tomatoes on September 8, 2009 | 2 Comments »
If August is the month for obsession with onions, September is for tomatoes. (And courgettes, and beans, of course, but we won’t mention those for fear of bringing on palpitations). My toms are doing just fine this year: I’ve already been picking bucketfuls of my all-purpose ‘Elegance’, enjoyed some pretty good beefsteaks (‘Belriccio’) and snacked on bite-sized [...]
To blanch, or not to blanch?
Posted in Storing, tagged beans, blanching, cooking, gluts, preserving crops on September 5, 2009 | 4 Comments »
I am currently working my way through mountains of beans. Every three days I pick a whole carrier-bag full. What’s really worrying me is that this is only half what I’m going to be getting in a couple of weeks’ time: my late-sown bean plants are just starting to get under way now. When they’re [...]
It’s a cover-up
Posted in Allotments, Soil care, tagged beans, green manure, manure, onions, peas, time management, weeds, winter on September 2, 2009 | 2 Comments »
There are big patches of bare soil turning up all over my allotment. The onions are gone, dried and golden and sitting in big boxes in my kitchen waiting to be plaited up into strings; the peas have gone over and have started to succumb to mildew, so they’ll probably be next; and I’m three-quarters of [...]
Crocus kitchen garden shop
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Harvesting Now
Blackcurrants, calabrese, cauliflower, courgettes, French beans, garlic, globe artichokes, gooseberries, kale, onions, peas, potatoes (new and second early), raspberries (summer), redcurrants, runner beans, salad leaves, shallots, strawberries, tomatoes, whitecurrantsSowing Now
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