What are you harvesting today?

I have no idea Dandelion. I've had a decent crop only 3 or 4 times in 20 years. Mostly it will germinate just fine then just sit there and hardly grow at all. This year I had some seedlings given to me that I put in the garden and I sowed some seed that I bought in the polytunnel to fill the space when i took something out. They have all done well.

Came home from the allotment today with runner beans, some late ripening sweet corn, courgettes, raspberries and my first romanesco head. Rather small and a bit loose, but perfectly edible. I have another on the way, so will hold on to the first until it's ready.

I want to try romanesco again next year - hopefully some will germinate!
But we have purple sprouting now ready, from the seeds sent by Ploshkin a couple of years ago. I tried to get some more from Thompson and Morgan (I think that's who produced them) but they seem to have discontinued the summer/early autumn variety. So I'll try the later variety next year.

I picked a tub of cucamelons (melothrie) this morning. They're brining ready for pickling. I've never had them before but like to try something different. The seedlings were tiny and only one survived but that was a good thing really because they might have taken over the polytunnel if I'd had more than one plant.

I'm using sweet peppers now, probably one of my best crops ever and still have a couple of melons to go. I cut back the cucumber plant to some sprouting joints, fed it and I'm getting some more nice cucumbers.

Ploshkin wrote:I picked a tub of cucamelons (melothrie) this morning.  They're brining ready for pickling.  I've never had them before but like to try something different.  The seedlings were tiny and only one survived but that was a good thing really because they might have taken over the polytunnel if I'd had more than one plant.

So will they be like little gherkins when pickled?

They're odd. They have the texture of a cucumber but a citrusy taste. They have smooth skins and are very pretty, about the size of small grapes. I probably won't grow them again but just wanted to try something different

I am in the process of making a jelly from Apple, Quince and 7 pot yellow chillies. And a hot sauce from Fatali chillies and red carrots.

Other things are pretty much all over. red cabbage to come, some more drying beans, and about 13 huge butternut squashes. Leeks look worryingly poor this year, I hope they don't have allium leaf miner again

A visit to the allotment this afternoon showed that the remaining sweetcorn, runner beans and courgettes all succumbed to the bitingly low temperatures combined with strongish wind on Saturday. I'm disappointed the season is over so suddenly and early, though managed to salvage the last few beans and corn cobs which were just about ripe enough.

Next year I shall try to ensure I have some protection over the courgettes from early September - it may just extend their season by a few weeks.

That's disappointing FB.
The weather has been affecting things here too, with the storm we're in the middle of - summer has come to an abrupt end. I still have a few tomatoes soldiering on the greenhouse, but I have been keeping the greenhouse door open during the day for the hens to shelter out of the rain in. The carpet tile pathway I put down in the greenhouse when we first bought it really is going to need replacing after the hens have ...errr...BEEN on it!!

I have been harvesting kale. Earlier this year I tried an Italian recipe for kale and cannellini bean soup (I think I may have said) but the supermarket kale was really tough. I made it again last week using kale from the garden and it was a much better result. Admittedly there were quite a few tiny holes in the leaves of the kale, but chopped finely they weren't noticeable!!

The absolute stars of my garden this year (which has been generally mediocre to poor) have been the Autumn raspberries. Yesterday, after 4 days of continuous heavy rain with not a moment of sun, I picked 12oz of huge, ripe, tasty raspberries. I pick every couple of days so that they don't get pinched by birds or mice and I have several filled ice cream containers in the freezer.
The other star this year has been cucumbers, I cut the plants right back and gave them a feed a few weeks ago and I am still harvesting them.
I had just about the last of my big tomatoes yesterday too. Apart from Sungold, they've been exceptionally poor this year but I picked the last few green so that I could have fried green tomatoes. I'm sure that GB is familiar with them but if you haven't tried them they are delicious (if a bit of a faff to do). I've just finished them off cold for breakfast, I actually prefer them cold.

Ploshkin wrote:
I had just about the last of my big tomatoes yesterday too.  Apart from Sungold, they've been exceptionally poor this year but I picked the last few green so that I could have fried green tomatoes.  I'm sure that GB is familiar with them but if you haven't tried them they are delicious (if a bit of a faff to do).  I've just finished them off cold for breakfast, I actually prefer them cold.  

I love the book and the film, so I really should try the tomatoes!

Butternut squash ! Here are some of them drying after I washed the mud off:



The front right one is 6lb 12oz. The front left one the scales just said "Err" !

Also florence fennel, beans, red oinions, carrots and red cabbage.

The house smells of quince, Mrs C-H is making quince jelly with some we picked this morning. When she's done in the kitchen I'll start making hot sauce.

Wow CH you've got a fair crop there. I hope they store well. I had 15 from 2 plants in the polytunnel but nowhere near as big as those.

Ha ha - my butternut squash plants were completely useless! They just didn't grow and were half dead so I pulled them up. Ever hopeful for next year...

Nothing here either, though I did get four Sweet Dumpling squashes - my own saved seed, with the original seed from our seed swap.

Will try again next season with varieties better suited to our shorter season and cooler conditions.

This came from the allotment this morning.

Wow!!!

Gosh, that's good. I've never grown parsnips without canker here.
I have just had my final melon from the polytunnel (not quite as sweet as the summer ones) and I also had another cucumber yesterday.

I've had some good luck with Tender and True, but do rarely get a completely clean one. I seem to get some as weeds now, after an allotment neighbour sowed a load of stuff then left it all to go to seed. I can't fathom why people do that - do all the hard work, then disappear, but it's not the first time.

I finished off digging potatoes yesterday, they were left over earlies, but produced a fair crop from the 3 or 4 roots left. The odd pepper and chilli for pizza toppings. Most things are done now though.

I had hopes of some nice brassicas especially after I netted them and kept most of the white butterflies at bay. The leaves got going nicely and I was looking forward to finding out what kalette actually is as well as having some purple sprouting and some of those pointy yellow caulis. However, I see that the tops of most of the plants are covered with something grey - not sure if it's things moving about or stuff growing on them. Disappointed.

My brassicas have been largely useless this year.

Our calabrese (bought in plants) has been fab, and only two days ago I harvested yet more side shoots. Pointy summer/autumn cabbages also good (also bought in) - the last of them is in the fridge. We've had a couple of small Romanesco caulis, and hoping for purple sprouting in due course - the plants look healthy enough.

My purple sprouting, from the seeds you gave me, sprouted ages ago when I didn't really want to use it.
I never seem to get my brassica timings right. I have a glut in the summer then nothing in the autumn when I want cabbagey things.

Maybe you should be sowing the seed later, Ploshkin. There are early and later PS.

The PS I sowed in spring were the seedlings that nearly died in my over-hot conservatory. They were then static for weeks, with just a couple of true leaves. I took a punt on repotting them, and kept them in a shady, open coldframe. They eventually got big enough to plant out, which I did at the end of June/early July. They are big plants now, and hoping they may produce sprouts November time.

I sowed some more of the same seed after midsummer and those were planted out sometime in September. They are only about a foot high, but it's still warm enough for them to grow. However, if they sprout, it won't be until March or April.

I took the runner bean plants down this afternoon, and found some perfectly edible beans while I was doing it. I don't think I've ever eaten fresh runner beans this late in the year (but they didn't really get going until September )