What are you harvesting today?

I've only two leeks left from the ones I grew this year, I was really impressed with their progress as I NEVER seem to get leeks to grow.

Chard, as ever. And preparing the bed for November planting of broad beans and early peas.

Forgot the chard. and carrots.

and apples.

Silver beet (from New Zealand) - at last I have cheated the chickens, because this is the plant they lunge at if they get out of their side of the garden. Enough of it has grown to use in a pork and noodle gratin, and very nice it was too!!

I actually grow extra to feed the hens as they love it so much!

Just harvested the late seeding of french beans. Really sweet and a nice treat! I had to water them a lot to get them through the dry months.

Zwetschgen plums at last ended. Last of the grapes to press then it over to apples!

Hundreds of pounds of tomatoes.....

I have been picking and washing and sorting and canning and today will be more of the same.

Spaghetti Sauce/14qts
Tomato Sauce 22 pints

Today, more sauce and whole romas w/ sauce

More picking today.

This isn't even counting the gallons of tomato juice my mother already made.

Oh...BTW....this was a very bad tomato year for us also!

Need to find some time to put away some of the Rhubarb and Zucchini for bread!

Glad I planned my vacation around fall canning time!

Figs, figs, and more figs, as I don't want them to go to waste, I know what a precious commodity they are around some parts!
They are not even mine, but from the neighbour's overhanging branches.
I have now stopped making Hot and Spicy Fig Chutney which I am giving as presents, especially for those who live a long way away from fruiting fig trees

Still picking autumn raspberries - not loads, but enough to add to fruit salads and put on meringues. When little sister was with us in the summer, the raspberries were one thing she really enjoyed. She said that Australia is too warm for raspberries, and they don't transport well to import.

Miam miam raspberries.... Pavlova.....miam miam.... raspberry jam....

Picked some more runners, they have been fab this season...some more toms, gave hubs a tabasco chilli to taste to see how hot it was, he's still running round the garden screaming.... and dug up some kohl rabi, my new favourite veg.. til the sprouts are ready, I am fickle..

More runners.... and I culdn't resist... I pulled some parsnips.... I know it was early but I had another yen.... for curried parsnip soup. Also cut some more lettuce, and a few carrots

The squash are in. With the disaster* in the spring didn't have nearly as many varieities and of those we ended up with from plants bought (locally) instead of raised from seed. We will be keeping seed from the summer squash (a straightneck that has the eating quality of crookneck) and the winter squash too becuase we have never had a yield of butternut like this year.

At the moment we have stacked up trays with two dozen of them under the kitchen table. Say about 100# of them. We had more than that but have given five to a neighbor. OK, a few are smallish like we are used to growing but most are about as big as you see butternut get.




* Our grandson who was house/dog sitting while we were off being caretakers at Upper Goose Pond Cabin was supposed to water them if it didn't rain. That's actual rain at our house, not depend on weather reports and whether a shower hit the town he happened to be in at the time 20 miles away. So we lost just about everything.

Squash. Lots .here as well.

Chicago Warted Hubbard, Lady Godiva ( which has naked seeds!) Tom Fox, Jack o lantern and a few Turks Turban.

Also a few smaller ones which I cannot find the seed packet for but are vaguely patty pan shaped.

Apples. Apples. Apples.

Frozen savoy cabbage.

A definate advantage in growing your own. I would have thought the cabbages in the fields are all affected by snow and frost. You can't put a frozen cabbage through the retail chain but you can use it from your garden!

Leeks and parsnips finally.

We ran out of the harvested ones and the ground was too frozen to dig any up until this week!

The chard is still going strong, bless it! I pulled some of the frosted chicory heads which were very nice - I like chicory when winter has mellowed the stuff, it wasn't half as nice in august. Last of the leeks have been pulled as well. Sage going very strong and I pull loads off as and when needed.

I picked another load of sprouts, and 5 snarpips for a roast, plus assorted herbs, well chuffed...

Asparagus is up - third lot eaten yesterday. Mine seems to be a very early variety, so we're usually bored of it by the time it's in the shops and restaurants.

Oh I love asparagus...*sigh* not enough room at the mo though, gonna get Ol to build me another bed, I think... shhhh don't tell him yet he's still soundo...

Well I picked loadsa rhubarb and started off me wine

You can get a useful amount of asparagus from a lot less space than is conventionally assumed. I have just a few crowns squeezed in by a compost heap; I can have enough spears for a starter or acompaniment every few days. It does produce really thick spears, and grows to about 6 feet high or more - partly the variety (it would be helpful if I could remember which it was, wouldn't it ?) and partly because it gets the leachate from the compost heap !

Lots of Leeks, herbs, salads, Kale, and Broad Bean tops from the ones in the Polytunnel.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/may/12/foodanddrink.shopping5

The onions that I planted in the late Autumn & left to overwinter in the cold greenhouse. I put them out into the garden when the weather warmed up a bit & I needed the room in the greenhouse. They have grown up quite nicely, not bulbed up But like hugh spring onions, just right & easy for salads & sandwhiches. Well pleased, will probably do the same next year.

Rhubarb lots of the lovely stuff (rhubarb and polenta cake to be baked tonight)

oh and don't mention asparagus, mine was coming up nicely and one day last week the chickens had managed to get out of the run (my fault, hadn't tied the door up properly the night before) and by the time I'd got home from work they'd had a lovely time scratching up the asparagus, the newly planted lupins and one of my prized hardy geraniums
why they couldn't go and scratch up the weeds I really don't know!!!!!!!

Oh no - your poor asparagus (that really hurts.) I have a lot of hardy geranium seedlings coming up in assorted places - available if you want any (probably not as prized as yours, but still a hardy geranium is a hardy geranium!)

Rhubabrb and chives, at the moment. The main sort of rhubarb sold round here is Timperley Early, which is ready now. This is not surprising as Timperley is about three miles away.