Monday 23 March 2015

Harvest Monday - an eclipse?

A mixed week here in Norwich.....for the solar eclipse we were meant to have a clear time but instead it was really cloudy. It got very cold because of the eclipse and on my way in to work that day I could see my breath, brrr. I work flexi-time and was heading in 'after' the eclipse but something caught my eye - The cloud had cleared a bit and I accidentally saw it as the moon was moving off. So that was pretty cool, I thought I wouldn't see it at all (I did look away very quickly to avoid eye damage, though!). No pics of it I'm afraid. Of course, later that morning Norwich was bathing in beautiful sunshine with not a cloud in the sky, hey ho!

And on to the veggies.....
I lifted four more leeks this week, This pic is from two of them. I like the mix of dark and light. The darker parts tend to be a bit tougher so I cook them a bit first before adding the light parts.
And this is some Nero kale side shoots that have grown after picking all the big leaves and nipping off the top of the plants.

My tomatoes have been growing a bit too quickly so I decided to pot them on (I.e. Choose the healthiest looking ones and pot them into something bigger, ditching the rest.

These didn't cut the mustard and ended up in the compost. They were either too small, too tall or too wiggly.
Here's the toms in their new homes for the next few weeks. I still have too many but will probably lose some due to neglect!
I've taken a bit of a gamble and put them out in the lean-to, because I think they would get too leggy if I kept them inside any longer, stretching to get to the light. Being colder outside it should slow them a bit aswell. I'll keep an eye on the overnight temps and if it's looking too cold I'll bring them in. I've surrounded them with bubble wrap around the trays as a bit of extra protection and put some bubble wrap against the window as the glass gets cold. Last night it was meant to be 4 degrees but this morning I saw frost in the cars out the front (North facing). The toms were fine, phew.
 
I've seen a few bees around but no more butterflies. I spotted one bee going into a soil bank that I've left on purpose for them, so it was good to see it being used, bzzzz. A blackbird keeps singing out the back at home at 4am. Such a beautiful song but the ear-plugs need to go in at that time of the morning!
 
Sunday I decided to use up my last squash, as I'd noticed a couple of spots forming.they didn't go very deep fortunately. It was rock hard and difficult to cut through but worth the effort...a really good flavour. But a bit sad there'll be no more for quite a long time.
I made a chickpea and squash curry, enough to last us two days
And picked a few bits of perpetual spinach and chard to add in too

That's me for the week. Oh I put in my early potatoes yesterday (variety Colleen, that always makes me think of Dolly Parton's Jolene). I'll try and get my mains in next weekend.

Linking in with Harvest Monday on Daphne's Dandelions

 

16 comments:

  1. The curry sounds delicious, and yes, what a shame that you now have to wait months before more homegrown squash! Lovely looking tomatoes - so big already!

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    1. Thank you Susie, I'm looking forward to sowing more sqashes next month, one of the easiest seeds to sow!

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  2. At least you got a glimpse, that's very cool! Chickpea and Squash curry sounds delicious.

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    1. Thanks Michelle, it was a yummy (mild) curry! I'm hoping to grow a bigger quantity of squashes this year

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  3. I could hardly cut open my last squash either. And I'm down to my last two leeks. I put my tomatoes in the greenhouse very early on last year for the same reasons, and they did really well. No doubt they will go the same way this year before too long, I've run out of windowsill space!

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    1. It's a funny time of year CJ, using up the last harvests but starting sowing the next ones, some of which you're not going to eat for another whole year!
      This house has incredibly narrow window sills, no good for growing seeds on, so I'm quite limited for surfaces. Having the lean-to greenhouse right on the back of the house is really handy! (And I can just look out the window to see how things're doing)

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  4. I'm glad the clouds parted for you. And it is so sad about the last squash. Squash is one of my favorite vegetables.

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    1. Thanks daphne, hopefully I might get a bigger harvest of squashes this year to last a bit longer.

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  5. We need to cook our remaining squash before they rot

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  6. I love the look of freshly potted up tomatoes (or any plant, for that matter!). I'm counting 30 tomatoes - how many do you plan on keeping?

    And I'll chime in on the curry - I had never had squash in a curry until I tried one of Nigella Lawson's recipes & it was amazing!

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    1. Thanks Margaret, I had 21 tomato plants in my lean-to last year, the most I've ever squeezed in. There didn't seem to be any problems so I'll aim for something similar this time too. I'll also grow a couple of aubergines, peppers and chillies plus basil.
      Mmm, sounds like a good curry. I just made a simple recipe up with spices and coconut. It was very mild.

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  7. At this time of year it is always difficult to decide what to do with seedlings - keep them inside for warmth, or put them outside for light? This is why I am so keen on my Growlight House these days. It is a real winner, worth every penny I paid for it.

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    1. Thanks Mark, hopefully my toms will be ok in the leanto, as its attached to the house, it's not as cold as a greenhouse sitting by itself. I'm lacking in surfaces in the house for growing seedlings so the lean-to is handy. Maybe one day I'll get myself one of those grow lights.

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  8. Wow! feeling very inadequate! We have held off doing much in the grade - even my little square foot isn't doing anything, as we may be selling up and buying elsewhere and my OH is depressed at the thought of leaving his garden so has been reluctant to do more than keeping it tidy. But today he is looking at his little polytunnel and is in the garage 'sorting' stuff, so something may go in when the rain stops!

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    1. Thanks Lynne, I can imagine it's hard deciding what to do when you're going to be moving house and not knowing how long the process will take. I think when we eventually come to move it will have to be in winter! Last time we moved I even bagged up all the compost out of the container in the garden and brought it with us, after all I'd been collecting it for some time and didn't want to waste it!

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