Monday 24 July 2017

Harvest Monday - summer pickings

It's been quite a bountiful week, but somehow I managed to only take a few piccies. In the back garden, the huge rhubarb leaves were really getting in the way so I pulled the bigger stalks. I brought a load back to my mum's (where I am at the moment). She actually gave me my rhubarb crown years ago, as a chunk from hers but mine has ended up growing better...oops!
At the allotment there have been loads of courgettes, cucumbers, chard and kale. I brought some kale, chard, cucumbers (and tomatoes from the lean-to at home) back to my mum's too, in my suitcase via the train .....if anyone had to look in the suitcase they'd wonder what on earth was in there. Ooh and we've already been harvesting blackberries....first a small tub (below), followed by a big one a couple of days later. And since I've been away, Jan's been in charge of harvesting, picking even more. Most will end up in the freezer, for us to use throughout the year. We've also picked the first few runner beans and dwarf French beans, yay.
I wanted to harvest the Sturon onions before I came away...they'd started to flop over and with all the rain we've been having I was worried that some would rot if I left them until I was back. So luckily I had a sunny morning on the plot, which meant I could lift them, leave them to dry for a couple of hours, brush off most of the dried soil and hang them in the shed on a sort of chicken-wire hammock strung up from the roof. They're my best onions ever I think - the bed had been manured last year for potatoes, and I'd 'fed' them with chicken poo pellets when they were first set out, then have been regularly sprinkling a light covering of grass clippings every couple of weeks - seems to have helped. There were several affected by white rot, which I brought home to use up first. I didn't get chance to lift the red onions, so it will be interesting to see what they're like.
The grass paths on the allotment were starting to get quite long so it was much more enjoyable to look upwards rather than downwards (I'll have the grass cutting to look forward to on my return). Sitting on the path I was surrounded by bees, butterflies and apples (dwarf apple trees). It's always tempting to think the apples are nearly ready once they start to reach a decent size but it'll be ages before they're ripe.
So anyway, weather pending, I'll be out in the back garden and nipping down the allotment late tomorrow afternoon / evening. It's always exciting to have a look around after you've been away for a few days. There shouldn't be too many overgrown veggies though, Jan has been doing a grand job of picking things whilst I've been away. I'm most looking forward to seeing if the winter squashes have put on much growth.
 
Thanks for reading this week, I'm linking in as usual with Harvest Monday, kindly hosted by Dave at Our Happy Acres.

 

7 comments:

  1. Some of our blackberries have bits that stay hard after cooking. We're wondering whether this is lack of moisture. Have you noticed anything similar?

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    1. Hi sue, no I haven't noticed any hard bits on the blackberries, but I think we've had a fair amount of rain since the fruit started setting. I think I know what you mean though, from previous years.

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  2. The onions looks to pretty lined up in a row! And I'm sure you are happy to get them out before more rain came. I need to take notes from your regimen of fertilizing and mulching. Maybe I can coax more out of my onion plants next year! It is definitely not my best crop for sure.

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    1. Thanks Dave. Yes it was good timing. Well, the light mulching has been opportunistic really - one of the gardens I work in is close-ish to the allotment, so when I cut the grass every two weeks I bring the clippings to the plot (balancing the sack on my trolley!) and go around sprinkling them on any bare soil. There's usually plenty for the compost heap too.

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  3. Your onions and berries look so good, and I love seeing all those apples hanging from your tree. I've actually been making green tomato pickles and will start clearing out the garden soon.

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  4. A great shot of the onions, and they do look good indeed! Congrats!

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