I finally got round to planting out the brassicas that have been in the potting shed for far too long... each weekend I have been looking at them and thinking that they really need to be put in the ground.
I'm not even sure that they are all suitable for over wintering or using as spring greens, but have no other choice now than to put them in and see what happens, so the collection of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower now resides in one of the raised beds.
They are covered with nets for the time being... I'm not sure if cabbage whites are still around? The fleece is on standby for when the temperature really drops.
I can't say that my attempts at carrots (or roots in general) this year have been successful, because they haven't. The first few sowings in the ground didn't even germinate so I tried sowing in tubs. I picked a handful of tiny paris market a few months ago now and thought I would leave the others to grow on but they haven't come to much at all. This was one tub of chantenay that I picked today.
The remaining tubs, paris market and early nantes have lots of greenery but nothing underneath?! Today's pickings will accompany roast dinner, I just wish I had a few more.
All is not lost though, I did have another surprise bean harvest... they just keep on coming.
And also, I finally emptied out my penultimate bag of potatoes, that I have been rummaging in every now and then and pulling out a few; I was not expecting to find this many left in the bag.
A couple of weeks ago I completed the mammoth task of picking the remaining tomatoes, both red & green and disposing of the plants.
Some of the plants were looking a bit worse for wear and had started to get blight, so I figured it best to get rid of them. I've had a fair few tomatoes over the season and have loads in the freezer ready for winter soups and sauces so didn't feel too disappointed having to pick them all.
This was how many there were.
Some of them were just right for using fresh in salads, some went into bolognese sauce but most of them were still green with a few on the way to being ripe. So what did I do with them all?
Three batches of Green Tomato Chutney
Two batches of Green Tomato Jam
Pickled Green Tomatoes
Tomato & Pepper Relish
I thought the french beans had come to an end, but having left the remaining ones on the plants to dry, I have continued to harvest on a couple of occasions since. This was two weeks ago
This was last week
And it looks like I will be picking another portion for today's dinner.
This little gold rush courgette was another surprise a couple of weeks ago.
I think the plant has definitely finished now though, the other fruit rotted before they got to a decent size. I have one all green bush plant that is still producing regularly so courgettes in general aren't finished yet.
Sweet peppers are ripening nicely now, I've picked a few ozarowska
and diablo
over the past few weeks and have been saving the seeds.
There are still a few more on the plants out in the greenhouse so I'm pretty pleased with how they have come along.
