Wednesday 24 September 2014

Harvest and thinking ahead

At this time of year, you can't walk in the allotment without finding something pick and eat!

Over the past week there was:

Blackberries
Raspberries (late fruiting)
Carrots
Beetroot, Apples, Pears, Courgettes,
Mini-sweetcorn
Broccoli, more Potatoes, Runner Beans.

The beetroot have been boiled with a little salt and pickled in wine vinegar - I read that the salt helps draw out the flavour and stops the water inside the beets from diluting the vinegar, thus increasing longevity.

(The wine vinegar was bought in an amazing deli in Ashbourne, Derbyshire)
http://www.bramhallsdeli.co.uk/deli/

Having cleared the onions and beans a month or so back, these beds have been dug over and plenty of compost put onto them - the worms and rain will take it down into the soil over winter - and then winter onions have gone where the beans were and winter cabbage will be going where the onions were.

Next month, the parsnips will be starting to come into season, along with the salsify, the leeks will be a little while yet, and there will be more apples, the remaining pears, pumpkins, more broccoli and cabbage and carrots.