Sunset from Hill House, Mount Helen. February 2024

Thursday, September 13, 2007


Tuesday evening's dinner! All from the allotment and the garden, apart from the ginger root which is courtesy of Mr Waitrose. The plums (which are now mostly in the freezer) are from my friend Bea's tree.
We're doing well for fruit and veg still. I've just picked the apples, leaving only the "Bramleys" still on the tree. I'm not convinced they are Bramleys. Bramleys are usually green and these are a definite red. Nice apples, mind you. I might buy another Bramley this winter and see what happens. There's probably room for another couple of trees if we don't mind them staying on the small size.
I've dug up all the Ambos on the allotment and weeded the bed. Those poor Ambos have suffered this year. They've been got by wireworm, slugs *and* blight. All the potatoes came down with blight, but it's only the Ambos where some of the tubers have suffered as well. But I'm glad I've bothered to chop around the potatoes to get any remaining edible bits. The potato itself is lovely. Firm and white and flavoursome. I'll try again next year and see what happens. There are still the Lady Balfours and the rest of the Pink Fir Apples to dig up. A task for this coming weekend. And the onion beds desperately need weeding. You can't see anything for thistles! Then I want to move the baby onions to the bed by the greenhouses. But I'll do that much later in the autumn.
The tomatoes in the greenhouse are ripening. The Cape Gooseberries have beautiful flowers - though whether we'll get fruit remains to be seen. Time to consider what we're going to do with the bottom half of the allotment now. And what we're going to plant on it.
Back in the kitchen garden, I think I might pull the tomatoes (not the ones in the greenhouse on the allotment). They're beginning to get blighty and I don't want to lose the tomato crop. They can ripen inside. The front windowsills are nice and sunny. I've been very pleased with the wong bok Chinese cabbage (see picture above). It's growing beautifully and tastes lovely. I've been cooking it like silver beet, though it's now starting to heart. Sadly, the slugs and caterpillars like it to. There is a slow but steady war of attrition. I *think* I'm winning! I've just planted some more wong bok seeds and some pak choi. Hope it's not too late in the year. Mind you, the weather has been lovely. Sunny and warm, cool at night. Could almost do with some rain!!
I've been weeding, manuring and mulching the vegetable beds ready for the winter. The brassicas seem to be enjoying the attention! Oh - and the cabbage plants that we couldn't identify (we lost all the labels when I planted them out in amongst the peas and broad beans) have turned out to be the Romanesco Italian cauliflowers with the bright green flower heads. They're coming on a treat - though the heads are a bit little yet!

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