Veg and print

It's the time of year when ripening veg invade the windowsills of our house and printmakers have to take second place!

The tomato plants all decided to get blight and 'Tomato Moths' at the same time and so we harvested the lot (a lot) and left the plants outside for the caterpillars to finish off!  This means that every space has trays of tomatoes of every shade between green and red and I really hope they all go red as we still have some of last years green tomato chutney in the cupboard...

...and the pepper plants got really bad greenfly all of a sudden - it must be an end of season thing - so you can just see the fruits lying on the windowsill getting redder by the day...

...and the squashes (my not so secret favourite thing to grow and then stockpile along with the logs ready for winter) are just having a final warm indoor ripening session before being stored away ready for winter feasts that will be needed in the far distant future.

Oh, and I made some prints too.  But really I'm more interested in the squashes and the stockpiling...

allotment day

We're spending a couple of days at the allotment this week, catching up with the hundreds of little jobs that were ignored through the sunshine, because really, no one is supposed to work when it is sunny, are they?

This year has been amazing for flowers, berries and veg on our plot, and we are seeing so many bees at the moment (50% of growing space is covered with self seeded borage which may have something to do with the sheer numbers of bees - that borage gets everywhere) especially early in the morning on a sunny day.

It all looks pretty lovely - which is why I never take my camera...

Today I had a brain wave though, look, I've scanned in some beans to show you instead.  And I've scanned in a courgette too, which slightly messed up the focus.  So now you know what beans look llike, but are still non the wiser as to the look of our vast borage plantation.  Oh, well...

sunny allotment days

Currently growing at our allotment (unless they've been eaten by slugs/deer/pigeons/rabbits since we left today):

Peas ( a lot - can you overdose on peas in a pod?  We'll hopefully find out soon)
Mange tout
Borlotti beans
French beans (my faves)
Broad beans (no black fly yet)
Runner beans (from John, every year, they are a hundred years old these beans)
Onions
Shallots
Lettuces
Carrots (in three places, surely the rabbits aren't clever enough to find them all?)
Parsnips
Beetroot
Radishes (I always plant hundreds at once and most of them get too chewy - I've done it again this year)
Garlic
Potatoes
Salsify
Scorzonera
Raspberries
Gooseberries (these are getting eaten by small humans already - yuck and leave them alone, I want big ones)
Chard

and then there are the cucurbit family, fighting their way out of our bay window and soon to be planted if the weather stays good...

...today we also saw several frogs, a steam train and five hot air balloons, so all hobbies were catered for in full.

November produce

It was so sunny and warm today that I ran off to the allotment instead of doing the things I was supposed to be doing (packaging things up - I'm not a machine...).

It occured to me whilst there that I am now harvesting loads more than I did all summer.

Today I picked:
Rainbow Chard
Peas (late sowing and they tasted bitter, but harvested they were)
Kale
Parsnips (big ones - hurrah - I couldn't wait any longer to look)
Alpine strawberries
Carrots
Cape Gooseberries (not ripe and probably never will be as it was such a cool year, but maybe in the bay window...)
Grass and clover (for the guinea pigs, I'm not a forager)
Brussels Sprouts

and all the winter onions and garlic have started growing properly now, keep coming sunshine...

mud and rain

This week is most certainly a vegetable week as I haven't actually finished my winter digging yet.  Is it still winter?
I'm currently using the car as a mobile potato chitting shelf as the seedling table in the house is now covered with baby tomatoes and brussel sprouts (number one vegetable in our house) and so a backlog is developing.
I think the fact that I can no longer offer anyone a lift because the potatoes are using the seat could suggest to some people that I have a problem, but it is one which can only be solved by digging the potato patch, so that is what I have been doing...in the rain.

multiples of everything

I'm really enjoying having multiples of everything at the moment - squashes, apples, onions, potatoes and as it's still so warm we have several quails eggs each day.  It means I don't have to think about meals until ten minutes before cooking time and I can also be very negligent about ever visiting shops as there is always something hearty to eat on a damp autumn evening.

Tonight we are off to the local fireworks display and I'm sure multiple sausages in rolls will be consumed...

ello design

WEDNESDAY, 17 AUGUST 2011

Folksy Wednesday Wishlist #8

After a week off, the Wednesday Wishlist returns with a veggie theme! My grandparents used to have a lot of vegetables in their garden; tomatoes, potatoes, runner beans etc. so this blog is inspired by them and their love of gardening/vegetables :) enjoy

Melanie Wickham Lino Prints  /  Sixteen Eighteen

Bumbleblue  /  Sunshine and Snowdrops

Great to have my Allotment teatowel featured by Leanne on her blog feature "Folksy Wednesday Wishlist", this week all with a veggie theme.  Yummy items, especially love the peas in a pod, have a look at the whole selection here.