Hi Dale, I still don't think I'll try eating my begonias, but I do quite often put a few nasturtium leaves in salads to spice them up a bit, the flowers taste OK too and look pretty. Some people pickle the seeds and use them like capers, but I've not tried that.
WHAT CROPS HAVE YOU PICKED THIS WEEK?
Not speaking for ourselves of course but many English people are reticent to eat unusual things, but we are getting more experimental these days. (thats a beautiful coleus? btw Dale) Are you talking about only the Begonia leaves and flowers or the tubers too?
I have heard that the fruit of Monstera deliciosa is, as it's name implies, quite tasty. Has anyone tried it? I have never got mine to fruit even after 25 years of living in Uk. Hopefully in it's new sub-tropical home it might come through with a little fruit. I'm feeding it tomato feed every now and then to encourage it. I'm itching to try it!!!
There are many edible Solanum species out there too - I'm trying the Solanum nigrum and the Solanum quitoense so I'll let you know how they fare. No berrys yet. Started too late in the season but I will try overwintering them.
Well, Pat you had better look after yourself! I'm surprised you could pick up and carry on if your bruised your back so badly. You do have a lot going, it must take up all your time.
The sweet corn are growing on me, not many but I boiled 2 because I had picked them, couldn't wait so made a sandwich and then didn't want them. I left them in the hot water, the lid sealed itself, and I reheated them a few hours later. They were still crisp and just like fresh! They would be a good crop to grow alongside another variety.
Lizzy, I think at times there is a reason the British are reticent to try new, I have tried various things, including a couple of solanum, and I can see why. The trouble is they don't want to try something even if it is really nice, just because they haven't eaten it before and don't think they will like it.
I picked my one and only Apricot Tomcot this morning, it has looked ripe for a long time but was still hard so I left it. I felt it and it dropped off, the top was a little soft. The flesh was very firm but still with juice, not like an unripe apricot. Although not a huge fruit, I could taste a strong apricot flavour reminding me of dried apricots. This is it's second year only and looks promising for future crops. Should make great jam, I love home made apricot jam, I grew up on it.
ahhh what a sumptuous looking apricot. Very special when there's only one!! Good luck for a bumper crop next year Janet.
I won't be long now, almost ready to pick. I will probably tip the scale at 30-35 kilos.
It is called Jackfruit, Artocarpus hetrophyllus, from SE Asia, including India. Never had it before I am looking forward to tasting it.
Don't Dale! You are a very cruel man. I used to eat Jack Fruit in Brasil and IMO is it's one of the sweetest and most fragrant fruit you could ever have the pleasure to eat.
Green-eyed monster rears it's ugly head....Lizzy
Lizzy, You have green eyes? How lucky!
Well , bluey-green depending on my mood - right now they're green!!! :Wink:
Still a nice color.
My mood is always cheeky, cheeky with dimples is what I tell most folks.
Well cheeky chappie! Let us know the verdict on the Jaca....
That is another one I've never tried - will have to look out for it next time I'm on holiday - although not much chance this year, as we're going to Scotland!
Most exciting thing I've picked today is a lovely juicy melon - Sweetheart. I hadn't even noticed it was ripe until I accidentally knocked it off, and I've been very selfish again and eaten it all myself - it was only small.
I also picked the first Cornu des Andes tomato, Maggi, it has a nice rich flavour and hardly any seeds. They look quite similar to Amish Paste, but have a longer pointy end. I've also taken the seeds out of it to grow next year.
I've had a race with the squirrels today to gather the filbert and cob nuts before they ate them all. I heard a lot of commotion in the hen run and two squirrels were leaping about in the trees picking and nibbling nuts as fast as they could. There were already quite a few empties on the ground, so I decided to pick the lot, even though they weren't quite ripe. I've got about 4lb off two small trees, so I'm quite pleased. It is much better than the heap of shells I found when I came back from holiday last year.
We've had some lovely sweetcorn this week, Double Standard, with the white and yellow seeds, not a super sweet, but very good, and nicely filled cobs.
Having a bit of a glut of cucumbers this week - picked 5 yesterday. I tried them in a vetable stir fry seasoned with paprika, a sprinkle of fenugreek seeds and some fresh chopped herbs and they were excellent.
I bottled lots of plums and some tomatoes (not together!) yesterday, using my new Vigo pasteuriser machine. It was great as it is large enough to get lots of jars in at once and has a timer and thermostat, so much easier than using pans or the pressure cooker. It has a fruit juice extractor fitting too, so I can also use it for black currant juice etc. which is pasteurised and so you don't get exploding bottles.
Picked a few green peppers and the Early Worcester apples are also just about ready.
I've remembered to transplant a few florence fennel seedlings this week too, and they look very happy after the rain last night.
I'm afraid there aren't many crops in my garden to pick but the red currants are just about ripe so I need to pick them before the birds discover them. The black currants need a while longer but they're looking good! I moved the bushes two years ago and this is the first summer I get a decent crop so they've finally settled in their new location (they were really old bushes that hadn't been pruned for ages) :-)
Well, the huge Cornu des Andes tomato has got so large it has fallen off. It weighs 1lb 1oz. All the others are the normal long pointed shape, but even some of those are very large. I hope it tastes as good as the rest when it ripens.
Wow! That is the biggest tomato I've ever seen? Are the Cornu des Andes what they call plum tomatoes ? That's what they're called here anyway - you can sometimes (very rarely though) by them at the stores, their that long and pointed shape that you describe and taste better than any other tomato I've ever tasted! I'd love to be able to grow those .....
Well, off to pick the red- currants now! I'm amazed that the birds haven't eaten them all already! :-)
Hi rannveig, I hope you got the red currants before the birds did. Yes, the Cornu des Andes is a plum type of tomato, although not plum shaped. It has very dense flesh and hardly any seeds and the flavour is the best I've tasted. I think Philomel would endorse that.
I'm saving seed from every one I eat (and everyone else's too). Sometimes you only get 6 seeds from one large tomato.
We're going to the Isle of Bute for a holiday tomorrow, so I hope my son remembers to water everything, and feed the hens. The cat usually sulks and won't look at us when we get back - different routine and not so much care and attention.
It will be strange not having a dog with us. It is almost a year since Rusty died, just after our holiday in Devon. It isn't the same going for a walk without a dog, but I can't face getting another one - yet.
Hope you have a nice holiday, Pat! Yes I beat the birds to the red currants - now I have some jelly to make. Sorry to hear you lost your dog. It's always tough loosing a four legged friend, especially one that has been with you long. We had a cat a few years back that we had to find a new home for because my mother had such a bad cat allergy. It was really hard to say goodbye - and for a really long time we always expected her to greet us at the door when we came home. She used to do the same thing as your cat if we went away - got really upset with us and complained loudly! Still miss her .......
Maybe I'll try saving seeds the next time I find plum tomatoes for sale here and try growing some - at least it could make a fun experiment for the girls - and we might get some tasty tomatoes :-)
We've had a lovely holiday thanks, warm sunshine and lots of walks in the beautiful scenery. Even had a paddle in the sea, but too cold to swim.
The Cornu des Andes is I suppose like a plum tomato with dense tasty flesh and hardly any seeds, but it is long and pointed (usually). It cooks beautifully and stays a good red colour. Until I grew this one my favourite cooking variety was Amish Paste which has a good flavour but isn't as solid and is a paler colour. I'm saving lots of seeds from the Cornu, so if you join the seed swap (if we have another one) there will be some in that, although I suppose you would be better growing a cherry tomato as they ripen faster than other types for your short growing season.
I've picked lots of apples this weekend but there are still tons on. The rest should be ripe in October if the trees don't break under the weight.
I found another little treat today, a few late fruiting strawberries - only enough for me though!
Today I 've picked my first fig from my still little 'Brown Turkey'. I 've eaten it immediatly..oohhh.. it was...DELICIOUS..a truly golden moment.
Hello again Lenne, You reminded me to have a look at my fig and sure enough there were two small but ripe figs ready, and mine also were eaten on the spot.
Still picking lots of plums, apples and raspberries, and the pears look nearly ready. I'm never quite sure when to pick them - too soon and they never ripen and too late and they fall off or go mushy.
I've had a very good crop of calabrese this year, it made large central heads and keeps on sending out good sized side shoots. It was from Real Seeds.
I made three litres of apple juice and one litre of elderberry cordial yesterday and have already sampled both. The apple juice looked a bit cloudy but tastes delicious and is a lovely golden colour. I've only made apple wine and cider before so I'm quite pleased with it. I thought it might be a good idea to do more juices this year as I don't want to turn into an alcoholic!
I cut down the Achocha in the greenhouse as they had not set any fruit and were blotting out all the light from everything else so I will never know what they taste like. I'll grow them outside if I try them again.
Well, the harvest festival continues. Picked all the grapes this morning - only 18 lb compared to 60 lb last year so not much wine. I don't mind though as I bottled 46 bottles of red currant yesterday, so that should last a year or two. It is my favourite home made wine, a lovely jewel red and a very good flavour, especially if I leave it for a year.
Also gathered 12 quinces. They look beautiful and it is the first time it has had fruit - three years old now. The blossom is also very pretty - large pink flowers. I will have to get my 'membrillo' recipe out.
I also picked the rest of the Saturn apples, the book says to leave them until the second week in October for the flavour to develop, and they are lovely and crisp and juicy. They go a very good red colour on the side the sun shines on and also keep well.
There are just the Falstaff and Newton Wonder apples to harvest now. I'm having difficulty finding space for everything.
We only got a small crop of Conference and Williams pears, but I managed to pick them at the right time this year and they are just ready to eat now.
A few Cape gooseberries are ready and they are delicious. I've not grown them before and was quite surprised by their flavour it is sweet, sharp and toffee flavoured all at the same time.
Still cropping cucumber, tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, peppers and a few beans, but they are nearly finished, and I brought in all the squashes and pumpkins for the skins to set in the warm before storing them. I've grown all new ones (to me) this year so look forward to tasting them.
The early yellow leeks are very good and look really pretty next to the blue late leeks. The calabrese has nearly finished but the Romanesco is almost ready and I discovered a rather strange looking orange cauliflower. I bought a pack of assorted coloured caulis and had forgotten about them until I saw that one. There is purple, green, orange and I can't remember what the other two are. I hope they taste good - as I'm not sure about the colour. Cheese sauce should remedy that though.
Hello everyone, I started this thread because I was interested in what everyone else was growing. Are you all too busy gardening or working to share your creations, or are you all flower people? Hope my info isn't just boring.
Happy harvesting,
Pat
Hi Pat!
I really enjoy this thread! I love to read about your bountyful harvest! Unfortunately there's not much harvesting to do here - I picket the red and black currants and that's about it! Made jelly - never tried red currant wine though - would you mind sharing the recipe or is it top secret? We got one head of calabresi which was finished in one meal - tasted really good! Wish there would have been more.
I hope my apple trees will give me a few apples some day! And I have a cherry tree in my greenhouse and really hope to get cherries one day as well. I think I've mentioned it before but I just LOVE cherries!
Last year I bought a blackberry plant that's turned into a real monster and is well on it's way to fill up the greenhouse. It started flowering in late August I think so the berries aren't ripe yet. I've put my electric fan heater out there to keep it frost free hoping they'll ripen. Can you guys offer any advice on how to prune this monster? Can I cut it down after the berries are ripe (presuming they'll ripen of course!) ??
Here's a photo of it and as you can see it's taking over my greenhouse! It's grown accross the roof and has started down the other side.
Hi Pat, sorry if we seem to be ignoring you, there seems to be so much going on on DG, and in the gardening department!
I can't even get around to putting many pics in PF any more, but winter should remedy that!
It's great to see all the things you grow, I guess we're all just a bit jealous! I have tried a lot of things many years ago, now I just keep it to a minimum, I would love to grow more veggies and fruits but space, and shade don't really allow! Besides, I don't think I have the energy to do what you are doing, all that marvellous wine, it must be good for you!
We admire your efforts!
Yes, I guess with me the growing of flower type plants is taking priority as well, they do take a lot of time to care for! I have so much I haven't sown yet, but have made good progress towards catching up on all the other things after the last long winter. AND I'm buying more seeds! I don't know when to stop!
On the crops front, I have one Bramley apple tree in the shade of the conker tree, it had quite a few apples on this year after the other one was removed on the east side of it, it started to fall over and was removed! I don't use many.
I have some reasonable potatoes despite the prolonged dry period, the earlies Swift and Charlotte didn't do that well, but the later 2nd earlies to early main crops I grew have some good sized potatoes on, if not that many. I do grow them in the shade of the conker tree, gradually improving the soil, and have done for 8 years now! I get blight whatever, so the earlier varieties that fill quickly do OK with no other diseases, and nothing else would grow there anyway. Proof that you can do it! Osprey I have grown 2 years now and it's proven a good cropper in difficult places. I gave up on Cara, it seems to have got outgrown and was never doing well, so tried a new one this year that Pennells had in stock, Sunshine. It has very big potatoes, not many but a wetter year could make more. They are the best roasting potatoes out! Look a bit like cara too, and they bake like fluffy heaven! The mash extremely well too, firm but fluffy. I think they take some beating for those purposes, but for chipping I would say Osprey takes the cake.
I'm still getting kidney beans, Streamline which I keep my own seed from, they keep going well into autumn and prefer the cool weather. I think they are slowing now.
For the first time in a lot of years I have got decent carrots too, like Cara I decided the older varieties must have had their day. Valor for earlies and they have made quite large carrots, very little carrot fly this year. They seem to prefer cold years like last year. Lates I grew St Valery and Sytan, both are filling very well now. They are more money for less seed, but when you think of the carrots you get from a few seeds it's well worth the extra. I decided to sow the seed singly, takes more time but saves thinning, and less chance of attracting carrot fly if you don't need to thin them. Poor seed getting poor results is just frustrating!
I had lots of Victoria plums, which didn't get very big and many dropped, some had moth grubs in for a start. I just ate a few each day, Red Adirals and Speckled Wood butterflies like them too.
Blackbirds ate most of the Boysenberries and raspberries, I don't mind but I'm thinking of taking up the raspberries and maybe putting in another newer variety, they were Glen Clova which used to be good and were doing well, the dry of 2004 they didn't like and haven't recovered well. My naughty mind is thinking of putting a row of bamboo in there with a barrier on my side, then I can let them ramble into the neighbours like she lets her rubbish ramble into mine!
I have bunches of grapes in a greenhouse, they are now very ripe and I have a queen wasp enjoying some. They are smallish but very sweet, also have 2 or 3 pips in each, difficult to eat. Tried juicing by squashing with a potato masher, then sieving, it is so good! They are called Vroege van der Laan (nope I didn't remember that, found the label!)
This message was edited Oct 10, 2006 11:03 AM
rannvieg, Oh dear, that will take over your greenhouse! You do need to leave the new growth for blackberries next year, cut out the old ones when they have finished fruiting, that will help! I think I am correct here! They look to have thorns too, you might find a thornless variety easier in a greenhouse. My daughter has one, it has very tasty berries.
I grow my grape vine in a 8' wide by 6' deep greenhouse with the roots at the back. I trained a growth to either side, and have steel reinforced plastic washing line strung from front to back tied to stays either end, and one nearer the top in the middle. I also tied more pieces from the sides over the top one to support branches over the top.
Wallaby those are great looking grapes! I have a grapevine but I need a heated greenhouse for them to grow properly! It didn't start growing until June (I was pretty sure it was dead when it finally budded out) - and now sign of flowers. It had a few flowers last spring when I bought it but they didn't produce any berries. I gets too cold at night I think - it needs a more steady hight temp. than it's getting. I'm planning to get some hot water out there for heating one day - I hope I can keep it alive until then!
The blackberry monster has some mosterous thorns - I've pricked my fingers on it sooooo many times and they are vicious! I sure hope those berries will ripen because if I don't like them it is out!! Well, if they don't ripen I might as well throw it out anyway - since there's no point in keeping that thing if there aren't any berries to pay for room and board! It takes up too much space! I haven't tasted blackberries very often so I'm not even sure I like them. I have some raspberry bushes growing on the other side that were growing outside in the garden when we moved here. They were very small and produced very few berries so I decided to move them in to see if I'd get more berries. They've grown like crazy this summer and I got a lot more raspberries, but they're very small and there weren't really enough berries considering how much space they take up. I'll probably throw them out next spring. At least most of them - maybe I'll keep one. Might get some new variety with bigger berries.
Nice to hear from you both. You do have problems with your short growing season in Iceland. You do well to get anything to ripen. Your blackberry looks a bit of a beast, especially for in the greenhouse. I've grown one called Loch Ness which is thornless and has large juicy berries, but they are quite sour until they are very ripe.
Here is the redcurrant wine recipe:
3lb red currants
3lb granulated sugar
6 pints boiling water
Pectic enzyme
Campden tablets
Bordeaux wine yeast (can use any but this gives a better flavour)
Yeast nutrient
Strip the red currants from the stalks, and put them in a plastic bucket. Pour over the six pints of boiling water, add the sugar and stir well with a plastic spoon. Cover the bucket and leave it to cool off completely. Than add a crushed campden tablet and the pectic enzyme and leave in the warm for 24 hours well covered. Add the yeast and yeast nutrient and stir well. Leave covered in warm surroundings for seven days, giving the mixture a good stir each day.
After seven days it is ready to strain into a fermentation demi-john and fit an airlock. Ferment the wine to dryness in the usual way. Rack and allow to clear after the fermentation is over and re-rack if substantial sediment builds up before the wine completely clears as this can spoil the flavour if left on the sediment. It is then ready to bottle. Keep in a dark place as the lovely colour can fade if kept in the light.
It is ready to drink in nine months but keeps on improving if you can wait longer. I also use it instead of red wine in recipes too without waiting.
I made some poached pears in red currant wine this week with the newly made wine and they were delicious. I added a bit of sugar to the wine while the pears were cooking slowly in it and served them with double cream.
Your grapes look very good Janet. I've not heard of that variety before. All mine have seeds too, we've got a bit spoiled by all the seedless ones in the shops now and forget they all used to have seeds when we were younger.
My raspberries haven't done too well this year either, and then I've kept forgetting to pick them until after it rained and then they were all horrible and mushy or mouldy. I've got some fairly new Glen Moy which have quite large fruits and taste delicious but the plants haven't established very well and don't seem to know they shouldn't fruit on next years new canes, so it is difficult to know which ones to prune out. The Autumn Bliss have done very well and are fruiting like mad - if I remember to pick them!
There are still lots of butterflies in the garden, I counted thirteen Red Admirals on the ivy flowers in the sunshine on Monday. And as you say they love the rotting plums, there are some Commas on them too. My late plums, Marjories Seedling were very good, but some of the branches were a bit overcrowded and glued themselves together with that nasty brown rot. Still the butterflies have enjoyed them.
I've not tried Osprey or Sunshine potatoes. The Sunshine sound a bit like the Yukon Gold I have grown. Quite large potatoes, but not many on and they have a lovely fluffy yellow flesh and good flavour. Charlotte and Desiree are always good. I like Kestrel but forgot to order them this year. They are very productive, pretty with their purple eyes, taste good and make good size tubers.
I also tried sowing the carrots in lines being economical with the seeds, but was a bit too miserly with some varieties which didn't germinate very well. I've still got a good crop though of most kinds. The Sytan has a good flavour, but unless I cover them with enviromesh I don't get any usable carrots whether they are carrot fly resistant or not, so I always keep them covered. There are still a lot in the ground and some of them have split, but most are OK. I usually just rake in some fine leaf mold before sowing and sow them broadcast and thin them by picking the largest to eat.
Rann, Have you looked at the Real Seeds web site? They choose varieties of seed that don't need a long growing season which may suit your conditions. They don't have a very wide range, but their seeds are very good - fresh and vigorous with good germination. Would you still have the problem of paying for the certificate?
Here is a photo of some of the red currant wine - if it gets through - I tried sending it with the previous message.
Pat that looks nice! Your garden is so full of bounty :0) I haven't checked out real seeds - I´m sure I'd have some paperwork to fill out ....... I'm going to give the carrots a try again next year and try and remember to water them! May was so cold and dry and I'm always a bit timid to water when it's cold - it should be ok but somehow I always imagine it isn't .... I don't remember if they had many different varieties available at the garden center - I think Early Nantes is the most commonly grown. I did get a few very small ones last year - hardly bitesize - and my daughter's bunny got most of them. She really liked them :-) I think it would be fun to try out your recipe for the red currant wine. I'm going to save it and see if I can find the time and energy next fall to try it.
What a lovely thread - so interesting!
You're right Pat, I'm very busy out there. We've decided to have a change around and put the horses in where the veggies were and move the potager down into the orchard, which is more sheltered. Lots of digging up and replanting!
At the moment I'm harvesting butternut squash (yumyum) and Sucrine du Berry, the quince are now sitting in the barn. I've made 3 lots of jelly and love the fruit cooked with pork and in crumbles. Marrows have had to be harvested so the horses don't get them lol.
Next in line are the persimmons - a bumper crop this year. I just love persimmon pudding and they are great straight off the tree with some yoghurt (or just straight off the tree)
We had our first figs this year too, though they are finished now. One tree is white fig and they are absolutely superb.
The swiss chard has been sacrificed to the horses - I couldn't move that, or the lovely row of Italian Giant parsley - but I saved some Pentland Brigg kale, which should be ready to harvest in the winter.
It's fascinating to hear about the goodies grown by people in such a range of climates - and the different harvesting times......
Not harvesting much at the moment, here goes:
last of the grapes
Sharon fruit
figs
the last of the tomatoes, chadwick cherry just keep going!!
peppers
swiss chard and leaf beat
leeks
cape gooseberry
tomatillo (don't like these though!!)
Runner beans (late sowing)
bredero beans (last of)
Come on spring!!!!!!
That sounds a very good list!
Hmmmmm, I need to get some ground ready in the new veggie garden to sow broad beans in november..............
MMMmmmmm Broad beans!! taste buds are squirting!! OOh and garlic too! We still have a few plats left but I'm going to plant loads this year. Your kale sounds good Phil! I'm trying to grow some but battling with the dreaded swede midge!!
I thought I'd lost the row of kale to beetles and scorching in the hot sun - but TWO survived!
next year I'm going to try sowing a lot later - possibly in the thunderstorms of august - and hope to do better. Pentland Brigg is one of my very favourite vegetables.
A flurry of activity!
Pat, we just didn't have any rain when the raspberries were ripening! I have had some canes that fruited on small new ones in the past, I wonder if the extended season has made them do that. There is a variety in Dobies catalogue which does fruit on new canes, called Joan J (sonds like a DG member!).they call it a primocane variety.
Your wine looks so professional!
I have had the occasional butterfly but they seem to have disappeared, must have found something better elsewhere! I see the Red Admiral and Speckled Wood shooting about sometimes, I did have to help 3 Red Admirals out of the grape greenhouse not long ago.
I always put my main crop carrots in a week into June, or just after, they are supposed to miss the carrot fly then but I still get some, very little though now. I always sow just when it rains, they don't germinate in hot weather, and I found the old varieties just weren't germinating well either. They never filled until late when we got some rain, it's one of the biggest thrills to have decent carrots!
biscombe, great to see you here, figs, hmm, I have some trees I grew from seed, I put 2 in the ground. It will be interesting to see if I get fruits!
I have picked most of my tomatoes, the plants seemed to be going yellow and they just go mouldy with the damper, colder weather. I got a lot off the Green Zebra, it was a big plant. Better still is one I got from ebay in Australia, Hardy Tom. They are small, but have produced hundreds. I eat a few every morning on my trip around the greenhouses. The stems just went mad, I never pinched anything out and stems wove themselves everywhere, I have some now going for the other end of the greenhouse along the roof which must be at least 12+ feet long! I also have some Principe Borghese which I got from POD last year, an Italian variety. I decided not to keep seed as they split easily, a small plum tomato in bunches, quite fleshy in the middle but with a good lot of seed on the edges, giving a pasty effect but with the flavour the seeds give. They set themselves from dropped ones last year near the glass, in front of the others. I let them go and only threw them about 3 lots of water in all that dry, hot weather. There is masses of fruits on them, and they haven't split! They are supposed to be ones you can hang and dry on the vine, but in this climate they would just go mouldy. A great drought tolerant tomato!
I picked all the peppers too, Georgia Flame is medium hot and fairly big, they keep well and are great in vegetarian bolognese. I picked one good lot of basil and froze it, there was another good picking but it didn't get picked! I squash them into a large palstic snap bag, sqeeze out the air and freeze, then bash it and it breaks up. It needs to be dry though! After washing I roll it in a tea towel. The Corno di Toro peppers are very tasty when sauteed in olive oil and butter, I will be growing both next year!
philomel, quince jelly, I remember my Grandmother making that, so nice! I have only 2 Nutty Delica pumpkins on 2 plants, they seem to only make one each, the rest of the seed rotted. I have one Queensland Blue plant, a really good dry pumpkin we used to have in Australia, it's running along well now but no flowers!
The Ishikura spring onions finally grew when it rained, I will be able to use them all winter and next spring now, the tops will die back but the stem part and bottoms keep well.
Leeks. I want leeks!
Wow, philomel, biscombe and wallaby - you're all growing such wonderful crops many of which I've never even seen let alone tasted! You're making me hungry :-) Got some plums at the supermarket today - I think I'll have a taste and see if it's a nice crop :-) lol
Interesting range of veg and fruits you are all growing - I'll keep a look out for those tomatoes next year.
It sounds quite a challenge Hilary moving everything, but you will know your garden better now you've been there a couple of seasons. I'm not sure exactly what to do with the quinces. How long do you leave them before using them? Or are they OK to use as soon as they are picked? Quince recipes would be gratefully received.
Have you noticed that things have started growing and flowering again? I thought the peppers, aubergines and tomatoes had nearly finished and they have all put on a new flush of flowers and set tiny fruits. I doubt whether they will have time to grow to any size before the cold weather comes, but I can't bring myself to throw them out when they look so pretty.
Yes the quince are used as soon as picked - they often rot otherwise.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1453/index.html
Recipes:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/462937/
I've never seen quince before - it looks like a pear - is it similar? Always learning something new on DG!
It's sort of pear shaped - but a very LARGE pear and has fluff on its skin. You can't eat them raw, they are very hard, but you can cook them in more or less all the ways that you would cook an apple.
They have a pleasantly aromatic flavour :)