Tomato harvest

This is the first year growing in our new greenhouses and we've had a good summer with cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers and chillies. But the tomatoes are now almost finished. Last weekend we cleared out most of them, leaving just one growbag with three 'Gardeners' Delight' plants still ripening. The thing about tomatoes is that once they get going and start to ripen you often have loads ready all at once.

One of my favourite things to make with them is tomato soup.  I make a pot full and freeze it. On cold days later in the year it's a reminder of those summer days I spent picking tomatoes.

Last year when we didn't have a greenhouse on Plot 8, the tomatoes were grown in the greenhouse on  Plot10b which was Helen's old plot.  They were very slow to ripen and looking back in my allotment journal we were still picking them well into October. I finally made green tomato chutney with them, which was delicious and friends and family have been looking forward to this year's batch. They are going to be disappointed, no green tomato chutney this year.  Instead I used the same recipe but with the red tomatoes.  I hope it is as good, it took hours to cook and the kitchen smelled of vinegar for days after.

Here's the recipe:

Tomato chutney

2kg  red or green tomatoes

500g apples

500g onions

250g raisins

25g salt (I didn't use so much)

500g sugar

600ml vinegar

Spices of your choice eg. ginger, pepper, chillies 

(I used some grated root ginger and some chopped chillies)

Finely chop the tomatoes, apples and onions and place all the ingredients in a large pan. Heat gently, stir and simmer until a pulpy consistency is achieved. It took about 3 hours to reach this pulpy stage so allow plenty of time for cooking.

Jar up and seal.

 

Watercress

One of my favourite salad veg is watercress and last year I decided to grow some from seed on the allotment. I had grown some in a salad bed in the garden before and it had grown well but been a bit straggly and all over the place. It disappeared eventually, probably having been dug up by mistake.

 This time I grew it in a big container and this seems to work well. The container helps to keep it under control. Last year after the first cutting, I was pleased to find that it grew back a few weeks later.  I thought it might have died over winter, but no, it returned this year and is doing even better.  I cut it, then it grows back, again and again.

I have also found that if I take some home and put the stems in a little jug of water, roots will grow from the stems. These can be planted into pots of compost and will grow. This is an easy way of growing watercress if you didn't want to be bothered growing it from seed and could be done with shop bought watercress. 

If grown in the ground, watercress needs a moist soil.  In a container it will need regular watering to keep the compost damp. If you don't have anywhere to grow it outside, then it can be grown indoors on a windowsill in a small pot or recycled food container.

Watercress is one of those foods which is really good for you, it is rich in vitamins and minerals. I love it's strong peppery taste and much prefer it to rocket.  It is a very versatile veg.  It's good in salads, on sandwiches with cheese or egg,  chopped up in a sauce with fish, it also makes a delicious soup. In fact if you look up watercress recipes on the Internet you will find loads of ways if using it.

And the great thing about watercress is that the slugs don't seem to
be interested in it.

Sweet peas at the allotment

If I had to choose a favourite flower then sweet peas might be the one. They flower for a long time over the summer and their fragrance is exquisite.  They are easy to arrange, just pop them in a vase and they do their own thing.

A lot of people say they have trouble growing them and I used to have problems when I grew them in the garden.  But since I have been growing them on the allotment they have been great.  What's the secret to success?  I'm not sure, but at the allotment they have soil enriched with well rotted manure or home made compost, they have plenty of space and an open position with sun. I don't do anything complicated, just plant them to grow up a netting frame and let them get on with it.

I have been picking sweet peas for weeks and weeks now and over the last few days have wondered if it is finally time to cut them down.  They are looking a bit tired, the stems are shorter, there are aphids on them, the leaves look a bit mildewy and there are not as many flowers.  But short stems doesn't matter, they can be put in a smaller vase. When I bring them back from the allotment I give them a rinse  in a sink full of water to get rid of the aphids.  They don't last as long now, just a couple of days, but they still smell wonderful. I won't cut them down just yet.

Through the garden gate--August

I'm joining Sarah again at 'Down by the Sea' for her monthly 'Through the Garden Gate' slot.

August has just flown by and with grandchildren to look after during the school holidays we haven't had a lot of time for gardening.  The garden itself seemed to take a rest from mid July to mid August, it's been all quiet in the flower borders with not much happening.  It's like the flowers have been charging up their batteries and are now ready to explode, full of energy again. And now in the last couple of weeks things have started to happen. The rudbekias, heleniums and phlox are brightening up the borders, the sedums are starting to show signs of colour and the white buddleia is happily flowering away.

When I have managed to find time to get out in the garden I have been cutting back the alchemilla mollis which has now gone over and also the ferns which pop up all over the place and would take over if left to do their own thing. The ferns grow everywhere and obscure the other plants in the borders so it looks much better after a good tidy up. They soon grow back again though so it's a regular job in the garden. With some of them I can manage to dig out the roots, but others are really tough and some grow out of walls so I can't get rid of them. The recent wet weather has brought out all the slugs which have nibbled the dahlias and had a feast on the hostas leaving them in shreds. 

The good news is that our Bramley apple tree, which is quite old and produced hardly any fruit last year, is now almost bending over with the weight of all this year's fruit. That means I need to tidy up the shed, clear a space to store them all and then start making things.  I found a  recipe for spiced apple chutney recently which I want to try out.

School holidays means lots of days out with the grandchildren and we've visited one or two big gardens recently--Parceval Hall and Tatton Park.  These were both fantastic places to visit and I will save these for another blog.