June 2017 in pictures - it was hot!

It was hot this month!

One of the parsnips was overlooked during the winter harvesting and started to sprout leaves. We decided to leave it to go to seed. When they get to this stage they are euphemistically referred to as "architectural plants", that is they are big! We managed to harvest a good quantity of seeds and will see how worthwhile the exercise was next spring when we sow them. 

A good year so far for our raspberries and our handful of strawberry plants. The strawberries are beginning to multiply so we should have a good harvest next year.

Garlic scapes, onions and peas. Plenty of garlic scapes this year and delicious steamed as a vegetable or chopped and added to salads.

Regular supply of lettuces that were planted earlier in spaces in pots and between other veg.

First potatoes of the season from the garden. I had a gentle rummage around the top of a few of the containers and came up with these beauties. Also some onions and various greens.

Onions!

And wonky carrots. Really pleased that we are finally starting to get some even though they are "individual" in appearance. They were delicious!

Brandywine tomato

White Versailles currants

Gooseberry - Winham's Industry

Perfect weather for drying washed duvets over the kitchen wall

Goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus)

Indigo Beauty

The last of our Indigo Beauty tomatoes has been eaten with great ceremony. This was our first time with this variety and we shall definitely be growing more next year.

I was intrigued by the description of the fruit in last year's Simpson's Seeds catalogue but their photos really do not do it justice. On the outside the top half /two thirds of the tomato is almost black with the rest turning a very dark red when ripe. Inside it is dark red.

As for taste and texture I rate it as very good and a nice, meaty tomato. My taste rating scale is: forget it; average; good; very good; excellent. A little more sweetness would have made it an excellent tomato, but it probably suffered from the poor growing conditions early in the year as did my other tomatoes (they are all outdoor plants). 

A couple of people have asked me about the yield per plant; all I can honestly say is average and about the same as every other variety I have grewn this year Again, the yields suffered from the erratic outdoor growing conditions. Definitely worth a go next year.

Saturday Lunch

I was going to try and make a lunch only using ingredients that had been gathered from our garden on the day and over the past 6 months, but was tempted by the fresh squid in the Smelly Alley fish shop in Reading. In the end the ingredients were squid stir fried with dried chilli flakes and tomato sauce (made and jarred about 5 months ago), garlic, parsley and chopped leaves from my young Babington's Leek plants. On the plate to the right is a parsnip rosti seasoned with ground coriander seed and a salad of mustard greens (Golden Frills), red veined sorrel, chopped celeriac leaves, and flat leaf parsley. The tea was made from fresh herb fennel.

Had I not succumbed to the lure of the squid I would have used some dried beans, harvested last September, in a sauce made a few months ago from tomato, onion and sweet pepper.