This week in your Kitchen Garden.

[BoatieBird]

I've picked all the split toms and they're currently in the oven slow-roasting to go with tonight's lamb chops.
I started off some blackberry vodka yesterday, my shallots are soaking in brine and I'm making some courgette pickle too.

Our sweetcorn had got so heavy we've had to support the plants - shame there's only 2 plants i.e. 4 cobs!

 

[BoatieBird]

Cute little harvest today. Weeny carrots and shallots!



Lots and lots of apples. Im thinking toffee apples as well as courgette/ apple/ carrot cupcakes.

It all looks great Melinda

 

[Melinda]

Cheers double B

There is not so much as a blush on my tomatoes.

Hope to do 3 or 4 dozen climber cuttings this week for a summer festival next year.

 

[pennimania]

I have tomato overload.

But very few courgettes

and my gherkins are nothing like as good as last year....

 

[Melinda]

Wanna swap? Im over run with courgettes.

My friends are no longer opening their doors to me for fear I may be smuggling in courgettes.

 

[pennimania]

Wanna swap? Im over run with courgettes.

My friends are no longer opening their doors to me for fear I may be smuggling in courgettes.

if only we could

 

[BoatieBird]

Wanna swap? Im over run with courgettes.

My friends are no longer opening their doors to me for fear I may be smuggling in courgettes.

Hello Melinda, is that a courgette in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me.

I made some of this at the weekend:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/681665/crunchy-courgette-pickle

Looks/smells ok, but I haven't tasted it yet!

 

[wayward bob]

i'm in awe of the green fingers on this thread. tbf i don't really put in the effort but it's still disappointing how much damage the slugs have done. we've lost all our runner beans, courgette and cucumber this year, plus most of the herbs. but we do have loads of tomatoes, a couple finally turning orange now. the sage has been going nuts all year, any suggestions what to do with it apart from pork/stuffing? i think i've got some mint well enough established to come back next year (since we had rust several years back i've utterly failed to grow the stuff) and the slugs don't appear to like oregano - is it perennial?

 

[Melinda]

Hello Melinda, is that a courgette in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me.

I made some of this at the weekend:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/681665/crunchy-courgette-pickle

Looks/smells ok, but I haven't tasted it yet!

Cooo, that pickling liquor sounds lovely. Do celery seeds smell/ taste of celery? I may have to leave those out. I think it would go well with fish.

The courgette/apple/carrot cupcakes worked well- I remembered to squeeze out the juices (quite delicious!), the cake had a green tinge.

 

[Melinda]

i'm in awe of the green fingers on this thread. tbf i don't really put in the effort but it's still disappointing how much damage the slugs have done. we've lost all our runner beans, courgette and cucumber this year, plus most of the herbs. but we do have loads of tomatoes, a couple finally turning orange now. the sage has been going nuts all year, any suggestions what to do with it apart from pork/stuffing? i think i've got some mint well enough established to come back next year (since we had rust several years back i've utterly failed to grow the stuff) and the slugs don't appear to like oregano - is it perennial?

Bad luck bob. Next year, you need to get militant with the slugs. This recent prolonged wet period has precipitated a mollusc onslaught.

My sage, rosemary and marjoram have been used in herby crusts, cheesy gratins, infusing bechamel sauces. Ive slipped sage under chicken and fish skins too.

 

[fogbat]

The first (and probably only) of my butternut squashes

 

[BoatieBird]

The first (and probably only) of my butternut squashes

ooh, what a lovely pair fogbat.
What are you going to do with them?

Melinda - BoatieBloke can't stand celery so I left out the celery seeds too.

 

[Melinda]

My grin is this <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<wide>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

BRILLIANT Foggy! They look so good! Has the skin toughened up?

Id be torn between wanting to eat them, and wanting to keep them as long as poss to show everyone!

(Look at you with your spice rack!)

 

[fogbat]

Undecided what I'm gonna do with them, yet. Tempted to eat one now, and leave the other to eat sometime in the middle of winter.

I think they were ready to harvest, and I'm gonna hang them somewhere warm and dry for a few days to help toughen the skins.

After apparently nearly dying off, my squash plants have all thrown out a load of new foliage in the last few weeks (so possibly they just weren't getting watered enough previously). I've loads of little tiny squashes on them, but we'll see whether they'll get the chance to grow and ripen before the frosts arrive.

 

[Melinda]

Calloo Callay! I have squashes!

I went out in wellies and looked through the squash leaves and discovered open female flowers with weeny fruit behind them!
Counted four in the patch nearest the house and a cursory search of the other patch uncovered at least another six! Its hard to tell because they have spread and tangled so much, but there are maybe five other plants still laden with buds waiting to open.



Will there be enough time though? If I give them a week or two and then fashion a giant cloche to keep the temperature up?

 

[wayward bob]

woo! we have a cucumber about the size of my 3 year old's little finger

 

[Melinda]

I busted out a wicked cucumber dance the other week! They have done really well! Im so surprised.

How about plum sauce? http://www.waitrose.com/recipe/Plum_Sauce.aspx

Swapped a bag of apples for a bag of greengages. Can I make a plum sauce with them? Is that weird?

 

[fogbat]

Calloo Callay! I have squashes!

I went out in wellies and looked through the squash leaves and discovered open female flowers with weeny fruit behind them!
Counted four in the patch nearest the house and a cursory search of the other patch uncovered at least another six! Its hard to tell because they have spread and tangled so much, but there are maybe five other plants still laden with buds waiting to open.



Will there be enough time though? If I give them a week or two and then fashion a giant cloche to keep the temperature up?

I've got more little squashes turning up now. They're so cute at that age.

I worry it might be too late in the season, but fingers crossed we'll have a sunny September

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

My pumpkins are enormous now, we have three.... two big orange ones and one smaller green one. Those which didnt germinate have died back. Garden looks a little odd

 

[fogbat]

I just ate the first of the squashes ^^up there.

So very, very good

 

[Melinda]

Cooor! How did you have it, and did you share?!


Ive spent the afternoon rubbing anthers all over my plump expectant females! Its a delicate art; the ladies are all sticky so if you're too rough then the males snap in half.

 

[ill-informed]

I doubt anyone can match my pumpkins

They are a sweet mini variety, but still....

 

[sheothebudworths]

Yeah - I seem to have grown 'mini' versions of everything too!

Harvested my two winter squash today. Pics when I can be bothered to upload. Shit - will have to remember to get one of my one remaining (weeeeeeeeeeeeeny ) melon, too!

 

[Cm7]

Massive mushrooms popping up under the apple tree overnight



What should I do with them? Can I eat them? Am I going to die if I do???



Been a great summer for the trees. We've got lots and lots of plums and green apples.

 

[Melinda]

What big mushrooms!

Your apples are great! It really has been a bumper season for fruit trees. What dish was that lot destined for?
Ive had apple crumble at least 4 times this week, with various crumble toppings - just gorgeous.

 

[cesare]

Swapped a bag of apples for a bag of greengages. Can I make a plum sauce with them? Is that weird?

I made a jammy sort of thing with the (shop bought ) greengages I had. I'm not sure how they'd do as a sauce tbh. Did you try it?

 

[Cm7]

What big mushrooms!

Your apples are great! It really has been a bumper season for fruit trees. What dish was that lot destined for?
Ive had apple crumble at least 4 times this week, with various crumble toppings - just gorgeous.

This:

The crust is a little too thick though.


So... do you think I can eat those gigantic mushrooms and not die?
There are little ones all over the grass too.

 

[BoatieBird]

I think I'd be too scared to eat mushrooms that's I'd picked Cm7, I'd like someone who knew what they were doing to tell me it was OK first.

Our veg patch harvest seems to be coming to an end now so I've started thinking about what I can grow over the winter.
I'm going to try some garlic and some kind of perpetual spinich I think.

I've also been sowing green manure seeds on vacant bits of the patch to boost soil nutrition and structure.

 

[fogbat]

Ohh, I've got some mushrooms growing in the pots I was growing borlotti beans in. There was a good portion of manure in the pots along with compost, so they're having a good feed.

They don't look like an edible type, though They actually look a lot like liberty caps.

 

[fogbat]

Cooor! How did you have it, and did you share?!

Yep - shared with my flatmates. I toasted and crushed some cumin and coriander seeds, mixed that with oregano and garlic, then stirred it into olive oil to make a sort of paste. Then smeared over wedges of squash and roasted in the oven.

It was awesome