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Back from holiday and I now have a large bowl of tomatoes from the greenhouse. Won't get to the my sanctuary of botanical wonders until tomorrow to see what is there.
Each year I grow these vegetables which I call "Winter Melons" (Gourd family) this year, what with all this lovely weather we are having here in Essex, I have had a bumper crop of them, this is my 2nd barrow load in 5 weeks, and there are many more to come, all of which I give to the staff at my local chinese restaurant, they love them to say the least! they get chopped up for stir fries or used in soups, the ones they do not use straight away get put into storage, to use later on. Any other GYO`ers grow them?
Lettuce, green and red, rocket, a cucumber, a big red beefsteak tomato (don't know the variety, a neighbour gave me the plant), my first pepper of the deason and radish for salad. Maincrop potatoes for chips.
I picked up some windfalls from the Bramley apple tree and picked 6 pounds of blackberries too. Most of the blackberries are now dripping through the jelly bag for bramble jelly and we have just had apple and blackberry crumble.
Saturday was a major haul of about 15 marrows, 7 patty pans, a carrier bag of runners, a carrier bag of yellow, green and purple French beans. About 6 crystal apple cucumbers and 8 normal cukes. Three aubergine, a hand full of chillies, a big bunch of multicoloured carrots and an armful of kale. Two beetroots...just because I got so excited when I peeked under the leaves to see how they were doing and a swede for the same reason.
All the beans went in the freezer. A marrow turned into a couple of loaves of bread and a birthday cake. The kale went in the dehydrator to make crisps.
Now I'm slowly finding new homes for the marrows and cukes. Otherwise I'm going to have to juice the cucumbers and turn the marrows into rum.
Then yesterday, it was another load of runner and French beans, 5 courgettes (hoorah! For no more marrows!), another boat load of patty pans. I keep finding crystal apple cucumbers. So another 6 of those and a stray cucumber which was hiding in the poly tunnel.
Next year, I will defo do the crystal apple cucumbers again, but not 4 plants, they are scary prolific.
Windfall apples (peeled and sliced up for puddings in the winter), a handful of raspberries, a courgette, a lettuce and a nasturtium bloom that my son decided to pick
Was bimbling around the garden thinking what a lovely day it had turned into, and then we had our second deluge.
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