Tag: Runner Beans

Cooking and eating from the garden, Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers2 Comments

Seasons of mist etc

Reclaiming Paradise

Autumn has really arrived. There was a big blue splotch on the Met Office weather map which was firmly placed over central Scotland and it didn’t disappoint. The result was very wet and also suddenly quite cold – I had to get my bed socks and hot water bottles out for the first time last night. Anyway, in the garden, this wetness, preceded by some heat, is producing a humungous tomato and apple crop. I am a little excited, I must confess, at this season of mellow fruitfulness, even if we have the mist as well. (thanks Keats for the … Continue reading Seasons of mist etc

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers6 Comments

Harvest time and a monster at the allotment

Reclaiming Paradise

This late summer mini heatwave is causing all sorts of gluts in the garden. We’ve already had lots of plums (which would be great even without the heatwave), runner beans, tomatoes and cucumbers. We took this little lot on holiday with us and they fed us for the best part of a week (along with a bit of pasta and pasta sauce) Don’t you all take your veg on holiday too? They deserve a little change just like the rest of us. On our return there were even more plums – kindly harvested by my son and stored in the … Continue reading Harvest time and a monster at the allotment

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Why I garden2 Comments

Late summer harvest

Reclaiming Paradise

When the Scottish schools go back in mid August there’s always a subtle change in the air, a hint of the end of summer and autumn round the corner. We felt that seasonal change as children and later as parents, as the new school year brought change, anticipation and regret that summer was over. That particular seasonal marker no longer affects us directly but I can still feel the change in the air in the garden. Fortunately it also brings the start of the late summer gluts. We’ve picked the first plums, savouring them before the novelty wears off. I … Continue reading Late summer harvest

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers2 Comments

Onions and tomatoes

Reclaiming Paradise

I’ve fallen behind with gardening and blogging again but today I had a whole day in the garden and time to write about it. So here we go. First of all, onions: This is the harvest of red onions from the allotment that should have been last year’s. We planted them in the winter of 2021 and most of them were pulled or dug up by beasts of some kind – we suspect birds. So last year’s harvest was a bit rubbish. However this little lot stayed stoically in the ground and we harvested them last week. The joy of … Continue reading Onions and tomatoes

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers10 Comments

Sixtyish on Saturday

Reclaiming Paradise

In a small departure from the Six on Saturday rules, today’s post celebrates my challenge to harvest sixty different edible plants from my garden and allotment this year. Last week I hit my target, with the wondrous Howgate Wonder apples coming in at number sixty. I’ve now gone over the target and you can read all about what I’ve harvested since January here This year the Howgate Wonders are bigger than ever. I weighed one and it was 1lb! Not all are quite that big but there have been about thirty of these lovelies on the tree. So far they’ve … Continue reading Sixtyish on Saturday

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers6 Comments

Harvest

Reclaiming Paradise

I’ve been away from home for a week or so, walking and swimming in the rain. We had a bit of a plum glut just before we left, so we took the plums with us. I also made an emergency supply of plum jam the night before we left, rather than doing any packing, getting my priorities right, as I was worried they wouldn’t survive till we got home. Some of the tomato crop also joined us on our holiday, including a double Costoluto Fiorentino and the first of the impressively coloured but decidedly small ‘Indigo Blue Berry’ and a … Continue reading Harvest

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers6 Comments

Not counting my chickens..

Reclaiming Paradise

.. but my plan to harvest sixty different fruit, vegetables and edible plants this year is nicely on track. As I explained back in January the plan is to see if the garden and allotment can produce sixty different vegetables, fruits, herbs, or edible flowers and weeds over the course of the year. I’ve now recorded forty-five – see the running total here – with my climbing French beans the latest in the harvest record. So, I’m fairly optimistic that I’ll reach sixty by the end of the autumn harvest. However, I’m not counting my chickens too soon as all … Continue reading Not counting my chickens..