We have had an unusually sunny and warm September this year, and the kitchen garden has continued to deliver enormous amounts of vegetables.
A first for me this year was growing my own leeks. I love leeks and use them a lot in my cooking! They were surprisingly easy to grow, but I had misjudged the space close to the tomatoes so the row closest to them only produced thin little ones.
The tomatoes have given me endless joy this year! A plentiful cropper with sweet yellow fruits - but I should have been more stringent in cutting back the leaves and even some of the fruiting branches so that the ones left would have had more sun!
Because of the uneven temperature and an excess amount of water during heavy rains, some of the tomatoes cracked. I don't really mind and pick them too for making passata tomatoes pure.
The beetroot succeeded over expectations! I am so pleased about that as I had to re-sow a few blocks in June that had failed for some mysterious reason. This is to me typical beetroot behaviour! If the conditions aren't exactly right they will throw a hissy fit and die, but then when it is just right they reward you with plentiful and large harvest!
Little gem squash came into its own this month! Such a trooper and beautiful to look at.
The shell is surprisingly hard, but they are delicious sliced thinly and marinated raw in olive oil and lemon, with a twist of salt and pepper.
As they just kept cropping, I ended up supplying many of my friends with this beauty.
The carrots loved the sandy new soil we put in this spring. Never have I had such fine straight carrots before!
The kale turned out great although I was so worried in June because their stalks were spindly and bent in all wrong directions. I guess kale likes a bit of tender loving care, as they really rewarded me this year!
Although I had harvested all the broccoli in August, I left the plants to flower for the bees. Lo and behold! Suddenly they grew a new crop of perfect florets.
I love growing my food, but I do find harvesting tedious. So does Boomer. The look on his face says it all!
Although the temperatures are going down, we haven't had frost at night yet. As long as it stays at bay the Marigolds keep flowering and bringing joy both to me and to the insects. I wish you all a pleasant weekend!
