This is what I harvested last Friday, and I also picked a cucumber later on too. I'm glad I didn't sow too many turnips. I must have had some ideas of what to do with them when I sowed them, but now I can't remember what. I made turnip and carrot soup which was not very nice at all. Don't think I'll bother with turnips next year.
Below are some of the flowers I've got growing between my beds. Unfortunately the photos don't do justice to the borage flowers, which are so pretty and the bees go crazy over them. But I didn't realise quite how big they would grow. Next year I will keep them around the sides and edges, out of the way.
The onions and shallots really look as if they're ready to harvest now. I wasn't expecting this so soon - last year they weren't really ready until late summer. I haven't got space anywhere under cover to spread them all out to dry at once, so I think I will do it in batches. Also, we are down to the last jar of onion chutney now, so I will definitely be making more of that. Which brings me on to the subject of a recent acquisition - my Mehu Liisa Steam Juicer. http://www.juiceland.co.uk/item--Mehu-Liisa-Steam-Juicer--MEHULIISA.htmlI have a big bag of last year's damsons in the freezer, and a couple of bags of chopped up apples (but not peeled or cored), both of which have been waiting for this to happen. I have been motivated to get on with it because the freezer really needs defrosting, and I need to make more room for this year's harvest. I think I will just make jelly this time. Next year however, I plan to put in more currant bushes, and make my own cordial. This gadget means no more mucking about with rigging up muslin nets (last time this involved selotaping the edges of the muslin to the outside of a large plastic box, with a bowl inside, underneath, and putting the whole thing into the shower cubicle so nobody tripped over it). I hope this will make the whole process quicker and easier.
Finally - this has been puzzling me for a while now, despite the cool weather, I haven't seen nearly as many slugs and snails as I would normally expect - especially at the allotment. I have had a few in the garden, more since the latest rainy spell began, but at the allotment there is virtually nothing. I'm not complaining of course, and I don't want to tempt fate, but it just seems odd. I did find a big pile of empty snail shells the other day, so maybe I have some very hungry thrushes dealing with them for me, but the lack of slugs is a very welcome mystery. Hope I haven't jinxed this run of good luck now.
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