Pinnacle

This must be the climax of the growing season: the 2014 carrot harvest.

Do I hear anyone chuckle? It is an improvement over last year’s harvest of about 500%. So if we keep on going at the same rate I reckon we’ll have enough carrots for one meal in about 5 years.

Luckily we’re more successful with the tomatoes. I took my machete (secateurs) to the tomato jungle and cleaned a path. The result is in the freezer in the form of tomato soup.

Preserving spree

My boasting about the great weather we were having must have jinxed it. Last Friday the rain came and it might be here to stay for the foreseeable future. Luckily the weather forecast was spot on and last Thursday evening I spent digging up the tomato plants, harvesting all the green and red tomatoes. The pile of red tomatoes ended up in bolognese sauce, but I had never cooked with green tomatoes before. Turns out they make great chutney (so the recipe says). After several hours in the kitchen, six pots of green tomato chutney are now maturing in our kitchen cupboard.

Making the chutney was actually the last spasm of a preserving virus that got hold of me. It started off all innocent with making strawberry and rhubarb jam. But when the fennel started to grow wild it really kicked off. Last year my pickled fennel failed miserably and was way too acidic for human consumption. Luckily this batch is a triumph according to the under-gardener.

Last week I decided that the nasturtium seeds that I have collected for next year will not only be able to fill our garden, but the whole street, with plants. Probably won’t need to sow any considering how many seeds they have dropped (pulled a seedling out of the lawn today, don’t tell the under-gardener). The last batch of green seeds I pickled, turning them into poor man’s capers. Hang in there for three weeks and I will be able to reveal if they are any good.