The ups, the downs and the insides out of growing your own in 2024!

Suffolk_lass

Just picking... something in the weeds around the raspberries is eating me

alicef

@Suffolk_lass – you are braver than I. Even at the height of summer, if I’m gardening, or working in the orchard, I have full length trousers, tucked into socks and wellies, (or hiking boots), and long sleeves.

The jam pan is out and I have been making damson jam from the Shropshire Prune fruit. Also the latest issue of indie magazine ‘The Simple Things’ entitled ‘Patch’, (free to read on Pressreader), has a slew of lovely recipes that I am working my way through, (particularly taken with Hedgerow fizz & apple/pear/ginger cobbler with cardamom custard – I’ll make 1-2 portion versions of the latter for me). Also found a link to a load of H.Fearnley Whittingstall damson recipes.

I did take some Grenadier apples to the honesty box; they all went, so I will refill again. Outdoor things, aside from harvesting, are lots of maintenance jobs that have been abandoned till now, (weeding). Nearly finished cutting the box hedging. I came across some teasel seedlings amongst the roses; I’ve started to lift these. Some I’ll pot up for the plant sale next year, some I’ll transplant. The ornamental beds have had a good watering now, with all the recent rain; I’m going to start sorting these out.

Harvested; picked sweetpeas, did a bit of weeding, collected wildflower seed, (wild carrot & bird’s foot trefoil), made jam.

alicef

Still waiting on a stretch of dry weather so that I can finish cutting the box hedging, just the tops to do. Checked on my lavender cuttings, all looking okay. I’m thinking about taking some rosemary cuttings. Took pears down to the honesty box, (Williams & Conference). Made passata and more pears in syrup. Picked crab apples, (Harry Baker), for spiced crab apple jelly. That’s it for our jam/jelly stores; the remaining crab apples will be pressed. Chutney, quince & medlar cheeses up next. Shelled & toasted hazelnuts. Having the cooker on keeps the kitchen nice and warm. Started picking apples for the Harvest festival coming up in just over a week, where there will be apple pressing. Saved sunflower seed. My garlic order has arrived; (I need to sort out where I will be planting this). The calamondin, (bought from Lidl), has a flower!

Suffolk_lass

Still processing courgettes here (prep and freeze or make Nigella's Courgette and Lime cakes with lemon instead, in 1lb loaf tins, no frosting and in paper cases - so the freeze as little blocks to have with a cup of tea in winter!). And tomatoes later today will be made into passata. I had to remove the tomatoes from the freezer to make room for courgettes

We are off on hols Thursday so just beans and raspberry remnants and my squashes to pick in the veg beds. When we get back I will need to process blackberries, blackcurrants, plums and gooseberries that I froze in big zip bags. I shall make jingleberry jam with some (Christmas whimsy name based on hedgerow jam) with a bit of Christmas fabric to sell at the Village Christmas sale). Other than that it will be honey and wax product production, and maybe some jelly. Oh, and chillies, rest of the peppers and apples need picking and cooking, I make stewed apple and store it like jam in jars as my apples are never perfect enough to store. The one year we meticulously wrapped each perfect apple and stored them, we found a perfect nibbled hole and empty paper shell after the mice found them! I just freeze chillies whole. It saves getting the hot fingers thing when they are chopped for the winter casseroles and chilli!

Then into the planning phase. I have garlic on order and just hoping it doesn't come before we are back (it did say October)

alicef

@Suffolk_lass it is that time of year - a lot of activity around preserving produce.  I adore the smell of beeswax but we gave up our hives about 10 years ago;  I still have some beeswax polish left though. 

Have a lovely holiday.

alicef

Box hedging is done, the hornbeam is next, but I need the ladder for that. The Gertrude Jekyll roses are back into flower. I cut off some heads, made rosewater and decanted the liquid into a spray bottle. I’m using it as linen water.

I had made a mental note reminding myself that I should start picking the grapes; unfortunately, I prevaricated and one of the vines came free from its ties. Luckily the vine didn’t snap,(they are quite bendy). We were able to haul it up and tie back to the cross strut. Grapes were everywhere! However, this spurred us on to pick the ripe bunches. My OH presses the grapes and will make rose wine, (he bungs in a kit).

Took Beurre Hardy pears & Scrumptious apples to the honesty box. More polytunnel veg, (tomatoes are very slow to ripen), raspberries and cultivated blackberries picked. The berries have been frozen. The wild blackberries are tiny this year but delicious. Lifted all the onions/shallots and discovered some Pink Fir potatoes. Started to cover raised beds that have been cleared of crops. Took rosemary cuttings. Sorted out apples to take to harvest festival apple pressing.

Harvested; deadheaded; some weeding; some mowing; some hedge cutting; picked sweetpeas; visited a lovely garden on GW 2for1.

gill5blue

hi,
Long time lurker.
I have successfully grown potatoes in green bags.
How do I store them? Do I wrap them in Newspaper?
Advice will be welcomed and thanked.
gill5blue

alicef

Hello @gill5blue!

I'm not an expert on potatoes; my OH is diabetic and rarely eats them so I don't plant them anymore. I love potatoes so I've put canes in where I found some haulms (after cutting off the haulms) - I'm hoping they will be OK until Christmas.

I think the key storing tips, once lifted, are to exclude light to stop the potatoes turning green; to store in paper not plastic so they don't rot due to raised humidity and to store them somewhere cool but frost free (and rodent free).

FreeBear

alicef said: I think the key storing tips, once lifted, are to exclude light to stop the potatoes turning green; to store in paper not plastic so they don't rot due to raised humidity and to store them somewhere cool but frost free (and rodent free).

I just wash the soil off, and once dry, keep them in the bottom of the fridge. Don't have a huge amount at the moment.

alicef

@FreeBear I'm hoping my 'discovered' potatoes will be OK in the ground.   Just back from the Harvest Festival event.  Quite a lot of rain!!