We are at that stage in the Kitchen Gardening year where there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. The watering and feeding regime is still at its peak despite summer showers helping us out.
The weeds have slowed down their growth a little, but still require regular attention. And the harvest is now occupying much of our time; picking beans and berries, tomatoes, aubergines, and many other delicious crops.
We are now harvesting more than we can eat, which means there is much to do in the kitchen as well as in the garden. Our produce is shared with friends and colleagues, but we also like to store as much as possible to see us through the winter months.
The beans are blanched and frozen and also used to make chutney and the excess tomatoes are made into passata and chutneys. The larder, already home to shallots, garlic and early potatoes and soon to be joined by onions, is filling up with jar upon jar of homemade preserves.
It has been a bumper year for soft fruit. We have bags of frozen berries in the freezer ready to make puddings and juices later on. We have also been making lots of jam. This year we have had an enviable glut of peaches from our new trees, so will be trying our hand at peach jam too.
Our blackberries, given a new pergola support a couple of years ago which has allowed the plants to stretch out, are also treating us to huge amounts of fruits without a wasp in sight (so far…). We need a ladder to pick the fruit at the top of the support, but the big juicy fruits are worth the effort.
Later in the year when the weather is chilly and summer is a distant memory, it will be such a treat to open a jar or freeze bag and enjoy the taste of summer...
