2020 harvest

Fruit and vegetables coming into the kitchen a-plenty now: new potatoes, broad beans, garlic, scallions, Spring cabbages, lettuces; rhubarb, strawberries, loganberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants - even a few early raspberries!

With this welcome rain, things are looking up a bit. Spuds, Peas, Onions (Very good crop), Garlic, Cabbage, Brockley, Scallions, Saladines, Gooseberries, and Blackcurrants. Maincrop peas and shallots will be the next to come in.

We're spoiled for choice!

I did my first picking of the Alderman`s today. A fine crop I am pleased to say. The Green Shafts will be a few weeks yet.

I usually grow both of those varieties. This year, for a change, I planted Kelvedon Wonders - a pea I haven't grown for donkey's years; they're just about ready for picking. They'll have to be good to compare with Aldermans or Hurst green shaft - probably the two best peas ever bred.

Broad beans finished and replaced with cabbages. Kelvedon Wonders and Mange-tout peas just coming in. Eating lots of new potatoes, scallions and last of Spring Cabbages. Raspberries, Strawberries, currants and Gooseberries galore! Sowed more cabbages, late leeks, sprouts and EPBS.

Maincrop peas cropped. Spuds (queens) cropped, now onto the Charlotte. Early Onions and Garlic stored. Shallot`s ready for lifting. Brockley being cropped. Sprouts, Kale, Cabbages (various), Runners, Early Peas (second crop), Maincrop Peas (late), Beets, Carrots, Parsnips, Saladins, Celery, Onions and Leeks all growing well. Apple trees look ok as do the soft fruit. A glut of Gooseberries and Blueberries. The Grapes and Peaches are not so good. Running out of steam a bit but "Hey Ho"

Despite a difficult spring this year has turned out to be good. We have had a few failures but by and large, it has been a good season thus far. We have a glut of soft fruit, tomatoes, Peas, Runner beans, Onions, Just about everything with the exception of my January sowed spubs which was not worth the effort. I have even got crops of Parsnips and Carrots.

Same here. Very good year for vegetables and fruit. The maincrop spuds are still growing strongly - not a trace of blight. Onions are harvested and beds ready for winter and spring brassicas. Peas and beans still producing and great crop of carrots. Parsnips and swedes looking very promising. Cutting (and selling) summer cabbages, runners and sugar snap peas. Apple crop looks very heavy - desserts to sell and ciders for crushing! All in all, I can't complain.

We have a great crop of Toms this year. Took nineteen pounds to the mart and alot more still on the vines. San Marazino is a great verity and although not looking like a conventional Tom, it is an early cropper and does not carry much seed.

Well, thats the last picking of Runners. Out of the varieties grown, St George was by far the best. Tom`s are still cropping well. Early Spuds are now all gone. The Brassicas are recovering from major caterpillar damage . The Peas have cropped well throughout the summer and one more crop to be got soon. Early Onions did very well but the main crop was poor. The Chillies are growing very well but dont seem to keen to ripen. Most of these are destined for an Asian customer at the Mart. The late Leeks look powerful. Sprouts look healthy but not developing much yet. Overwintering Onions and Garlic are ready to go in this weekend as well as early Peas. Time to put things to bed me thinks.

Its been a funny ol year. Some crops did well and others did nothing. I think that that hot spring followed by a miserable summer put everything out of sync. I look at the crops that are left in the ground and think, its November and you lot should be fit by now! The Sprouts are getting bigger at last but need to put on more weight yet. I am thinking of taking the tops and force them to fill out the sprouts. The autumn plantings in the poly`s do look fine though, Garlic, Peas, Onions, Cabbage, and Leeks. Its just the Shallot`s to go in next month then it`s tree work to do over winter along with Hive making.

I'm behind in my autumn work - mainly due to all the time spent pressing out the ling honey and then apple-picking and cider-making. I need to get my garlic, broad beans and Spring cabbages planted - if it ever stops raining!

I have never produced Heather honey. I remember seeing some weird contraption for sale that mixed up the honey in the cells before putting the frames into the extractor. So how does the pressing work?

You scrape the comb off the frame with a big spoon; then you line the press with muslin, pour in the wax and honey mixture, wrap the muslin over it and screw down the press, gradually increasing pressure till all the honey is pressed out, leaving just a flat cake of wax. You can't rush it and it takes ages - all day to press out half a bucket. That's part of the reason it's so expensive.