The end of August brings to a close the meteorological summer. Of course we will continue to experience summer-like weather for many weeks to come, but 1st September heralds a new season - autumn. Looking back on the combined summer months of June, July and August it has been perfect for growing. Admittedly June was quite cold and grey for long periods, but this then changed to a prolonged period of hot, dry weather during most of July. Given recent years, many people thought we'd pay for this with a damp, cool August but nothing could be further from the truth. It certainly hasn't been as hot and sunny as July, and the days start to shorten noticeably from mid-month, but temperatures have remained reasonably high both day and night, sun has shone and sufficient rain has fallen to keep things moving nicely. Importantly, prolonged dry weather has kept blight at bay. Most plot holders have harvested a good crop of spuds and this is the first for many years where it has been possible to obtain a reasonable return from outdoor tomatoes.
I have managed regular, if fleeting, visits to the plot to pick produce and water crops, but I've not done any real weeding or plot husbandry for a while now. I'll try and make amends over coming weeks now that I'm harvesting and clearing crops. It's also work that won't be undone after a week or so's neglect because the weeds generally stop growing at this time of year. It means you can clear some ground without fear that they'll be back as soon as your back is turned...
So what has happened over the past six weeks or so?
The greenhouse has come on leaps and bounds with more tomatoes than I know what to do with. Watering has been a regular requirement during the warm weather - at least every two days - and I have been rewarded with plenty of ripe, flavoursome fruits. The cherry tomatoes started first (one Sungold in June but more to follow from early July) and it took a while for the larger toms to catch up. Since mid August I've harvested some stonking San Marzano plums and huge Beefsteaks.
The cucumber has been a bit more feast and famine and this is something I'll watch for next year. Once established, the plant produce about 10 huge fruits within a short space of time. I picked them as required but then the plant stopped altogether. The leaves yellowed and it looked spent and hungry. Watering and feeding has given it a second wind but that meant a fallow period when I should have been cropping. Maybe next year I'll grow two plants, or possibly encourage a more regular supply by thinning fruits when too many form at once.
Peppers have started to produce now and I have a bountiful crop of aubergines. Ophelia F1 is definitely productive and the plants are huge and strong - one to grow again for sure although seed is expensive. I have also managed a reasonable supply of okra but I'm not sure I'll bother next year. It's one of those novelty crops I wanted to try because I could. In reality, you need a lot of plants to harvest enough for a decent feed at any one time because they produce the pods so sparingly. It's far easier (and cheaper) to nip to a local Asian supermarket and buy a bag full given the time and effort required to raise the plants from seed. Finally, I have at last succeeded with a melon worthy of the name! Last year's effort showed I could grow them to at least produce a fruit. This year I have one melon, still yet to ripen, that is the equal of ones you buy in the shops. Will I bother again next year? Possibly. Like the okra, it's a lot of hassle for very little return other than the kudos of saying you've done it. Wait long enough and you can buy perfectly tasty melons for a pound a throw - this one fruit has probably cost at least a fiver in seed, compost and feed! I may try again next year to see if I can obtain multiple fruits and thus help spread the cost.
In the open ground I have been picking French and runner beans at will. The runners were shy to crop, despite loads of flowers, as a 'robber bee' was present on site. I hadn't really been aware of these until I noticed the cheeky blighter piercing the flowers at the back to rob the nectar. It was stealing the nectar without performing the act of pollination, so despite the flowers the initial bean set was poor. This balance has been redressed now and I should be picking for weeks to come.
Courgettes have been pumped out at will but it's interesting to note the variation in productivity. I have one plant of yellow 'Taxi F1' which has produced more than the Kojak and San Pasquale combined. That is a lot of yellow courgettes and they're still coming!
The potato harvest has been mixed but no blight has been present and haulms have grown strongly. I was very disappointed with the yield from the Red Duke of York. Very tasty spuds but hardly worth the effort. I will seek out something more productive for my first earlies next year. In comparison, the Charlotte has produced a bumper crop from the same number of tubers. I returned to this variety after flirting with Juliette for a while. I am now firmly back in the Charlotte camp - tastier and more productive, although less uniform in size and shape I have found. I am part way through harvesting the Roosters. Yield appears good from what is a productive maincrop variety but they are badly damaged by keeled slugs. Not a blemish on the Charlotte next door but I would estimate 60% holed potatoes from the Roosters. Interesting to learn whether it's skin colour (do slugs prefer reds?), skin thickness, or simply taste.
The squash patch has done its job admirably. Once the plants became established they romped around the area and swamped any weeds. Between the various squashes and the cosmos flowers I have benefitted from 100% soil cover so that is one bed that will be easy to prepare for next year. The downside has been too much foliage at the expense of fruit. I'll reserve judgement until the final harvest but I think the amount of shade caused by too many plants has resulted in them not fruiting productively. Only once they ran towards the light did they start producing female flowers so I now have a late crop of butternuts and pumpkins. Given the prolonged warm weather it should have been a great year for them. Next year I'll try fewer plants and accept some extra weeding if it means more productivity.
One plant to buck this trend was the marrow. Putting it bluntly it has gone bonkers! Maybe better suited to early English summer conditions than its fair-weather cousins, it ran amuck and has produced almost a dozen large fruits (more on this later) and is still going strong.
Other crops of note are the football-esque red cabbages, which are now ready to harvest, some good looking celeriac and celery and future crop of calabrese. Poor returns this year from the broad beans, onions, shallots and garlic - maybe the prolonged cold spring and cool early summer did for them?
Fruit wise the strawberries stopped producing after mid summer and the raspberries never really got going. This year they were productive but fruit quality was very poor. There was a huge yield from the gooseberries and I received an unexpected harvest of red currants as the birds seemed to leave one bush alone, concealed amongst the weeds of my summer neglect. They have been converted into 10 jars of redcurrant jelly! There is a fantastic blackberry crop to be had as I write.
I picked and ate some lovely early Beauty of Bath apples in August and I have a bumper crop of later apples and pears to be harvested from mid September. I was lucky to catch a dozen lovely Denniston's Superb gages before the wasps got them but the pigeons bagged every single cherry.
So that's the summer in review. A bountiful time with a range of vegetables and fruit to create or accompany every meal if desired. Makes it all worthwhile!
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