August on (and off) the Allotment

I like to keep a visual record of my plants and vegetables as they grow.  Have a look at the progress of the largest of the squash on my plant over the course of 2 - 3 weeks:

We can assume that my left hand has stayed the same size during this time, meaning this here squash has more or less doubled over the same period.  This is remarkable.

Also remarkable enough to remark upon was the onion harvest:

Also pictured: elephant garlic.

It feels to me like I've harvested enough onions to turn into other things, though not enough to constitute a "supply".  The same can be said for my potatoes: harvest enough to put into a big ballsy sack, and that's a supply, but less than that, you've got maybe a "stash".  Anyway, I decided, in the spirit of stockpiling, to make some onion chutney.  I used this recipe.  It made enough for 2 x 190g jars, but not quite enough for three.  So I heated the remaining mixture back up, and added in some broccoli and ginger, rendering two conventional jars of onion chutney, and two more experimental jars of broccoli and onion chutney.

Spot the difference.

Meanwhile, blackberries continue to ripen all over the place, providing ingredients for MORE JAM.  Even after giving a few jars away to a friend, my Brexit stockpile continues to build.

12 jars of jam, 4 jars of chutney.

Back outside, and it was time to remove the trailing nasturtiums, as they start to die off, droop, and drop their seeds.  Nasturtiums drop an extraordinary amount of seeds.  I don't know why nasturtiums haven't taken over the world yet.

Little green testicles.

It's immensely satisfying to see a dynamic ecosystem at work beneath.

It's not too late to sow new seeds, either.  Here's a row of borlotti beans making their appearance.  They inspired me to sow some more elsewhere.

Purple sprouting broccoli, likewise.

July 22nd.

August 5th.

Even some forget-me-nots I sowed on a whim seem to be doing their thing.

Inside the shed, now adequately shelved, I've some space to continue growing microgreens.  My first tray of pea shoots is up and running (after a couple of false starts involving too little water and too much direct sunlight) and the next is on the way.  A tray of these sown every 2-3 days should keep me in a steady supply for munching on, using in soups, and maybe even a chutney or two.

Related posts

Summer on the Allotment
Summer Harvest, and Beyond
Microgreens!
******
Please consider disabling your adblockers when reading this site.  I make every effort to ensure no inappropriate, rubbish or offensive advertising appears here, and nothing that is contrary to the spirit of this blog.  So it's really nothing to be afraid of.  Cheers.