Thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post. I feel better knowing that I'm not just being picky! Polite complaining emails have been sent! 😉 I took myself off to the allotment knowing that whatever I found (overgrown with weeds!!!) I had to get the tomatoes in. I think a few were looking a bit 'blight-y' and some had blossom end rot so I picked them all. Red ones, green ones and some in between ones! I pulled out all the tomato plants and sorted the rotten ones. They're piled up in my wheelbarrow for now. Just chillies, calendula and nasturtiums left in the polytunnel now.
I roasted the ripe Roma tomatoes in my new oven. I'm just going to freeze them for convenience but I also had a load of the wee cherry type ones, Black Russian. Too many to just eat.
So they're dehydrating nicely to make sun dried tomatoes. I'll put them in a jar with olive oil when they're done 😋
I feel better for going to the plot and also getting some produce put away for Winter use. My sweetcorn is nearly ready so hopefully the next visit will yield some cobs for the freezer. I still have potatoes and onions in the ground, they'll need to be sorted out soon.
When I was leaving I noticed that the thornless bramble (blackberry) I planted earlier this year has produced some berries! I do love an edible hedge. It will be more prolific next year and I should be able to make some bramble jelly! 😋 As a kid my Gran dragged us everywhere with bags to go brambling in Autumn. She made the best jams, jellies and chutney! Happy memories 💖
"I do love an edible hedge" - :) :)
ReplyDeleteI remember many excursions to go bramble picking, both on my own and with granny. We used the plastic picnic mugs, and got a penny for each mugful we picked; granny was an inveterate jam maker, passed down to me, I'm pleased to say :). None of my siblings was interested, but I loved foraging for all sorts of things, especially when on my own. :) Your crops are impressive, well done you :) x
I remember it was Co op bags we used. Our fingers were stained purple for days! We went to Maidens which is a wee tiny place near Culzean Castle. We also had to gather whelks (similar to winkles) that were then boiled in sea water. All the kids were then armed with a pin to eat them!! If you're not Scottish this might not mean anything to you!! LOL!
DeleteUsed to get whelks when I stayed in Arbroath, also the smokies which were the best ever! Happy days as you say. Interested in your plan for sun-dried tomatoes. Let us know how they turn out.
ReplyDeleteSadly I wouldn't eat anything from the sea now unless it was really remote and away from all pollution sources. I'll do an update on the tomatoes soon
DeleteThat's a lovely haul despite the blighty stuff which has been a right nuisance this year, hasn't it?
ReplyDeletexx
Just spotted 3 affected tomatoes on my windowsill. Really is annoying!
DeleteYou grew so many chillies! I am so impressed! I have managed 2 out of my plant in a year! Not sure what I am doing wrong!
ReplyDeleteMine are in my polytunnel so maybe just the extra heat has helped!
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