Something to bear in mind

I have had a very successful courgette harvest this year, losing count of the number produced by the single outdoor plant which survived. They've gone into innumerable meals and into chutney. Sometimes we haven't known what to do with them.

So I was tickled when I came across this story on the First Post website about a new use for a courgette:

WOMAN FIGHTS BEAR WITH COURGETTE

A US woman fought off a black bear which attacked on the porch of her Montana home by hurling the nearest item to hand at it - a courgette. The woman’s dog was attacked by the bear first. She kicked the animal and it retaliated by swiping at her leg, ripping her jeans. She retreated into her house but the bear followed – until a vegetable to the nose sent it running.

Power of veg!

I go a'foraging

I spent a pleasant hour or so the other day raiding the blackberry bushes that border the unmade and unadopted lane that leads to our house and which also grow in the woods around the corner.

Each year I plunder as many as I can for jam and puddings and consider myself lucky that there is not generally a race with other people to get them.

Armed with a plastic container from the kitchen, I managed to get a decent batch for immediate use. No need to be greedy as our freezer is full and there is always tomorrow for another harvest.

There was a deviation this year when I decided to make blackberry & apple jam in the breadmaker. A lazy way? I don't know, but it makes good bread and I thought it worth experimenting with the jam setting to see what would happen. You never know until you try.

The Morphy Richards Fast Bake model is, by the way, almost brand new and was donated to me by one of my followers on Twitter, who knew from my tweets that I made bread. This was an extraordinary act by a complete stranger who no longer wanted the machine as her husband has to lay off the bread for health reasons. It was so kind of her to think of me.

As this was my first time, I made enough jam just for one jar. Seemed to taste all right when it came out of the pan, while have a proper taste when it settles down in the jar.

The remainder of the blackberries went into a crumble which we shall have for tea tonight (the others being out of the house at the moment on visiting duties).

Only too late did I come across this recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for blackberry brandy to drink at Christmas. Mmm, that's mighty tempting. Looks like it's back down the woods in a few days.

A satisfying job

I don't have a big lawn or pretend to keep it in pristine condition, but I find something deeply satisfying about mowing.

And so a session this afternoon - long put off because of rain, wet and lethargy - proved to be calming and just what the mind needed. It was 30 minutes or so of gentle work away from everyday cares as I pushed the mower up and down the lawn.

I have a trusty electric lawnmower bought from Woolworths I don't know how many years ago and at one time I used to hurry the job. But since I gave up newspaper work, I don't mind taking a bit more time. I've developed the patience to switch off the mower to move the lead into a better position as I go around the lawn.

As I was cutting the grass, it was chilly and became overcast at one point. I realised there won't be many days left this year for mowing.

A bargain day out

It was a very generous act when Harewood House waived all admission fees on the occasion of Heritage Open Days. We could not resist it and took full advantage.

Summer days may be ending, but the sun was shining and it was very warm for our visit to this stately home near Leeds. We took a pleasant walk in the grounds to see the Himalayan garden and the walled garden, where they grow fruit and vegetables for the house.

I'm a sucker for walled gardens and I enjoyed this one very much, while at the same time wondering why it is so far from the house. Everything was so neat and tidy, the produce growing well and the soil something to envy.

It helps of course to have a team of gardeners, but a lesson for us commoners is that you do need to put a bit of effort into your gardening.

Thank you for small mercies

Dashed out just now to retrieve the washing from the line before it rained. Had a quick inspection of my Cherokee Trail of Tears beans and was absolutely delighted to see some are finally appearing - probably about a fortnight later than last year.

It's good news. But I'm not going back out to take a photo - it's now chucking it down with rain and rumbling with thunder.

A windy day

I spent most of the day working on things inside the house, listening to the wind whistling all around. It was the sort of force bound to dislodge things and so it proved when I did venture out. Nothing grave, just three of my outdoor pots of tomatoes, and righted in a jiffy. My little wigwam of Cherokee Trail of Tears beans survived (fingers crossed, the wind hasn't died down at all), but still no crop from the plants.

I cut three courgettes, two from the plant in the ground and one from a plant in a pot. Decided that now was the time to give up on the three courgette plants in pots and emptied them out. Why is it that they didn't take? The pots were massive, but I only got one courgette from them. Seems it's a plant much happier in the ground.

New website for veg growers

I'm a little remiss in having failed to mention the new UK Veg Gardeners website launched by Gillian Carson, who blogs at My Tiny Plot. Her aim is to help vegetable gardeners meet each other, share ideas and gain inspiration (that's what it says on the welcome page) and at the time of writing 299 people have signed up as members.

I'm one of them, although I confess my contribution has been non-existent so far. Maybe remedy that in time and maybe join the Yorkshire Gardeners group formed by some of the site's members.

One posting on the forum has drawn my attention to the grow2eat website aimed at individual gardeners, clubs and societies and which offers discounts on a wide range of grow-your-own items. Certainly worth keeping an eye on as I'm partial to a bargain.

We are a bit equivocal

The first of this year's tomatoes have been picked and the verdict is a bit iffy. A few of the Lightfruit and Yellow Pear-Shaped were available so we had them with a light lunch of boiled potatoes and lettuce (both mine), together with a Scotch egg (Sainsburys).

In all honesty, they tasted a bit soggy. In fact, Susan kept most of hers aside to put in a curry tonight. I'm more of a gannet and tucked into mine, although I could see what she meant.

Still, they're only the first of the crop and we shall have to see how the rest fare. They were varieties acquired more or less by accident and at this stage my thinking for next year is to have a go with good old Gardener's Delight.

While looking back on this blog to remind myself what sort of tomatoes I had last year, I came across a posting about the first of the Cherokee Trail of Tears beans being ready on August 25. One year on and we've gone almost 10 days beyond that date with no beans ready. A good sign is that there are plenty of little purple flowers, so perhaps soon...

Handy hint

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Just when I'm thinking about green manure, along comes this handy video from the BBC Dig In website. Thanks.

A bountiful harvest

Absolutely wonderful weather over the last few days in our part of Yorkshire and I have dug up the remainder of my Lady Balfour potatoes. Half were lifted a fortnight or so ago and I left the rest in the ground mainly because of the storage issue. A mountain of spuds has come from the 20 tubers I planted earlier this year, far more than the measly crop of last year. I am really pleased.

I think that next year I shall return to two types of potatoes, say an early and a maincrop, just for variety and to ensure a better flow of produce. At the moment I am quite taken with Bonnie Dundee, simply because of the name's association with my Scottish roots, but we will see. As always, it will be enjoyable looking through the catalogues.

A question arises as to the bare soil left after the harvest. Too late to plant anything now and in any case I will need to improve the soil structure, I guess. Time for green manure. I have two types, phacelia and a rye and I think I will go with the latter, simply because I've tried phacelia before and fancy something different.

Now, what for tea...?