Plum time

Plumtreeooze

      Resin on the plum tree, rich in terpenes, sealing an old injury.

Short and sweet

The plum season's here. Blink and you'll miss it. In a couple of weeks they'll all be gone. The plop of ripe fruit falling to the ground serves as an audible reminder.

Freezer raider

     Time to dig in the freezer through some of last year's harvest.

Plumbing

Peak plum

   Plums dropping from the sky. Stewing with raspberries and apples.

Plum snatcher

This squirrel busily slurped on a plum a few feet away, discarding the skin and dripping juice until it either dropped it, or had had enough.

Plum Out

Autumn Collection

August Fayre

Plum Month

                                    Into August; plum month.

Intent to fruit

 One-year-old gooseberry bushes spring to life amongst the thorns.

 

 Plum blossom is the earliest of all.

Ooh me plums

Glut

Although there are no Cox's apples this year, because despite plentiful blossom in the spring the hideous weather prevented insects from pollinating it, there's more than enough fruit around, but it takes a few hours to harvest and preserve: Windfall apples don't last long before the slugs, woodlice or badgers get to them and like the plums and greengages, once they've become bruised or pecked, rot sets in. The raspberries seem larger this year, perhaps swollen by the constant rain earlier, but many are slightly blemished with a touch of mould and like everything else, need stewing with a little sugar before preserving in the freezer for puddings and pies in the winter. Rhubarb's at its best when there isn't an 'R' in the month (in the northern hemisphere) so the last harvest was pulled today, bound for the freezer.

Besides the fruit there are runner beans, french beans and a courgette or two. Some of the sweetcorn is approaching maturity but it could do with another week of sunshine, as could the tomatoes, which are all still green, but at least not brown or black, yet. The beetroot haven't wanted to grow this year but a couple of gourd vines have established well and are producing interesting looking fruit, which may or may not be edible.

In the cut flower department, it's all been a bit of a downer: There are no dahlias or cosmos and only a couple of giant sunflowers have made it through. Bees will be hungry.

Plum pudding

Despite a relatively poor crop of plums this year there are still more than enough, what with all the other fruit and veg that need harvesting, eating or preserving.

Ooh me plums

Plum blossom

Fruity

Up and running

Shed Load

Multicoloured Veg Box