Jam, the freezer

                        The autumn raspberries keep on coming.

And finally

The Jerusalem artichokes finally flower after reaching ten feet. Not as impressive as sunflowers, but similar and related (Helianthus) hence the name 'Jerusalem', which may be a mishearing of the Italian for sunflower, 'Girasole'. The edible tubers below ground taste nutty and give you wind; an autumnal ritual usual only observed once. If left unharvested they spread and can become invasive. Their value as a natural screen is somewhat diminished by their habit of growing too tall and requiring support and tying-up.

Nicotiana alata

Lime green flowers and a lovely smell in the evenings from this tobacco plant. The slightly bristly leaves repel any predators.

The present's orange

Nasturtiums, almost the identical shade of orange as the pumpkins.

Month of the pumpkin

Into October and the month of the pumpkin. Some of these have a bit of marrow about them. They're not huge either, so no good for lanterns, but smaller ones often taste better.

Cox's collection

Time to harvest the Cox's apples before they drop in the gales or get pecked or nicked. They could probably do with a bit longer on the tree as the seeds don't rattle when you shake them.

Coriandrum sativum

                          Coriander in flower, seeds to follow.

Seedy business

                   Time to harvest sunflower seeds for next year.

Super spuds

Harvested the last of the Désirée potatoes and let them dry in the sun for a few hours before storing them in a paper sack - despite it being more difficult to buy paper sacks than it is to buy Désirée potatoes.

Lovely lettuce

Satisfying to be able to harvest a near daily supply of lettuce for a lunchtime sandwich. It's getting a bit chilly at night so protection under cloches is a good idea from now on and also reduces the chance of slug and bird damage.

Phantastic Mr Phlox

                          Still phlowering late into the year.

Whopping windfalls

Whopping windfall apples after recent storms make up for wind damaged sunflowers and a late night tussle with a clump of ten foot jerusalem artichokes which needed tying up.

Rambling on

These climbing/rambling roses responded well to pruning back and are producing a second flush of flowers.

Sweeties

There really is nothing like fresh sweetcorn, eaten within an hour of picking. Could never go back to tinned sweetcorn and even cobs bought in the shops are at least a few days old and taste nothing like the fresh stuff. Not such a great harvest this year - incomplete pollination - but still about a dozen cobs for immediate consumption, to give away or shove in the freezer. Also aways save one to dry out as backup seed for next year. None lost to badgers this year, but signs that birds or mice had been nibbling.

Perpetual parsley

Really handy to have a constant supply of parsley, which, like so many crops, has done well this year. On the other hand, several sowings of coriander failed to establish, being very attractive to molluscs.

Dry pod

 

These borlotti beans are best eaten fresh, not the whole pod, like runner beans and very early broad beans, but green and plump (despite the colour of the pod) like late broad beans.

           A good store of dried beans to use as seed for next year.

Cows (Grant Acid Mix) Edit

Now that the nights are drawing in, there will be more of this sort of thing. (Full music track here. ) Thanks Grant!

Embarrassment of riches

Snap the magic dragon

Late leeks

These late leek seedlings will need feeding over the coming months to provide food during the winter and perhaps flowering heads for insects next summer.