Posts that Didn't Happen - August 2022

August brought me back to reality, in the form of a new job - something a bit different for me, haven't really 'done' sales before!  Mostly it's the customer service side though, rather than direct selling - working Monday to Wednesday, answering online enquiries etc.  

Anyway, they're a good bunch of people, the stock is often fascinating and the days swoosh by - plus it's putting a few more pounds in the bank (for now at least) 😊

Also got back from the Folk Festival to find that my crop of courgettes had (as ever) transformed into the annual crop of marrows . . . cue the usual round of recipe hunting . . .

Mid-month brought a family visit, coinciding with some more gloriously hot weather - although far too hot by the afternoons to do anything much.  

Visit over, travelled home via Powis Castle, and the backroads round by Nant-y-Moch reservoir, looking beautiful in the summer sunshine . . .

The rest of the month passed with work, some intermittent sunshine, cooking, jam making, a rather annoying car breakdown, and a little light pantry reorganisation.

Ended August with an evening walk up Consti  (first time this year for me, after months with a dodgy foot), watching the sunset over Cardigan Bay.

Marrow Mission

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to do something with them there marrows . . .

 A small mountain of courgette lasagne has already been produced and portioned for the freezer - along with courgette fritters, and soup . . .



. . . now what to do with this lot:

• Bhajis?

• More Soup?

• Cake?

All of the above?

Monster Marrow

And this year's marrow season has started . . .

More Marrows

And on to the annual marrow post - missed them at the courgette stage yet again:

Garden Bounty

Alongside everything else that is going on, the garden is continuing to yield its bounty - here we have potatoes, rhubarb and courgettes (on the cusp of marrowdom):

The tomatoes are coming along too, although the strawberries are proving disappointing - they don't seem to have really got going after last year's major weeding exercise, and the slugs are getting to what fruit there is before we do!

Where to Start?

The garden has been yielding more courgette / marrows, and the first tomatoes are emerging from the greenhouse.

It all looks a bit daunting at the moment - the marrows in particular!

Tomato sauce, courgette bhaji, and courgette lasagne here we come . . .

Here We Go Again . . .

The (almost) annual marrow post - never quite get to those courgettes in time!

Adapted a bhaji recipe this year to use the grated marrow, which has worked well - certainly got plenty to work my way through!

Planting Up

Time to get the greenhouses and vegetable garden planted up - at this stage the plants always look so small - beefsteak tomatoes in the big greenhouse - cherry tomatoes in the small (with the vine):

And courgettes in the large veg patch (the small veg patch already having been planted up with potatoes and onions):

At the moment the courgettes have all been surrounded with a slug pellet barrier, as the young courgette leaves have definite slug-appeal - hopefully, with time, they'll become less tasty.

Barring disaster there'll probably be marrow postings in due course!

Final Harvest?

As autumn draws on it's time to start shutting down the greenhouses - harvested most of the remaining tomatoes and cucumbers from the main greenhouse today, and the grapes from the small greenhouse.

Unfortunately our grapes are still a tad on the measly side (mostly skin and pip) - so boiled them up to make grape jelly or some such.

Got a few courgettes from the vegetable patch as well - think I might be making soup over the next few days!

Marrow Mountain

The courgettes got a little out of hand again this year - we were well into marrow territory by the time this little lot got picked:

Over the course of three days made: marrow curd (better than it sounds, bit like lemon curd but with a slightly more 'grainy' texture); marrow and potato soup; ratatouille; marrow and pesto soup; and marrow pickle - still had some left mind you!

Courgettes and Cabbages

Finally started on the veg garden this weekend, got both plots weeded and dug over, and planted out the courgettes (and butternut squash) in the top veg patch.




Then in the small veg plot cobbled together a net cloche to (hopefully) protect my baby savoy cabbages from the depradations of any passing cabbage whites . . .

Will update on progress in due course!

Out with the Old and In with the New

Harvested the last of the courgettes (well marrows in some cases!) today - which meant turning last year's frozen leftovers . . .

. . . into this year's soup:


Before refilling the freezer again:



Although some did find its way into a very nice marrow curry!

Garden Update

Haven't said much about the garden recently - so time for an update on progress:

14 / 15 April - started on veg plots - dug over the small plot, and planted out the broad beans we'd been given -  then the potatoes (some in pots).

23 April - dug over the large veg plot - planted more potatoes and the red onion sets.

12 / 13 May - prepped greenhouses - put weed control fabric down in the larger one and planted it up with main crop tomatoes (cherry varieties have gone into the smaller greenhouse).

Also planted up one of the raised beds with rather flimsy looking asparagus seedlings (pictured - not sure whether these will survive).


Courgettes and butternut squash have gone into the large veg plot.





That leaves us with aubergines and a few more tomato plants (for outside planting) which are still being brought on in the large greenhouse - and implementation of this year's new and improved 'pea' strategy (more to follow on this).

Courgette Mountain!

Think I might have overdone the courgettes this year - the plants have gone totally rampant now, and we haven't been able to keep up!



These rather marrow-like specimens were harvested yesterday, but there's a lot more to come . . .




Luckily the broken chest freezer has had its thermostat replaced and is now available for excess courgette storage - but at this rate it's going to be full before the end of the summer.

Courgette soup anyone?

Green Stuff - One Month On . .

Time for an update on the Green Stuff . . .

The greenhouses have both been planted up now - here we have the main greenhouse, replete with plum and beefsteak tomatoes, cucumbers and some very small aubergine plants (hopefully they'll pick up over the next few weeks).




The small greenhouse (as well as the vine) has the cherry tomatoes and a few more aubergines . . .





Progress in the main veg plot has been mixed - the potatoes are on their way up, but the courgettes and butternut squash haven't really come on much - fed them today so hoping for better things to come.




Also planted up some green beans, a week or so ago, hoping they'll get going soon too . . . (decided against peas this year after last year's less than impressive harvest).





The onions (and stray potatoes leftover from last year!) are doing ok in the smaller veg plot, and there are some leeks to plant out in due course as well.



Finally we have the broad beans, which are doing very nicely thank you, despite a bit of a battering from the strong winds.

 A bit of sunshine and we should also have our first strawberries sometime very soon!

Courgette Recipes Please!

Our courgette crop this year has been practically non-existent, but luckily Martin's sister has been able to keep us well supplied.  Her courgettes have tended to be a little on the large side mind you - more like marrows - and today's offering has left me feeling rather daunted:

[The egg is for scale - the red thing is our first 'ripe' Scotch Bonnet chilli, which I'm also somewhat apprehensive of despite its small size!]

If anybody has any good courgette recipes, would be glad of suggestions . . .

Update: found a good use for overgrown courgettes on Twitter (thanks Amanda!) - apparently they are just the thing for scaring off your charging black bear - I guess I could try throwing it at a marauding bunny . . .

Growing Elsewhere

Outside of the greenhouses (big and small) we have the old veg plot, the new veg plot, and the fruit cage. In terms of progress here it's a bit of a mixed picture . . .

Starting with the old veg plot:
- the onions are doing ok, although note for next year, don't plant in a block as it makes it difficult to weed;
- the broccoli has yielded a good first crop (now in the freezer) and hopefully there'll be more to follow;
- unfortunately things aren't going so well with the potatoes - some of which actually look like they are dying back - although I suppose we can't judge until we actually pull them.


The peas, which were last year's success story, have also proved somewhat disappointing. Our main problem here was that something ate most of them (note for next year, plant them deeper) - the ones that are left are doing well mind you, and we've filled in the gaps with some green beans (carefully started off in the greenhouse and transplanted).


In the new veg plot:
- the success story (at least thus far) is the sweetcorn, which is looking good;
- in between the sweetcorn is some butternut squash, which hasn't done much at all yet;
- a subsidiary row of peas has grown thickly, but only to about 20cm high . . .



The courgettes are doing better - six plants in all, and we should hopefully be getting a reasonable harvest out of these.



Finally the fruit cage:
- the raspberries, blackcurrants, and gooseberries never really got anywhere this year - we've just harvested a handful of raspberries;
- more on the blueberry bush later, but it broadly seems to be be doing ok;
- the strawberries have proved most attractive to the local wildlife with numerous nibblings of the net - as a result we've had to refortify with wire netting (as pictured).



Even so, despite some nibblings here and there, the strawberry harvest is going very well, indeed; six plus large bowls and more to come - when this year's runners have established themselves, I think we're looking at strawberry jam in 2010.