Monday 14 July 2014

Harvest Monday - 14th July 2014

No big harvests to report this week, but lots of little ones. The Broad Beans have finished now, so the next big harvest won't be until the Runner Beans come on stream, which probably won't be until the end of this month.

However, I did pick my first tomato of the year. It as an "Orkado". Normally this type is very regular - round and even - but this time the fruits all seem to have a pinched waistline, a symptom of the weedkiller contamination, I think.


That tomato looks OK at first, but unfortunately it was completely inedible, because it had a severe case of Blossom End Rot. 2014 is going to be a BAD year for tomatoes, in my garden!


This "Milan Purple Top" is a good example of its kind though:


Unfortunately its siblings are lagging a bit behind in terms of their development, so this solitary turnip will go into a vegetable medley of some sort.

This week saw me harvesting the first of the "Cobra" climbing French Beans too. Just a handful, but there are lots more little ones on the plants which will be ready soon.


The Blueberries seem to have take ages to ripen. I seem to remember writing weeks ago that "...the Blueberries are beginning to ripen." Well, I decided I couldn't wait any longer, and picked these:


It's not a lot (105g), so for my photographs I put them in a small bowl to make it look a bigger quantity! Actually, looking at them closely I see that they are not 100% ripe. I was just too impatient. I shall leave them to continue ripening for a few days before we eat them.


The "Iznik" cucumbers are producing well now.


I have had several fruits during this past week.



We like to eat them as a pre-dinner nibble, simply sliced and sprinkled with salt.


I'm still harvesting potatoes, a few at a time. This one is "Harlequin", a Second Early / Early Maincrop. Its parents are "Charlotte" and "Pink Fir Apple" - my two favourite potato varieties!



It has the characteristic elongated oval shape of "Charlotte" and the yellow flesh and pink tinge of "Pink Fir Apple", the latter being particularly pronounced at the eye end of the tuber.




Those potatoes weighed 350g, an ideal quantity for a 2-person serving. They came from one seed tuber grown in a 10-inch pot. I take comfort from the fact that although the tomatoes are going to be rubbish, the potatoes have been superb - and there are quite a few more still to come!

12 comments:

  1. You have had some really excellent potatoes this year. They are just so clean and perfect. I'm still waiting on my cukes, but it shouldn't be long. I need to thin out the dill that is right next to them. I think it is shading them too much.

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  2. You really have a fantastic harvest! Those cucumbers and potatoes with beans will make a wonderful meal, and blueberry perfect for desert.

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  3. Those are some lovely potatoes. And too bad about the BER on the tomatoes. It is such a problem when it shows up, and by then it is too late to save those tomatoes it has affected.

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  4. You really do have the magic touch with potatoes, those are beautiful. Such a shame about the tomatoes though.

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  5. The potatoes look fantastic. Sorry about the BER. Last year I had that problem on my Gilbertie paste tomatoes. Never got a one because by the time they were ripe, the rot had spread up the whole length of the insides. Just some tomatoes, some years, who knows why.

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  6. Congrats on your first tomato! Sometimes I get blossom end rot on the first tomatoes and then the rest are fine.. hopefully that'll be the case for you. Your potatoes and cukes look delicious.. enjoy!

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  7. Lovely potatoes & those cucumber plants look like they will keep you in cukes all season long. BER is such a disappointment, especially when it hits that highly anticipated first ripe tomato of the season. Thankfully, it is often an intermittent problem & hopefully the rest of your tomatoes will be ok.

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  8. So surprised to read that your broad beans are done, mine are just staring to be of good size for me to harvest, I know your blueberries were not quite ripe, but mine are still,well growing, I am sorry to read about your tomato, hope the others are okay. My husband is worried about his tomatoes too. I hope he has a good year.

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  9. BER on tomatoes is the worst when you can see what the tomato would be without it. I still don't have a good handle on why it can be bad one year and no problem the next.

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  10. Martyn has posted about our tomato problems and will publish on his blog tomorrow. As I said before is it worth trying to grow tomatoes these days?

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  11. Your potatoes look great. Hopefully, your tomatoes turn around this year. I'm growing a dozen heirloom varieties and so far, only one (speckled roman) is showing of BER on a couple fruit. Your cukes look great as well.

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  12. I like the sound of those potatoes I shall look out for that variety next year, its an awful shame about your tomatoes.

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