Autumn Colours

It struk me today when I was looking at my recent pickings, what a wonderful array of colours I have in my harvest. It is always a healthy thing to eat your way round different coloured foods, so I should be bursting with health if this photo is anything to go by! Then I had another look round my patch to see any other bursts of colour..

These bright Lemon tomatoes are just starting to ripen, what a vibrant lemon yellow!

One by one my Scotch Bonnet chillis are turning colour.

and these San Marzano plum tomatoes are an amazing colour too!

And as it happens, yesterday I sat chopping some of my Summer veggies to make piccalilli. After salting them in brine overnight...

and with the addition of fresh turmeric, ginger and English mustard - I will be looking forward to tasting this new, colourful batch of Summer pickle!

Picking Bramleys

There's still plenty of time to go and take a picture of your canine gardening helpers, supervisors, head gardeners for Matron's 2010 Dogblog. Please email me your photos before September 29th, and don't forget to send me your blog address if you want me to put a link into the post!

It has been a great year for my Bramley apple tree. I think the long hard Winter helped to develop lots of fruiting buds on the tree. There have been plenty of windfalls, but this weekend I picked the perfect fruit that was ripe (it came off easily when pulled). These will be laid carefully in the cool, dark garage. They should keep until next Spring.

I found these plastic trays being thrown out at my local garden centre. They are just the job for storing apples!

I pulled up the first of my Oarsman leeks for lunch today. Lots of length to the stem, and beautifully tender and flavoursome.

I steamed some Tromba D'Albegna squash too, easy to peel and slice. I steamed the squash, but have to say that although the flavour was fine, it was quite watery.

F1 Hybrids - Worth the Money?

Lots more veggies are ripening down on my plot this week. I've picked some of these Trombocino squash, also known as Tromba D'albegna. Some can grow to almost a yard long, and will readily curl round if they meet an obstacle while they are growing. Some I have left on the plant to ripen more, some I have picked because the vines were dying back anyway.

Supposed to be related to a butternut squash, the seeds are found in a small area at the bulbous end of the squash, otherwise the whole of the rest of the squash is seed free and can be cut into discs.

They come in all shapes and sizes and should ripen to a butternut colour.

Elsewhere on the plot diversity is the spice of life. My large golden beefsteak tomatoes Golden Jubilee are finally ripening. These are a late variety and have an outstanding flavour and are very prolific too. They just look lovely sat next the the chocolate cherry tomatoes and the F1 hybrid Dombito Beefsteak.

Which brings me to the question of F1 hybrids. Here are my new F1 hybrid runner beans St George. Is it really worth the money to buy expensive F1 hybrid varieties? You are supposed to get a 'hybrid vigour' with a first cross, but can you really tell the difference? I can't. Certainly cheaper (free actually) to save my own seed for next year and I don't think I will notice.

I'm excited that these Bishop's Kiss chillis are growing. They were a very late prezzie from my good chum Stan. These remind me of the type of chillis that include the variety 'Friars Hat'. A bell shaped chilli with a skirt round the bottom. Fingers crossed we have some more bright weather to encourage these along.

And these are my F1 hybrid leeks Oarsman. Again there were only about 30 or so seeds in the packet!! I'll see how they stay over Winter and what the flavour is like, but I might return to my old pal Musselburgh next year. You get 10 times the number of seeds for your money.

Perhaps one exception to the rule is this all female F1 cucumber Tiffany. Just so brilliant to get no male flowers at all! I wish someone would breed a pumpkin or squash with no male flowers! This was a later planting that I planted outside. It has grown and grown, I have tied in lots of sideshoots and looked after it. Highly recommended. Well done Tiffany!