Fecundity!

I love that word! It represents the feeling that I get this time of year when I see all this wonderful produce dripping from our trees and on our soil. I woke this morning to discover the first frost of the year. Beautiful patterns of ice crystals here on my broccoli. When the sun came up over the horizon I was off for an exciting day.

Today and up till Sunday is the Autumn produce show at the RHS Gardens at Wisley. Part of their 'Grow Your Own' campaign.

Wonderful displays of pumpkins and squash. This is my favourite Winter squash 'Delicata' .

Apples, pears and quinces were sold, and there were generous free tastings too!

What a beautiful array of Autumn colour.

So Matron visited the tropical greenhouse, hiked up past the Piet Oudolf border towards the orchard. Here is a rare glimpse of Matron herself!

To my favourite place in the whole wide world. The orchard.

Acres and acres, hundreds of apple trees laden with fruit.

Every conceivable shape, colour and size. There were thousands of trees, and some of the ancient varieties have incredible names. Easter Orange, Winter Banana, Kings Acre Pippin, Nanny, King Coffee, Beauty of Hants, Pomeroy of Somerset and The Bloody Ploughman were just a few...but Matron had to have a favourite..

Ooooh Matron!

Last of the Summer Vine!

Frost was forecast in parts of South England last night so I went around picking every last possible tomato, just in case. These are the ones to savour. When they are gone they are gone. Just tasteless supermarket obscenities from now on. These will be loved and appreciated.

I've been making an effort to have some produce over the Winter so many of my pots and containers have been planted with Winter salad leaves.

Of different shapes and colours. Attractive and edible!

Now, as regular blog readers will know - Matron does not do flowers! - but just every now and then some floral interlopers creep on to my patch. These lovely cheerful chappies are my Jerusalem Artichokes. Just getting ready to be dug up. Actually they are an awful pest - almost impossible to eradicate. I happen to love eating them so I struggle to keep them under control, but take heed of my wise words. If you do want to plant Jerusalem artichokes, think carefully where you will plant them. Just remember - like a rescue dog.. Jerusalem artichokes are not just for Christmas! they will be with you for a lifetime!

I pulled my small crop of Cylindra beetroot this afternoon. I love this shape of beetroot, they are so easy to handle, pick and slice.

I steamed them in the pressure cooker then peeled and sliced. Beautiful taste, and lovely tender texture. I was not alone in my appreciation of this gourmet treat....

Buddy loves beetroot!

The Beauty of the Beast..

What a glorious weekend to be out on the allotment having a good clear up! Damp soil, warm temperatures and bright blue sky. Matron now has a satisfying back ache! I have brought my Scotch Bonnet chillis indoors onto a warm, bright windowsill. All they needed was a bit of sunlight and look at these vibrant colours.

I will probably dry these in a string and use as Christmas decorations! edible decorations!

My new F1 Oarsman leeks are amazing! I didn't earth up too much stem here, but they have a lovely colour. I wait to see how well they stand over Winter. A wise person pointed out to me this week that if you look at the arrangement of the leaves each side, it reminds you of a rowing boat...think Oxford / Cambridge boat race? .. then wouldn't this variety be called Oarsmen instead?

I dried off the last of my new F1 St George runner beans, and shelled them today. I was expecting pink beans, but these are white! I am going to grow them next year and see what the 2nd generation are like. I really don't like paying such prices for F1 hybrids.

I have started off my Isle of Wight garlic 'Early Purple' in pots in the greenhouse. Hopefully they should put on some roots and a shoot in the next few weeks. I like to give them a good head start in case they get nibbled!

The mild weather in the past couple of weeks has kept my courgettes going! this is one of my climbing courgettes Black Forest.

These are the last two Courgette Defender. This spot has been tidied up now and a few Winter lettuce have been planted in their place.

During my clear up efforts today, I disturbed several frogs, was harrassed by an excited robin, and I found this beast lurking around my cabbages! A quick look on google image (whatever happened to going to the library!) confirmed its identification as a Leopard Slug. What a beautiful beast! I couldn't bear to squish it, so I threw it into a neighbours garden!! I bet it will find its way back, they do say they have a good homing instinct!