Terry Walton is looking forward to some tasty harvests
But some of the vegetables have been a little on the small size…
At last a more traditional period of cold weather. Mid-November has been a lot colder, with some beautiful frosty mornings. This deposit looks like diamonds as the sun’s rays reflect from it, but it’s soon gone in the little heat that remains from the power of the sunlight.
The cold weather has finally put paid to the last of the summer plants that have been blackened by the effect of the sunlight on the frosted leaves. Now we move in to a more traditional period of autumn cropping.
There are some benefits to be derived from this cold snap and the winter vegetables will taste that much sweeter as a result of the frosts. Also the lingering, last pests of the summer will be driven to seek cover from this Arctic blast and, who knows, even the gardener’s worst enemies – the slug and snail – may stop feeding on precious winter crops.
There’s a lot of activity on the plots despite the lowering temperatures and the manure that’s been carted through the gate is being spread on the ground to improve fertility. This will work into the ground through the dark days ahead, and when the ground’s forked over in the spring it’ll be at its best to bring forth next year’s bountiful harvests.
Tastes of summer vegetables are now almost forgotten, except for the ones that were put in the freezer to rekindle summer days.
But the onset of colder conditions has brought winter crops into full flavour, turning what can be bland, starchy tastes into much sweeter ones. This is no more so than with a parsnip. The seeds were sown way back in late February and have thrived all summer long, making plenty of strong green shoots. Now the time of reckoning beckons and it’s time to find out if all that growth has produced long, white, tapered roots. When scraping the soil from the crown, the indicators are good. Using a garden fork, I carefully ease the root to free it up. Grabbing the foliage gently eases the root from the soil and your patience is rewarded.
Along with this parsnip for my hot soup, it’s time to lift a swede. These have made lots of strong green foliage but the size of the root is a little disappointing. I watered them regularly but they’ve not thrived as well in the hot summer! Still, hopefully the flavour will make up for the lack of size.
It’s also time to taste the first of my winter brassicas. The first sprouts are ready for picking and after the long battle against white fly there are at least some to taste. These again are not meeting my full expectations but are firm, hard ‘balls’, though a little smaller than I would expect. The kale, however, is plentiful and dark green so my dinner plate will have a good green filler through the long winter.