Potager vegetables

And there you were, thinking that I only grew flowers in my potager these days.

Hah!

I thought it was time to take a stroll down the steps (stomp for snakes) and have a look. Bring your basket.

There will be beans.

Beans. Beans. Beans. After a whole summer of sulking from the heat and drought my climbing beans are doing what they do best. Producing. And providing shade for the plants underneath the canopy.

If you think I’m exaggerating, believe me I’m not. This is the result of a daily harvest.

If you wonder what I do of an evening the answer is… ‘Blanching’. I trim, blanch and then cool and freeze. Marvellous packets of summer hiding in the deep freezer ready for winter joy.

The purple beans taste exactly the same as the green. But they are easier to find in among the jungle of leaves.

By mid-September a lot of the leaves on my cucumber and courgettes will look manky. Mildewy and unphotogenic.

But push aside the leaves and you can find plenty of courgettes and cucumbers.

The tree spinach is still ridiculously healthy. And I am happy harvesting Swiss chard once a week at least.

Oh and basil.

We eat tomato mozzarella and basil salad every single day.

But we are now down to the cherry tomato crops rather than the beefy monsters.

There is no such thing as an amble down to the raised beds. You end up scoffing and picking and if you forget a basket cuddling a whole heap of wondrous vegetables in your pockets and shirt.