Everything seems to be ahead of itself this summer and autumn harvests are rolling in since early August. There’s no point pretending that everything will wait for September . If crops are ready to pick, then get harvesting! It’s always best to pick when fruit and vegetables are at their best. It’s good to choose a fine day too. And it’s much easier digging carrots and potatoes in a loose damp soil than in a heavy wet one.
An apple a day!
Apples are ripening nicely and some early varieties are already past their best, others don’t reach full flavour until they have ripened in storage a few weeks after being picked. Check which of your apples are good keepers and which are best freshly-picked from the tree. As a general rule, cooking varieties keep longest and early dessert varieties lose quality quickly.
There are so many windfalls this year that you may need to be picky. Use the largest ones and, unless you intend to make cider or apple juice, consign small ones to the compost heap.
Try an apple every day or two and see if the seeds are turning brown. An apple doesn’t reach ripe sweet perfection until this happens. If seeds are pale coloured, then be patient and wait a while. Some fruits may not get to perfect ripeness until autumn is more advanced.
Sweetcorn
I love picking bursting cobs and cooking them within half an hour of being picked. In America you may get this experience with ease, by buying fresh cobs at farm gates. In our cooler climate the only way we get to taste this freshness is by growing sweetcorn in our own gardens. This may take up a little space in a greenhouse or polytunnel but the result is well worth it.
As cobs swell, the silks at the end turn brown and shrivel. Peel back the husk of one cob and see what is going on. If there are rows of full, ripe kernels on the cob, then it’s ready to pick. If the kernels are small and pale coloured then the cob is unripe. If any kernels look shrivelled then the cob is overripe. You can still cook and eat it, but the perfect sweetness will be replaced by a more starchy taste. All plants from one sowing will ripen cobs within a short time frame. Be prepared to keep picking and eating; once one cob is ripe, the rest will soon be the same.
Check sweetcorn cobs are ripe before picking
Root crops
Maincrop potatoes should be lifted when they have reached a reasonable size. They may grow bigger if left in longer, but you run the risk of increased slug damage, blight, virus and rot. It’s better to have a good clean crop, that’s lifted and stored in fine weather, than have mud-caked potatoes where it’s harder to spot problems.
Carrots can stay in the ground right through until October, but you may end up with very large specimens. Some will be less tasty than smaller roots and, if autumn turns wet, a carrot is a perfect hiding place for slugs. It’s always hard to weigh up what you might gain against what you might lose. The choice is yours, but I would always go for eating some carrots while they are young, sweet and delicious.
Tomatoes
Plants are loving the summer heat and fruits ripen in more abundance each day. Large beefsteak tomatoes are ripening well. You can use slices fresh as salad or make tasty sauces with these flavour-packed fruits.
Keep cutting out side-shoots and trim off any discoloured leaves. Lower leaves should be removed by now to allow light and air through to fruiting trusses. Keep watering regularly, but amounts can be reduced a little as we head towards autumn. It’s still worth using a tomato feed every ten days or so while fruit is swelling.
Onions and garlic
Bulbs should be safely dried and stored at this stage. Keep checking regularly to make sure that none are mouldy or soft. Remove any diseased bulbs before the problem spreads.
It’s time to think about next year’s crops. Look for autumn planting bulbs to go in next month if you want to get your onions and garlic off to an early start.
Winter greens
It’s been a great year for butterflies and that’s always a joy. The downside is the number of caterpillars on brassica plants. Brussels sprouts seem to be top of the list for these pests in my garden. These are closely followed by broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, while kales are the least favourite. Check plants regularly and remove any caterpillars that you see. Wear rubber gloves to squash any egg clusters. A big hatch can soon strip leaves and reduce a healthy plant to one that struggles to reach its full potential.
