Allotment?Veg Patch Thread 10 - Plotmenters busy into summer ! and loving James Wong

[bookbook]

Last thread has filled up so quickly! Thought I had better get one up and running before I get off to the plot.
Busy, busy people, just waiting for the harvests to start, fighting the bugs, slugs and weather :)
Last thread here
THREAD 9

do you have a food processor?
I know for my bosh one you could get a mill attachment.

My cordial turned to blackberry jelly overnight once it cooled down

Hello- back from a few days camping- hidding my burnt face in the house at the moment but did clear out most of the tomatoes this morning which are on their last legs. I also have lots of green ones so will try the frying them idea. I am the only one who eats tomatoes in the house so I'm running out of recipes . My chillies are just ripening up but so far are very mild despite all my Wong-ing. Maybe I'm picking them too early.

gnome I am SO impressed with your dedication to allotmenteering!

how are you going to process the sugar beet?

I think it is a form of madness, Cathpot but I am enjoying the challenge.

The process for sugar beet seems fairly straightforward. On the whole it just seems to be lots of boiling. For the jam I may see if I can do it with just a syrup from the beets.

Afternoon all!
It has been lovely today - sunny and warm .
Cath - did you get a burnt face in the UK ? I take it you have been through the ratatouille/tomato sauce/minestrone route with all the tomatoes ? Can you do a swap with anyone you know?
I haven't had much time at the plot today , just a quick pick of stuff. And so busy I will not get back until Wednesday, so I did quite a bit of deadheading too. But I have a cauliflower head !
We have our annual veg and fruit show on Saturday, so am thinking I may risk showing some stuff . idiot idea really
I have finally plucked up the courage to thin out the aubergines, in the hope that the ones left on will ripen. I had done a not very serious thin last week, this time I have tried to be a bit more ruthless. I have left about 8 on each plant.
Not being someone who has used a lot of aubergines, I googled to see if I could use the unripe ones someway or another. Thoughts are divided . I guess all I can do is cut them open and see, or should I leave them on the windowsill like tomatoes and see if they turn purple ? No idea!
But - at last the tomatoes are ripening :)

gnome I forgot about the sugar beet part- splendid!

Hi book , yes in U.K. , we went into the sea with grey skies then it unexpectedly cleared up and the waves were too fun to leave and a couple of hours later we were all sun burnt.

I picked the only two red chillies and bunged them in a curry tonight and it was really spicy so I think that answers that question. Now just have to sit on my hands and wait for the rest. I've got some coming in purple which is new to me and some that are a very odd colour -just sort of pale , and very big- don't know if they change or if if that's them. I'll take a photo tomorrow in case there are chilli experts on the thread.

Just had a quick look re unripe aubergine and the usual - put it with a banana- is the only advice I can see.

yes Cath - . I was thinking more in terms of cooking with them - all the answers are just saying best not to eat raw unripe ones. Well, I'll put them somewhere warm in the sun , and see what happens :)
I know nothing about chillies, as we don't eat them much , so i don't grow them .

Cath I am a bit sunburnt too!

I've had to put the stawberry plants in the ground as the weather is good again so DP has no time to make the wattle raised beds, and they were outgrowing their pots.

Typically, I made lots of plans to visit friends this week and now weather is wonderful and harvest is back in full swing. Friends and garden will now be neglected! Have 6 more courgettes in fridge

Cathpot could be hungarian hot wax? Ours were huge last year and very very pale green/yellow? There are bajillions of varieties though so unlikely!

I love chilis! This year we planted jalapeno, cayenne, padron and paper lantern.

We picked around a dozen padrons on Saturday to do pimientos de padron (it was like russian roulette as most were mild but 2/3 were eye wateringly spicy).

I also picked around 10 jalapenos and pickled them yesterday (it filled a 1/2 litre jar). They were very very hot before pickling, haven't dared try them pickled yet! Will report back.

Some of my cayennes are mutants (need to take a photo of the one that looks like a bodybuilder with 2 flexing 'arms'). I'll be drying these and the paper lanterns to make chili flakes/powder for the winter.

I had a very satisfying afternoon yesterday hacking away at my overgrown strawberry raised beds and moving them to another part of the garden. My glutes are sore today!

I found cabbage white caterpillars on one of my cabbages yesterday - uh oh! I LOVE the idea of tempting the sparrows to do the work of picking them off for me!

Chilli photo-

clara do you hang yours to dry and then just crush them for flakes? I could do with thinking about storing them as I usually have too many.

I feel like a cautionary tale warning gardeners about the risks of greedily letting tomato plants set too many trusses. Now, where are those bananas....

Ha! una you've just made me feel so much better as I also over plant massively and then can't get into the greenhouse and have to eat tomatoes with every meal.

At least you get to eat yours Cath - based on a depressing rummage through the trays this morning I suspect most of mine will succumb to blight before they ripen :(

Una try washing them with a milton solution, should get most the fungal spores off. Remember to do the trays also.

Hi Cath

They could be hungarian hot wax - they look very like them in terms of size and colour. They are medium strength and if you leave them they will eventually turn red (although you can harvest them while still yellow).

Yes we hang to dry. I find the skinnier varieties like Cayenne do better for drying (they dry quicker and less likely to rot). I use a needle and thread to bunch them together (through the little green bit at the top which attaches the chili to the stem) so that they look nice whilst drying. Once dry, I blitz them with the stick blender in the little pot attachment. Try not to breath in the dust!!!!!!

I personally wouldn't dry hot wax (they are too fat) but would pickle them like you would jalapenos, or I would stuff them as they are hot but not ridiculously hot. Nom nom....

Thanks clara, I'll try that with the skinny ones- usually I make sweet chilli jam but my tomatoes are ahead this year. How would I go about pickling them?

Oh my god I LOVE chili jam!!! We make that with our cayennes for a good spicy kick. Don't use tomatoes in ours though so intrigued by your recipe. Care to share?

I follow this rough method for pickling:

www.food.com/recipe/pickled-jalapeno-peppers-108201 S
Some methods include a bit of sugar but we leave it out as find the ones you buy in shops too sweet. But it is just a case of trial and error to see what one you like. Have a google and you'll find a few sites out there with methods.

For the hot wax you might want to consider leaving them whole rather than slicing them when pickling. They look quite attractive with their yellow skins. But maybe more of a pain to use than sliced ones.

Thank you! That looks fab- I love both chillies and vinegar so I will definitely try that.
Our recipe for chilli jam:
2 Cloves garlic
5cm grated ginger
3 red chillies
225g chopped fresh tomatoes
I tsp veggie stock cube

All above into blender then into a saucepan

Add 50ml cider vinegar
150g muscavardo sugar

Gently simmer until it darkens and starts to thicken

I tend to make about 2 or 3 times the amounts above. It is quite sweet so you could drop the sugar and you can adjust the chillies. Very nice on grilled hallumi or a bit of cheddar

my second cauliflower is purple?
how can I make it more appetising for the dc?

Evening!
so busy and no time for plot atm , so just popping on to say hello and read posts.
Lovely looking chillies - shame we don't eat them here ..
Yellow - they may lose the colour when cooked ?

Hello all

Been away for a week and haven't read back yet. Nipped to the plot yesterday to have a looksee and it's gone bonkers .

I have french beans and runner beans to harvest. Have bought freezer bags to blanche and freeze some. Got a dozen or so tomatoes and loads just blushing. Enough chillis to keep the local curry house in madras for a month. The main crop spuds have started turning yellow so presumably finished. The sweetcorn is taller than me and has tassles and the peas are also ready I think. Oh and I picked my first cucumber which was delicious last night on our salad.

And no one mention courgettes.

Hehe, nice wonky courgette frouby!