WIDE ANGLE WEDNESDAY - ALL IS SAFELY GATHERED IN

One of my favourite Harvest hymns has the line “All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin….” but these courgettes and butternut squashes are gathered in before the frost comes – just in case they get spoiled.
 
Mr. HCB is very proud of these, especially the butternut squashes as last year the plants flowered, but there was no fruit – so this year, we have watched with interest as these grew just outside the conservatory window.  Perhaps warmer weather might have helped them grow bigger,  and before he even asks, “No, they cannot be planted in the conservatory next year!”
 
They were duly put on the scales and ranged from 623g, which was the smallest, to the largest one, which topped the scales at 1,426g.  I think we may be having roast butternut squash and also soup for a couple of meals.
 
The courgettes or summer squashes are “Tromboncino” and the largest of these weighed in at over 2,300g and is 104 cm long.  Mr. HCB has suggested we have a stir fry using these, but I think we could feed the street if I used all three. 

So that’s it for this year – we have been blessed with a wonderful harvest of broad beans, runner beans, borlotti beans, peabeans, dwarf beans, mange tout peas, tomatoes, cucumber, salad leaves, potatoes, sweet potatoes, courgettes, butternut squash, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and rhubarb.  Sadly, the onions and carrots didn’t germinate, but Mr. HCB was pleased to hear that even Monty Don, on Gardeners’ World had problems with his carrots germinating too! 

Soon Mr. HCB will be planting onion sets, garlic and broad beans ready to harvest next year – and will be poring over seed catalogues all winter I have no doubt!  I am really grateful that he spends so much time in the garden and we have so much home grown produce – you can’t beat picking fresh vegetables from the garden!

“Gardening is an exercise in optimism.
Sometimes it is a triumph of hope over experience.” 
Marina Schinz

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