Shoots and leaves...
The whims and woes, highs and lows, of trying to grow fruit and veg in Nordic latitudes.
Spent a few hours in the garden today before we went to Mangs Gård. I dug up some more carrots, a few leeks and kohl rabi. There are still more of each in the ground but I think they will be OK for another week or two. I also picked a dozen or so brussels sprouts (the general consensus is that proper nouns when used with vegetables, don't require a capital letter but not everyone seems to agree) and will scoff the lot one day during the week.
I have cut back all the herbs. The mint and the oregano went into the sheep field but I am drying the sage and the tarragon back in Espoo. I also cut back the asparagus and mulched over it with straw. Maybe it's a bit early for mulching but normally I leave it too late! I still haven't so much as peaked at the jerusalem artichokes which are way underground and will stay there until I need a pick axe to unearth them. As for the globe artichokes, I need to dig up the tubers and clamp them in the root cellar for the winter but I'll do that next week. I have three globe artichokes that are ripe for eating but I'm waiting for a quiet evening on my own because I don't want to share! Peter has planted a large amount of garlic (an extreme amount) and he also spread cow manure over the garden extension which is still quite heavy but slowly improving. We will plough over it and leave the frost and snow to do the rest. Finally, I cut off all the overgrown french beans and I will hang them to dry in Espoo. This means I may get some flageolet beans but I've never tried before. In the tunnel I picked some tomatoes and dug up the remaining aubergines. The latter are small but edible. There are still a lot of green tomatoes (as always in these latitudes) but if I have time I'll make chutney (unlikely). If I don't, they'll go into the compost heap or I'll flog 'em at the Slow Food market. Nothing gets wasted. I picked two lettuce which miraculously survived the frost and there are still cucumbers hanging there. If I'm lucky I'll get one or two more but it's touch and go at the end of September. We pulled up the black fabric from the floor of the polytunnel and will dispose of the vines just before we remove the plastic from the frame of the tunnel. I brought 20 metres of repair tape back from the UK so we can fix a few holes... Peter noticed that one of the aluminium supports had snapped in two. He repaired it but was grumbling...."Why aren't these made of stainless steel". They do get a huge amount of fatigue from the almost constant winds blowing up from the sea. So we're almost done for another season.
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