I have to say that growth in the garden is easing up a bit, and instead of picking masses every day, it is slowing down to every other day!!
I am still making jam, pickle and relish. Looking at the figs, they will be ready in a few more weeks, so more jam to make, but as an alternative, I have, in the past, bottled them whole. I have been freezing beans and ratatouille, but freezer space is now no more!
Chard, tomatoes, beans, potatoes, plums, squash and cucumbers. I have dug out about 3/4 of the potatoes now and they seem to be storing well in the potato bags I brought from the UK.
The following will all be ready in the next few weeks.
Charente melon
Butternut Squash
and 3 kinds of pumpkin, green, orange and yellow.
I think we will be well fed on my return to the UK in mid October. The pumpkins and butternuts also store well under the right conditions.
While picking the evening vegetables, I stopped to take a quick picture of yet another beautiful sunset.
You certainly do have green fingers hey?
ReplyDeleteDo many people grow their own there and are fresh veggies expensive in the shops (as they are here)?
Graham not sure about green fingers think I am just lucky:-)Almost everyone in our hamlet, (farming community), grow their own veg, but there are many who have no space or cannot be bothered, especially the English residents. The latter either are very keen, as are many of my followers, or are not interested. There are local markets twice a week which seem to do a roaring trade, so proof that many people buy. As I never buy veg I don't know what the prices really are, but in the supermarkets I would not class them as that cheap. Everything used to be cheap here but times have changes as with most other places in the world!!
ReplyDeleteDIY 'stuff' e.g. paint, tools, etc are very expensive, and not as good quality as the UK. For obvious reasons we try to bring over what we need each year. Diane
You have such a lovely array of produce there - and a full freezer is always great to have, & a real time saver, too ! Hope you're having a lovely weekend ....
ReplyDeleteLynda I just wish I had a bigger freezer here, there is little point in buying one as we have one in the UK which will eventually come here anyway. Also I have to transport everything back to the UK for winter.
ReplyDeleteYou have a good weekend as well. Diane
Your harvest is grand and the sunset divine. How can you move all this food to the UK?
ReplyDeleteI'm picturing you heading over to the the UK with the car packed to the roof with preserving, potatoes and pumpkins!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your lovely sunsets and your neighbours' glorious looking tabby cats - what beautiful coats they have and such pretty faces. A "rescued cats" success story.
Sending care and huggles, Michelle (guess who is asleep without any snoring just now!)
Gaelyn moving it is no problem. All the frozen veg goes into a couple of large cold boxes and survives the trip fine as we have discovered. Everything else is bottled, or like potatoes and pumpkins they store well anyway. The rest of the space in the car is filled up with French wine, much cheaper here than the UK:-) Diane
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle, the car is nothing like as full going back as it is coming this way. We are slowly moving everything from the UK house to France, to the degree that we sleep on mattresses on the floor in the UK!! Luv to you and zebby. Diane
ReplyDeleteI do envy your garden, what a treasure you have there. Although we have an active growing season all year round here it is difficult for me to grow tomatoes, potatoes and squash. Too many enemies I think. In the fall is when we usually plant veggies they seem to like it a little cooler than our summers.
ReplyDeleteI have a different picture in my head now...at first it was with all the pumpkins and squash packed to the gills for the ride home...now it's wine! :D
You will indeed be well fed! Your garden pics always amaze me! The veggies look gorgeous and you capture them perfectly with your great photography! Have a fabulous weekend!
ReplyDeleteLyndsey, I have a large car so there is plenty of space for the food and the wine. The latter would probably take preference though if there was not enough room:-) Diane
ReplyDeletePam I am looking forward to eating during winter if not actually returning to the UK! You have a good weekend also. Diane
ReplyDeleteI think you have green fingers too!! Amazing what you have done and are doing. I would starve if I had to start living off the land .. :-) If given the chance I am sure I would learn, especially if I had someone to follow.
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a good weekend too. You must find it hard having to come back to the UK .. !
Anne I find it very difficult to return to the UK, the only attraction is that Nigel is there:)
ReplyDeleteLife here is just perfect and totally stress free. Diane
Wow! A lot of harvest this time!
ReplyDeleteNow, I can't wait for you to cook them! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Lani most of the cooking will only be when I get back to the UK, watch this space:) Diane
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely garden! You have done quite well, because the reading of different French blogs tells me that the weather has been less than perfect. Taking all that wonderful 'food' back to the UK must be quite an undertaking. I applaude you for it. But, yes, the wine needs to be packed first to make sure there is enough room. ha ha I enjoyed this post very much.
ReplyDeleteSusan the wine is always first on the list when we return to the UK:) Costs of wine in the UK are just ridiculous!! The tax man takes a hefty share:(((
ReplyDeleteThe weather has not been perfect but is it ever? There is always too much rain or not enough. Too much sun or not enough. The year it is perfect, I will never be able to cope with all the vegetables it may produce:) Have a good weekend Diane
What do you do with it all?? YOu must have huge parties or an enormous freezer!!! Gorgeous produce.
ReplyDeletelongpastremembered - no parties, it is all stored for our winter months. I have only frozen beans, ratatouille, and some cherries. Potatoes and pumpkins store for many months under the correct conditions. The rest is either turned into jam pickle or relish for easy transport for us and Christmas presents. Diane
ReplyDeleteHi Diane,
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely divine garden you have. I wish I had the space! Growth in my pot garden has been slowing also. In fact, it looks like the plants are starting to die. It's been fall-like cool here, especially at night. But overall, we had a pretty good crop for what we could fit into pots.
In my dreams, I'll have a garden like you one day. Fabulous job. I know the work that goes in to maintaining, just a little garden, so kudos to all the hard work I know you do to maintain such a beautiful piece of earth.
--Ree
Love the beautiful sunset Diane. I think you have enough food to feed and army now. When you preserve the figs I will definitely be over for some as I have not had any for ages. :) I wonder why things like that are so scarce nowdays?
ReplyDeleteI may have mentioned before but our orto has been a disappointment this year, with just the tomatoes and fruit really performing well, so I am impressed with your success this season.
ReplyDeleteWonderful bounty from your garden. I also love that sky. Just fabulous :-)
ReplyDeleteThose vegetables look HUGE!! I am most impressed :-)
ReplyDeleteC x
The produce all looks wonderful and the sunset is amazing! If you have too many figs for jam, last year we put them whole uncooked in a jar with sugar and filled it up with Armagnac... after a few months they were delicious. Maybe in the Charente Cognac would be more local.
ReplyDeleteRee you are right it is hard work, but I enjoy it. Since doing all the gardening my back, which has never been good, (I broke it when I was 16) is much stronger and is far less trouble now. So you see a bit of hard work is always good for one:-) The end results are good also. Diane
ReplyDeleteJoan we get some amazing sunsets but the stormy sunrise was brilliant his morning. Have not checked the camera yet so hope the photos are good. I can sit under the fig tree and just keep eating them!!!! Diane
ReplyDeleteLindy the garden has been really good and we certainly have quite a bit to eat when we are back in the UK for winter. Diane
ReplyDeleteThanks Joyful, we do get some lovely skies here. As I said to Joan we have an amazing sunrise this morning, hope the pictures are good, still have to check the camera. Diane
ReplyDeletechaiselongue I did a similar recipe with the figs to what you suggest last year, but I stuffed the figs with hazel nuts of which we had many.
ReplyDeleteDiane
Carol the vegetables are all huge this year, we have had a good year. Diane
ReplyDeleteThats not fair!! :)
ReplyDeleteJoan you are welcome to come and stand under the tree and help me:-)
ReplyDeleteDiane
You are an absolutely amazing gardener! I would love to grow my own figs!
ReplyDeleteFaith, just luck some things seem to grow for me. Mmmmmmm the figs are amazing. Diane
ReplyDeleteTllk out the last of my tomatoes to day and put into storage to ripen. They should keep us going for some months to come...D
ReplyDelete