Last of the Veg?

The summer vegetables are just about finished. We're still picking a few tomatoes, courgettes and peppers, but I don't think we'll get many more.

In theory, we should have been able to sow seeds for autumn beans and second crops of other vegetables over the past month or so, but without water that would have been fruitless. So for this year, our vegetables are just about over. We've had lots of tomatoes, some of which have been frozen. We've also frozen some carrots. Onions are stored in our neighbours' 'adega' (cellar) -- about 30kg of them. Beetroot have been pickled and used to make a rather nice chutney; come over here to try it, or I can send the recipe if you are interested. I also made chutney with green peaches (from a branch that came off a tree during strong winds).

There are two types of peach (four trees) in the garden. One is a rare 'red' peach with a greenish inedible skin and amazing blood-red flesh inside. The other is yellow with a slight red tinge; the skin is edible and they are more like standard shop-bought peaches you find everywhere.

We have two apple trees (not counting one grown from a pip that has not yet been grafted). One is old, and the apples are a bit mushy. Not that wonderful. The other is younger and produces deliciously sharp fruit. Unfortunately the insects like it too, and there's hardly an apple that hasn't been bored into by some kind of maggot. Next year I'll see if there's anything to be done about the problem (that does not involve toxic chemicals).

Here'a a basked of vegetables that we picked last month: