Harvesting produce from the Kitchen Garden
This month we have been harvesting the autumn produce from the Kitchen Garden.
After pruning the espaliers in July/August the fruit has ripened nicely. The pears such as ‘Catillac’ (pictured above) and ‘Uvedale’s St Germain’, have developed to a good size, and have attracted a lot of interest from visitors. The apples such as ‘Coeur de Boeuf’ and ‘Blenheim Orange’ have fruited well, which is rewarding for heritage crops.
Harvesting of fruit
The espalier fruit around the perimeter of the Kitchen Garden is easy to harvest, being accessible from ground level.
- With apples, I just cup the fruit in the palm of my hand and gently twist – if it loosens, it's ready to harvest
- For pears, I gently press down on the stalk of the fruit with a finger, and if it gives, it is ready.
Potatoes
We've just finished lifting the final main crop potatoes of the season. There were some amazing heritage potatoes, including a good crop of knobbly ‘Pink Fir Apple’, and some very knobbly and large ‘Vitelotte’. ‘Vitelotte’ is a purple-skinned potato, with deep purple flesh (pictured left), which retains its colour when cooked. They have a slightly waxy taste. The ‘Gloucester Black Kidney’, survived a minor attack of blight to produce medium sized kidney potatoes.
Pumpkins and squashes
The pumpkins and squashes, suffered in the drought earlier in the summer (June – early July), when the leaves were damaged by powdery mildew, reducing the crop. We still harvested enough ‘Hooligan’, ‘Jack ‘o’ Lantern’, ‘Small Sugar’ and ‘Sweet Dumplings’.
This produce is on display in the Bothy (pictured above), in the lead up to our Harvest Festival at the Garden, from the 18-31 October, with fruit pressing and a display of heritage potatoes.
The onion sets and the organic garlic for next season, has been stored in the Bothy ready for autumn planting – garlic, in particular, needs this long growing season to establish its roots.
Visit Painswick Rococo Garden website