Harvesting Tomatoes

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When to Harvest Tomatoes

Depending on the variety but the fruits are ready to harvest from July onwards right up untill just before the first frosts of November

Tips for Harvesting

Pick when the tomatoes colour is even all over. Looks count! Tomatoes ripen from the inside out. If a tomato looks ripe on the outside, it will be ripe on the inside.
When they are just a tiny bit soft when squeezed. Some gardeners say “in between firm and soft.”
If green you can ripen them indoors next to a banna in a draw.
Once tomatoes start ripening, check plants each day and pick those that are ready. Overripe tomatoes will fall or be knocked off stems. They rot quickly. You can easily lose a big portion of your crop if you don’t monitor your patch and keep harvesting tomatoes!
Some Heirloom varieties ripen before they completely turn color. Pick heirloom tomatoes before they look totally ripe.
Cherry tomatoes crack if left on the vine too long. Pick them just before they look like they’re perfectly ripe.

Category: Recipes

Oca or Potato Homity Pie Recipe

Homity Pie

Homity pie is a traditional British open vegetable pie. The pastry case traditionally contains a filling of potatoes and an onion and leek mixture, which is then covered with cheese. It has a history that dates back to the efforts of the Land girls of the Second World War and the restrictions imposed by wartime rationing.

Pasta with Asparagus and Courgette

Asparagus and Courgette are made for each other in this dish!

Perfect Roast Potatoes

Perfect Roast Potatoes
My foolproof way of getting that perfect roastie!

Category: The Growing Season

Jobs to do in June

Summer should be here!

Usually the risk of frost has passed by now, and with longer days there comes more sunshine and time to be in your allotment. If the weather is dry, then water your seed drills well before sowing any seeds – this way the young plants will develop a good root system.

Jobs to do in July

Harvest should be bountiful and the allotment is in full swing

Now is the height of summer, the days endlessly long, temperatures usually at their peek and you should be reaping the rewards of your hard work in the preceding months. Watering in this month is crucial to stem off premature bolting, tomato blossom end rot and splitting skins.

Jobs to do in February

Time to do some groundwork

We get a glimpse of the early signs of the arrival of Spring this month. The soil begins to warm up around the middle of February and we can see for the first time this year the buds beginning to swell on fruit trees and bushes. Overwintering vegetables begin to look less sorry for themselves and they start to produce new growth.

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