runner beans, free food, seeds, harvesting

Well, it's that time of year when things start to slow down in the garden. Although the days may still become warm and sultry, it's decidedly cooler in the evenings, and the plants are beginning to shut themselves down for the winter. Some will die down completely, others will slumber gently until the gentle warmth of Spring calls them forth again.

My runner beans are still flowering their little socks off, or would if they possessed any! At the same time, they are creating the seeds for me to harvest, and dry out, ready for planting again in the Spring. Free food :)

I always leave one plant, at least, to grow long, plump beans, which I don't harvest to eat. I allow them to stay on the plant until they have dried out. They don't look particularly attractive when they've turned papery in texture, and brownish in colour, but they contain that precious cargo of next year's seeds. For that alone, they could be considered beautiful. They have served their purpose, and that's a wonderful thing.

The photos show the pods agains the sunlight. If you look closely, you can see the shape of the beans within the drying pod, as the light can pass through the thinning shell of the pod, leaving the shadowy outline of the beans. Harvest when brown and dry.

The last shows the dried out shell, and some of the hidden treasure from within, revealed just for you! And aren't the beans pretty? Such attractive markings, and glorious colours. Bright pinks are fashionable just now - I wonder what a dress would look like created from fabric patterned like the beans. Probably quite attractive, I'd say. But then, I'm biased.

I store my harvested beans in an envelope, on which I write the variety and the date - I used to think I'd remember, but nowadays I know I won't, so I write it down. If I have plenty, I share them with family and friends who also appreciate organic, fresh food.

snowball turnip, harvesting, food

Today I harvested my first, sweet, peppery Snowball Turnip. Doesn't it look cute? You can see why it was so imaginatively named, can't you? A globe varying in size between a golf ball and a tennis ball, white, and ball shaped. Yes, you can see the struggle they had to name it!

Look at all that greenery to produce such a small ball of flavour. The beds that David has built me are full of greenery now, and much of it is of these little treasures. They are a quick crop, and so verdant that they help to suppress the weeds which would otherwise try to muscle in on the act.

These little gems are delicious in salads, if finely sliced, or, of course, you can cook them in the way you would any root vegetable. But don't over-cook them. They are largely comprised of water, so don't boil them until they are positively soggy.

Try steaming them lightly to retain some of the crispness, then just drizzle with a little cold-pressed oil. Balsamic vinegar, just a little, also works well, as they are quite sweet, and there's that lovely contrast of colours.

It's so wonderful, the pleasure I get from the first harvesting of a particular vegetable or fruit. The novelty of that fist taste of the year of MY organic produce.

I'm so lucky that I had a mum who grew up in a village in a small house with a huge garden, where her father grew vegetables. As I was growing up we always had a small compost heap, and some sort of vegetable growing. Thanks to her, I think of it as natural to grow my own. From my very first house back in 1975 I have always grown something. I'll never be self-sufficient, but I can't imagine a day when I don't grow some sort of food.