There’s plenty to do in the garden this month, but I’m afraid it’s more about tidying up than about sowing. The beans and courgettes are almost over and need clearing away. The fennel is starting to bolt but I will pick it anyway and hope to salvage some for a salad before it turns woody. The beetroot and carrots have been nibbled by mice, so they too need a tidy up. That said, there is just about time to get some robust lettuce plug plants (Four Seasons, some frisée, perhaps a Red Oak Leaf) in a sheltered spot, and I’ll be planting the last of the brassicas (Wheelers Imperial cabbages) which are getting impatient having been waiting in pots until the fennel harvest is picked and room made for them. Chard is happy in the autumn veg bed too, and with a fair wind (well, no wind at all and a warm spell, actually) you might risk sowing from seed rather than plugs. What to Harvest Now Non-gardeners will tell you that autumn is here. They will be turning to pumpkin soup, warming stews and dumplings by now and wondering about clicking the heating on. But vegetable growers know that’s not the case quite yet. Crops that need a long summer to ripen are only just ready to pick – aubergines, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers – and all the sunny Mediterranean flavours are still front and centre of my menus this month despite the autumnal clearing up jobs in the patch. My tomatoes, for example, have been especially late and are only now turning red. I think the slow, cold spring was partly to blame for their sluggishness, but the recent bout of warmth has saved them (and me) from kilos of green tomato chutney this winter. I encourage you to wring out the last rays of sunshine from these late harvests before the clocks change and autumn really does set in. What to Cook with the Harvest To that end, I’ve chosen some tomato recipes that celebrate the summery harvests, but also lend themselves to chillier evenings. Keep up to date with Kathy’s veg patch adventures over on her Instagram and website, and don’t forget to order your copy of Kathy’s cookbook, From the Veg Patch. And find Kathy’s other monthly guides here: January, February, March, April, May, June, July and August.
