[goose]

lots of charlotte pots, more to come. peas, also more to come. courgettes.....needless to say.....LOTS more to come.  some strawberries that were eaten by my next door neighbour's son before I even had chance to see how they tasted! (not many more to come...not sure why I have such a low yield this year)  all of the normal salad crops feeding us and the neighbours daily. 

just when you think you have done the hard work clearing/planting/sowing, the real work starts as what to do with all the produce you end up with.......happy days!

[snowdrops]

2 artichoke heads(these to try- how do you eat / prepare them?)

What a nice gift    I have been eating mine for a few weeks now and they are delicious.  It is a bit of a ritual to eat them, but very enjoyable for a lazy, messy, hands-on lunch.  Think eating prawns out the shell or something similar and have some paper towel to wipe your fingers on standby

Get a pan of boiling water ready with a generous squeeze of lemon juice in it as they discolour fast.  Trim the stem and pull off the very tough leaves at the base.  Simmer until you can just pierce through the base part with a knife.

To eat, you pull off the leaves one by one.  The first ones will just have a tiny bite of tender flesh at the base which you pull off the leaf with your teeth, or bite right through if it is soft enough.  As you get further in you get a bigger and bigger bite.

In the middle is a fluffy thistle-like bit that you need to scrape out with a teaspoon.  Now you just have the heart, which is the base where all the leaves were attached and you can eat the lot 

Dip into melted butter or salad dressing as you eat if you want a quick fix.  I think the proper accompaniment is hollandaise sauce if you want to push the boat out.

Thank you, they're still in the fridge,might try for lunch tomorrow then,lemon oil woukd be good maybe on them

[chillimummy]

Lots of strawberries at plot but nothing else! Loads of salad crops and herbs at home

[LandShark]

This week we've done well.
We had the first of our charlotte potatoes and the very first raspberry of the season!
Started picking the gooseberries and blackcurrants, also still picking a large punnet of strawberries and a large bowl of waverex peas daily, a few spring onions, rocket and radishes. We also picked our first Telegraph Cucumber and 3 Mini Cucumbers.

[lettice]

Charlotte potatoes
Broad beans
Radish
Lettuce
Bucket of spinach
Gooseberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Mint

Sweet Peas

[Thrutchington]

Pulled up ten lots of red sun shallots this evening to dry out and ripen up. The weather isn't great and they have a few lank leaves plus slugs about so thought best pull em.

[Potty Plotty Lotty]

Beetroot-the first of the year.
Strawberries
Raspberries

[Vagabond]

Picked my first broad beans. There weren't many of a decent size - so we only had a small spoonful each - but they looked so good I just couldn't wait to try a few. They tasted as good as they looked so now I'll practise a bit more patience with the rest of the crop!

 

[Hampshire Hog]

New spuds, beetroot, sugar snap peas and yellow and green courgettes.

Cheers HH

[Aled]

First of the potatoes last night.
Lovely!
Cheers
Aled

[Flowertot]

Onions, red onions and loads of chard, a handful of blueberries.

[New shoot]

Woohoo    Back from the plot and feeling over the moon with this lot        There is stuff doing not so well, but I've got my blinkers on and am celebrating the success stories 



A huge pile of greens, tayberries and loganberries, khol rabi, fennel  (so proud of this), yellow and purple french beans, peas, a few mangetout, a couple of onions, cherry tomatoes and a round courgette.

There was a big bag of new potatoes as well.   Enough to share with neighbours, which is always a good moment, as freshly dug spuds are regarded as a great treat and eagerly snatched up   

[jaydig]

That fennel looks amazing, New Shoot.  I've not yet mastered growing it - I either sow it too soon, and it sulks and does nothing, or I sow it too late and it bolts.  What variety is it, and most importantly, what is your secret?  Are the tomatoes outdoor ones, or do you have a greenhouse or polytunnel on the plot?

[Mattgregory27]

Courgettes, potatoes, peas, broad beans, lettuce and raspberries 

[New shoot]

What variety is it, and most importantly, what is your secret?

It is Finale and is bred to be bolt resistant, so you can sow early.  Mine was started in modules in the unheated greenhouse at home.  It is the first decent crop I have ever produced, so I have no secrets

The toms are actually from the greenhouse at home as well.  Sorry, I should have made that clear, however, if you want a really early outside one, Latah is about the best.  Mine at home are about full sized and just going that paler green colour that shows they are about to turn red.  This variety sprawls everywhere and is very untidy, but I forgive it for the early fruit