Cut off the old leaves from pumpkins and squash to help them ripen. Keep side-shooting and feeding your tomatoes.
spring cabbages
lettuces
Watch out for blight on the potatoes. When it reaches more than a few plants cut off the leaves and stems at ground level and burn the tops.
lettuces
spinach
Prune plums only if you need to.
spinach
winter salads (claytonia, corn salad, lambs lettuce, land cress)
winter salads (claytonia, corn salad, lambs lettuce, land cress)
onions from seed
Plant out strawberry runners where you want them next year. Weeding and mulching! Prune summer fruiting raspberries. STOR ING C A R ROTS
To store carrots, put a layer of sand in a barrel or box. Put the carrots on top of this so that they are not touching each other then cover them with a layer of sand. Keep going with a layer of sand then carrots until they are all in. Store the box in a cool place.
TAYBERR IES, the local berry of Fife is worth looking out for and make the most perfumed sauce to go with ice cream. You will have to pick your own, as they are not commercially harvested. They are a cross between blackberries and raspberries
R A SPBERR IES can be picked at great pick your own farms across the region.
BR A MBLE foraging makes a great family wild food walk.
M A IN CROP POTATOES can be used in many ways. Ask your veg box supplier to tell you what variety you're getting so you can see if they are waxy or floury.
Harvest and store carrots and onions. FROM THE G A R DEN beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, cabbage, chard, courgettes, cucumber, French beans, kholrabi, globe artichokes, lettuce, onions, pak choi, peas, potatoes, radish, runner beans, salads, tomatoes, turnips, spinach, early apples, cherries, black and red currants, brambles (cultivated), gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries, plums, pears, tayberries FROM THE STOR E garlic HER BS basil, bay, chives, coriander, dill, fennel, lemon balm, lovage, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, sorrel, thyme WILD H A RVEST brambles, chanterelles, ceps, watercress, sorrel, field mushrooms, gean (wild cherry)
beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, carrots, courgettes, cucumber, fennel, beans, garlic, salads, peas, onions, rocket, tomatoes, sweetcorn, pak choi, potatoes
FRUIT damsons, greengages, plums, apples, pears, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, tayberries
FISH crab, mackerel, coley, plaice GAME hare, pigeon, roe deer doe, rabbit
WA XY ONES steam, use in salads. Cut into chunks and curry with cumin or coriander, a little stock and dried fruit. FLOURY ONES mash, bake or roast. VEG C A KES Cook more mash than you need and make quick fish, herb or veg cakes. Chopped up cooked greens of any kind can be used mixed with potato and seasoning to make a cake. Fry the cakes and put quickly cooked spinach or chard on top with a poached egg for a light meal. GNOCCHI mix 500g mashed potato with 200g plain flour and one egg. Roll out like a sausage and cut off small pieces, roll into small balls in semolina and poach in rolling boiling water until they float to the surface. Serve with a favourite pasta sauce.
BE A NS can be used for all manner of things! You can also use this for raspberries, blackcurrants and brambles. PA K CHOI, bok choy and tatsoi are all the same. They are very quick growing and good in salads when young, giving colour and texture.
200g sweet pastry or shortcrust, 2 large eggs 75ml double cream, 50g caster sugar, 50g ground almonds, 20g melted butter, 350g tayberries
• steam with herring and some sliced ginger and finish with a splash of soy sauce and sesame oil • in a stir fry cook the stems first and then the shredded leaves • add to Chinese style soups or chicken and sweetcorn broth • a whole pak choi will take about 8 minutes to cook by either steaming or boiling in salted water.
Line a 20cm flan tin with the pastry. Turn the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Mix the eggs, cream, sugar and ground almonds in a bowl and then pour in the melted butter. Sprinkle the fruit evenly over the pastry base and pour the mixture over. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
• eat with a tomato sauce or tossed with crisp bacon and spring onions • the big ones are great used in chutneys such as piccalilli • good tossed in hazelnut oil with whole hazelnuts • blanch in boiling water and refresh; once blanched they will keep in the fridge for a few days. Reheat when needed in butter or olive oil, this keeps their fresh crispness longer. • while they steam, gently fry finely sliced shallots in butter without colouring. Add a little white wine vinegar and toss with your drained beans. Pick runner beans young so that they don’t have too much stringiness to them.