Ep102: What to harvest NOW & what to leave alone!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ต.ค. 2024
- It is definitely feeling more Autumnal as we head towards mid October, and it is in fact Harvest Festival the day after filming - so it's probably time to do some MEGA harvesting, including the main crop potatoes in buckets. It turns out though that there's loads to harvest at the allotment before I even get to the potatoes!, including the tomatoes which have been seriously hit by blight now. Is it even worth growing tomatoes outdoors? Will I do it again???
The Apple Day at the community orchard is cancelled due to flooding, so I skip the tidying of the allotment beds and head home where there's the lacto-fermented chilli hot sauce to finish up & bottle. I head out into the garden where there are loads more chillis and a few more tomatoes to harvest from the greenhouse, as well as aubergines/eggplant and more beets. Plus a couple of crops in the home garden that it is really important NOT to harvest just yet.
It's been a tough season - very tough! - and to end with such a bounty of produce is a joy. But has it all been worth it...? It's certainly time to take stock and think about what did/didn't work this year as I start planning for 2025.
Plus there's a little surprise at the end of the episode... 😉
And if you're watching as this releases on Thursday 10th October, be sure to head over to @TheGrowUpChannel at 7pm tonight (GMT) where I'll be joining Danny, Clare @TheFarmyardGarden and Dora @doras.allotment for a live chat about prepping for Autumn and planning for next year: www.youtube.co...
Fermented chilli hot sauce recipe - www.feastingat...
Vlog: Gardening with my dog in the home kitchen vegetable garden and our UK allotment plot. I hope you enjoyed this week's video - please do like and subscribe if you did 👍. Thank you for watching 💕😊
You can also find me on Instagram at / dogontheplot 🐶
#allotment #allotmentvlog #garden #gardening #allotmentuk
How have your harvests been this year? Was it worth it...?
ALWAYS WORTH IT ❤
It was worth it 🤗🌝👍
My harvests have been smaller but nothing actually failed. I grew Pink Fir Apple for the first time … just 5 buckets … served some up as mash … big mistake … they were a glutinous mess! Never again!
@@1northcountrygirl Oh thanks for the tip! will definitely not try to mash!!
Bit up and down as usual Kerry , tried growing potatoes in 30 litre pots for the first time and might go back to growing them in my raised beds but loving my Gardening as usual xx
Yes thanks! ❤😊
🤗❤️🌱
WOW exactly, such a great October harvest!!!!
A potato harvest is always exciting , and your reaction to, “Potatoes that look like Potatoes 🥔 “😂😂😂
Both Tricia and I were smiling 😊
Always a pleasure to follow your season, you make it fun and real!!!
Never made a chilli sauce maybe next year!!! Want to see you using that sauce and how it tastes!!! In a few weeks though 😂
Keep smiling and sharing from your garden/allotment and kitchen ☺️
Love Allie & Tricia 🥰xx
Hehe - we all know the size a potato SHOULD be, right 🤣 Aw thank you Allie & Tricia. Yes, I'll let you know if I can handle the chilli sauce! I've got quite a few lemon drop ones ripening now too.
Nothing quite like a good potato reveal 🥔🥔🥔 Quote of the day "potato-sized potatoes" 😅
Hehe - unfortunately not jacket potato sized potatoes though - YET!
Wow what a fabulous video! You've inspired me to get to my allotment today, although I'm not expecting anything like your wonderful harvest today! Thank you 😀
Love it when the videos inspire ppl to tend their own gardens 💕💕💕 Have fun - maybe you'll find more than you expect (I certainly wasn't expecting much!)
Congratulations on being awarded fist place at Malvern in the vegan category!! Danny is a terror, made me laugh though.
Haha - I'll take it!
Hi Kerry lovely sauce my husband would love that I love sweet chilli sauce. I grew crystal lemons last year and they were bitter too. Fantastic spud harvest👍in fact you have had an amazing harvest all round you must be sooo happy
I have so little luck with cucumbers anyway that I don't think I'll bother with the crystal lemon again. I am pleased - in a year when it seemed like it would all come to naught, it's been great.
Isn’t life strange, watching you process your chillies made my mouth burn!! The sauce looked fantastic and I could see it bubbling. I love your enthusiastic videos, full of all sorts of things. Beautiful scenery in the beginning too.
aw thank you Marilyn. I haven't tried the sauce yet (and I must burp the bottle!) but I'm sure it is going to be potent!
Hi Kerry, gardening is food for the soul and body. Well done on a fabulous harvest, your hard work has paid off. ❤❤🐕 Have a great week Kerry and Dorie ❤❤
Isn't it just! I'm not sure it totally paid off tbh, but there was at least some return! Haha. I'm hopeful for next year though - thank you Wendy 💕
Fantastic harvest Kerry, I'm so glad to see you so upbeat because of it being so bountiful😊. In the last video I thought you were going to give up your plot, but now you're so bubbly it's great to see. Say hi to Dorie for me ❤
Oh no no no Therese - although I can't say it hasn't been a VERY testing year! Dorie says hi back 🐶🤗
Like 185. Rosie and Ruffles say hi 🐶🐶❤️🐶 Happy to stop by with FULL Friendship. Watching you from Newfoundland, Canada!
Dorie says hi back! 🐶 Love to hear where viewers are watching from!
Those salad blue look tasty. The Sarpo Mira look fab too.
Excellent harvest.
They don't taste particularly special to be honest, but the colour is fun! I'm not sure I'll bother next year. I'm hoping the sarpo mira taste good!
@@dogontheplot Adirondack Blue are tasty and keep their color. Not sure you have them in the UK though.
To my dear friend kerry....What a wonderful video! You cram so much into a video. I don't know where you find the time. I love pink fir too! Some buckets have done better than others with me too. Another greenhouse! Woo!!!! Great update. Danny 🌱
... thank you! I know you like a long video, something to really get your teeth in, esp with some cooking thrown in there! 😉🤗
My plot is just for tomatoes..... so if they ripen they won't always have blight I picked a basket of them and about 5 had blight
I wish that was the case here, but it just isn't - I'll just grow undercover from now on I think
Look at all them worms
Lovely lovely worms!
@@dogontheplot the Robin keeps eating all mine
Wow Harvest Festival ! They're all so splendid 💚
Aw thank you Marion.
Congrats on your wonderful harvest Kerry and on the greenhouse! What fun you can have planning for next year, with so many options for undercover growing! Have a good week! 🤩
Yes, I am supposed to be talking about plans on Danny's live tonight - need to get thinking!!
@@dogontheplot haha good luck and thanks for the reminder, I might actually make it on time tonight! 😃
You have made my day with your potato harvest, fantastic to see your wonderful smile and excitement, well done. Great to see you processing too. Thanks
what a lovely comment! thank you Marilyn 🤗💕
Fabulous harvest 😊
Great harvest 👍 I still have to process some of my harvest.
I should get these beets processed today actually... been munching away through the other stuff! Oh and I want to dehydrate the chillis.
Salad blue are like that for us too
I don't think I'll do them again next year, but they've been fun.
@@dogontheplot Yh that's how I feel with the coloured ones heri too
Great multitasking there - harvesting the potatoes 🥔🥔🥔 never seen anyone so excited to see potatoes 😆 and mulching a bed at the same time - when you stopped to talk about the artichoke I was thinking yes Kerry but get back to the spuds 🥔🥔🥔😆😆😆 well done 🌿🌿🌿
I think my expectations were SO low that it came as a bit of a shock that there were actually potatoes in there! Haha - stay focused Kerry!!! Thank you Helena 🤗
Brilliant! So pleased to see your joy after the challenges you’ve faced this year. 3 Greenhouses! Looking forward to seeing what you do next season. I’ve invested in some grow lights in readiness for next seasons seeds. I’m so over this season😂. Tomato taste quality was underwhelming overall and will try most again.
Aw thank you Kaz. Agreed on the tomatoes. I'm going to have a good think about tomatoes for next year!
A lovely long episode, which I finally had time to watch. Even if it's not all about the harvest, it was fun to watch you find potatoes and then look at it all later. And, weee, as by magic, greenhouse is up!
Thank you Trude. Haha - that video made it look like magic but the behind the scenes was chaotic!!! More in next week's video... Harvesting is definitely one of the best parts of the whole process though, right! 🤣💕
@@dogontheplot I almost like seeing new seedlings breaking soil more than the harvest. There is so much hope in that. I've been in denial of the ending of the season, but we had our first frost last night. It's my final harvest now, nothing survives in my pots and planters, except for some perennials that go dormant. I just need it to warm up a bit again to be able to go out there. Cleared the ice and washed the birds water bowls and nearly froze my fingers off.
@@trold1969 😱 first frost here too but not too bad and will warm up again next week. I'm hoping things keep going for now...
It is a shame about the blight it’s just another gardeners risk isn’t it. And yes I agree about courgettes only once I remember that all our courgettes produced and so we had so many. But I like to make sauce with n onions garlic toms and courgettes all roasted with lots of basil and olive oil and made into pasta sauce of a casserole base and I froze all the portions. They were delish throughout the year
Sounds yummy! I roasted some courgette to freeze, but ate the rest fresh - mostly in that courgette bake!
My cosmos was sooook slow this year
that's all self seeded cosmos too
I was like oh my 😱 when you started emptying the first few pots/buckets of potatoes. But the ones later calmed m’nerves. Phew!!! Goodness me that was tense!! Nice to see your brassicas coming good. 👍🏻
Lovely variety in the final harvest reveal. 😊 It’s so worth sorting the fridge out to keep such a variety to eat fresh or process/store for the months ahead. I’ve also been fermenting and pickling for the fridge and canning. I just couldn’t justify buying a £75 mini chest freezer this year to store more food having already doubled my electricity bills!
In answer to your question, it’s been a mixed year of bounty, disappointment and abject failure for us. Bountiful surprises this year were soft fruits, early broccoli, beans and peas (enough to takeover all available, limited freezer space for a year) and paste tomatoes. Used all our canning jars. We have enough tomato based products to last two or more years. For which we’re very grateful after last year’s write off. And we left the rest of the legumes to go to seed to store dry. Not sure how our gigante harvest will turn out. Half the flowers were red!!! They’ve not finished drying yet.
Failures were courgettes (hardly any), pumpkins/winter squash/melon (none - definitely not worth the effort/space this year), sweetcorn (one…. They just didn’t grow). Fennel sown in august bolted. Flowers: the zinnias, cosmos and permanent dahlias kept on getting knocked right back from summer frosts. As did the outside peppers. Concentrating on paprika and jalapeños this year. Plenty of unripe fruit but it’s going to freeze tonight. 🫣
Everything else was just so, so. Potatoes, onions and garlic were satisfactory; a year’s worth in store but not what we expected from what we had planned.
What was really disappointing was succession planting for fresh eating throughout the year. Germination was hit and miss. We got bored of little gems and romaine lettuce for example. Made the entire year feel like a waste of time but looking back…. We had plenty to be thankful for really.
It’s been quite a rollercoaster gleaned from watching YT content makers and reading comments from viewers; what’s been disappointing for some have been successes for others.
My biggest takeaways from this year has been to be diligent in daily hunts and disposal of slugs and snails; grow as much cover crop as possible given the absence of reliable sources for making ones own compost and reliable sources of store/farm bought; and save as much of our own seed as possible. I’m not entirely sure it was just the quality of seed at fault though. Nor the compost. Both rain and tap water hasn’t been consistent in errrr quality IMHO.
Next year, hey?
Next year indeed! It really has been a mixed bag this year. Like you, the pumpkins have been such a disappointment for me - but it makes me more determined to make sure I have them next year! Yes, I think you're right too - what has been good for some has been poor for others and vice versa - doesn't seem to be any logic to what crops have or have not suited the season. I think your takeaways are spot on. Honestly though, I'm just hoping for better weather next year and that that will do most of the hard work for me!!!
@@dogontheplot We’ve always had a good butternut squash harvest but this year they stalled for ages then no female flowers until a few weeks ago! I’ll try some of our old home saved seed next year. Sow them all and see what pops up.
Have a fun this evening on Danny’s live. Will catch up with you all later 👋🏻
Your apples look absolutely delicious (plus I actually really like a little apple over a big one).
Ooh I haven’t tried eating my tree spinach seeds yet so will have to try! Wow you have SO much tree spinach.
Haha the chilli hit gets you!! That looks delicious, I’ll have to try adding carrot and onion next time I make some. I used ginger and garlic in mine.
A super harvest Kerry! Look forward to chatting later 🥰
Ps Dorie cuddles in the greenhouse look delightful!
They are really nice. Someone has commented today that you can save and dry the tree spinach seed like quinoa - must look that up! You will also have a lot of tree spinach next year... be warned! lol.
look who Mike's a basket
Huh? 😂
@@dogontheplot niked not Mike's dang autocorrect
Never watched you before and I really enjoyed your video! What a great harvest. Nice to meet you! ☺️
Welcome! Lovely to have you. I'm glad you enjoyed the video ❤️🌱
Its a busy harvesting month Kerry, then once that's all done its nice to get the plot bedded down for the coming winter and spring, a nice crop of pink fir apple from shop bought 👍I'm still to empty my potato tubs of main crops, I'm harvesting all my beetroot this weekend, overall with the growing season we have had I'm happy, your chilli sauce looked nice, take care Steve Colwell
Hi Steve. Oh, I hope your potato tubs give a good return. I noticed last night's frost got the foliage on mine so I will top with hay and pop undercover(ish) now. I can't say this has been the best season for me - the pumpkins were a real disappointment as they were the main reason I got an allotment plot! I think the brassicas might still deliver though... Thanks for watching Steve 🤗
Well that chilli sauce defo cleared your sinuses. Now you know what works when your bungged up with a cold lol
I seem to remember that it's a lemon cucumber that we all needed instead of the Crystal lemon cucumber. Can't remember what I heard that probably another TH-cam channel.
Amazing harvest x
Haha - it did didn't it! My sister and Mark have Covid at the mo - maybe I should leave some outside the door!! You know, I think I might stick to Gherkin cucumbers next year... we'll see...
@@dogontheplot I hope they aren't feeling too bad bless them.
Yes and put a note with it this will either kill or cure hahaha xx
Black Tomatoes? That’s a new one for me. What is the name and growing conditions for those? Maybe some kind of covering to protect your tomatoes might keep the pests away!
They're pretty striking to look at and I assume full of anthocyanin. I've got several varieties - Black Beauty is the blackest I'd say. The Brad's Atomic Grape are very dark too, as are the Black Strawberry. Same growing conditions but I've found take a lot longer to ripen.
Loved watching your vlog today, i will now go through all your previous vlogs 👏 , fantastic harvest & your plot looks great, thank you 😊
Aw thank you Caroline 🥰🌱 - but be warned, you might need a few months - I'm queen of the long-vlog!! 🙈🤣
@@dogontheplot I'm more than happy to spend hours watching your journey ☺ Thank you
@@carolinecarter7992 ❤️❤️❤️
Oh I wish I had that problem 😂 more squash. But lovely you have more to harvest most of my beds are done now for winter. Missed the live because well it’s the middle of the day here 😢when it is on. Have a great week, Ali 🌞🇨🇦
I did find last year too that the beds just kept going over winter, perhaps cos there are so many brassicas! I do need to do some tidying up now and I have loads more brassicas, beets and other stuff (!) that needs planting out. You take care Ali 🤗
Apparently the seeds of tree spinach is like quinoa
Oh really - I will save some and test it out!
Why not use the new trug to create a centerpiece of dried seed pods, pine cones, dried flowers, etc. for the house?
LOVE that idea! At the moment all my birthday presents are being housed in it lol
Hello Kerry, I did like the video today. I am wondering if you have ever heard of Green Tomato Curry. The green firm tomatoes when cooked down and had the immersion blender to make a nice curry is amazing. Last year I grew 27 pounds of green tomatoes just for that. I cook them in batches and can them so I get about 12 quarts. I incorporate garlic and onions ect with curry before canning. When I open the jars I add the protein of choice and coconut milk to the stock pot and cook and season until perfect. This is a favorite for my wife so we can have it once a month year round.
Other people use the green tomatoes in place of tomatillos in making Salsa Verde. Of course I make fried green tomatoes all summer long. I have in the past couple years found a new fondness for the green tomato.
I do love watching you as you go through the garden looking at all you find. You have fantastic reactions to the things that surprise you or maybe was more successful than you expected. I really felt bad for the non potato harvest. However your excitement for the potatoes you did find was fabulous.
My wife gets excited by the potatoes when I dig them she goes through the soil grabbing them out. It is the only thing she does besides some pruning some tomatoes plants here and there. Otherwise it is 100% me.
Your reaction to the pink fir potatoes was absolutely priceless!! Worth the price of admission and is ultimately what this whole experience is about! Peace and blessings take care, Steven
You write the nicest comments Steven! I have heard of green tomato curry - I made one last year with the green tomatoes and I'm pretty sure there are at least a couple of bags of last year's green tomatoes in the freezer waiting for a curry (whoops). I might be able to do something with the greenhouse green toms, but the outdoor ones are beyond saving I'm afraid. I'm going to have a serious think about tomatoes for next year!
@@dogontheplot I make those comments about so many things and then next year I grow every single one of them again and then they complain about them and then I grow again. We are who we are.
Sarpo Mira will stay green until the first severe frosts . I leave them until around the end of October and then dig out the lot regardless.
If the holes you mentioned are tiny regular shaped abou 2 mm its very likely wireworm and not slugs. Slugs make bigger irregular holes. Its usually easy to spot the wireworm when digging or sifting through the soil .
If you can get Sarpo Axona they have a better flavour than Mira and share the same characteristics. Thanks for the cheerful uplifting video.
Ah thank you for those tips Martin. I've had wire worm (I think) in the home garden before, but not the allotment. I'll be vigilant when emptying the other buckets and see what I can spot... I'll look out for Sarpo Axona!
What an excellent channel 👍 - Montello bush Tom’s do well outside or inside poly tunnel or greenhouse on my plot in London. Thanks for putting your content out 👍.
Congratulations on the fantastic autumn harvests, Kerry 🎉🤗 and on the new greenhouse!
Had to break the video into 3 sections to watch it 😂
Loved the swans 😍 gosh you've got a forest of the spinach!
It was nail-biting to see you going through a bucket after bucket of potatoes with no proper return 🙈 until the Blue spuds, Sarpo and of course the shop seed Pink Fir....that was a delight to see 😍
What variety of chillies did you put into the sauce? 🌶
All of them Maiju 😂😂😂 it's very much a mixed chilli hot sauce! But definitely Cayenna, Portugal and ring of fire! The potatoes were fun to harvest. Now don't you start with the comments about video length 😂😂😂😛😛😛
@dogontheplot "The ring" will be on fire 🔥 🤭🤭🤪
No, def no grief about the vid length, that is the only reason why I couldn't comment earlier. Had to finish watching the whole episode ❤️🤗
@spudsandroses 🤣❤️❤️❤️
Omg that's a domestic duck
which one? there are some funny looking ducks on that pond - we just assume some interesting coupling up choices...
Wow Kerry. What an amazing harvest.
I bet you didn’t expect to fill quite so many trugs and baskets at the start, given how tough the season has been at times.
You got some good potatoes in the end, even if the first few tubs of Heidi were disappointing.
I didn’t do as many outdoor tomatoes as you but I don’t think I’ll be doing them again next year either. Whilst I didn’t suffer blight on them (as all blight resistant) they didn’t yield as well as the polytunnel crops. The bed space could have been better utilised for sure.
You beets were better than mine!
I cannot wait to harvest Oca too. Mine has so much foliage too. It’s even chucked up a few new flowers this last week
Lovely video. I enjoyed the walk with you and Dorie at the beginning too ❤❤
Thank you Clare. Yes, those beds could have been full of other things to feed the slugs!!! 😂😂 Hopefully have more space for indoor toms next year too. I really want to do more paste tomatoes to can now that I know how 😂 Oh and the oca. Omg I can't wait. Also for colour swapsies!!!
@@dogontheplot I think Oca swapsies and sending you some dwarf artichokes (assuming I get some of each) is definitely on the winter agenda 🥰
I think I’ll do more paste tomatoes too, presuming my canning goes ok 😅😅
I'm a bit late watching this update Kerry but love it , great harvests especially your potatoes but really feel for you with regards your Tom's, this year I lost my polytunnel due to strong winds even in June so had to grow all my Tom's outside and to be honest they did OK, next year will grow both inside and outside all being well, love your greenhouse by the way well done great job xx
Hi Jim. Oh, that's good news on your outdoor toms - but I'm sorry to hear about the poly! A poor guy on our site replaced his poly cover at least three times over the last year. I'm glad I had the undercover space in the home garden to get a good crop of tomatoes - but I'd really like to grow a lot more for canning (now that I've learnt how!). Take care Jim - have a good weekend 🤗
@@dogontheplot you too Kerry , hug for Dori x
Dorie is such a cuddle bug! That's a really hearty harvest, I'm eyeing up your beets, they look great! Mine were tiny again this year, but the bed I put them in had thin soil so that's part of the problem. Laughing at you saying you don't want to dirty your new trug, I'm the same with new things and have to really force myself to just use them. I had blossom end rot on most of the tromboncinos but there's one *enormous* one left that I'm hoping will ripen so we can eat it like a butternut. The other reason I've left it hanging is for comedy reasons, it's ridiculous and makes me laugh every time I see it. Definitely growing them again next year for that reason alone!
She is a cuddle bug. I'm trying to think back to my trombons last year - maybe I had quite a bit of rot then too... but I've harvested a fair few small and I've got two growing large. They are hilarious.
Do you have any interesting vegan recipes you make with your produce?
Well that courgette bake has definitely been my stand out meal for this season - the recipe is in the video description for episode... 97. Last night I ate the broccoli (minus the slug munched parts!) in a quick stir fry with the tree spinach, regular spinach, peppers, onion & garlic and (not homegrown) muchrooms and cashew nuts - just added some soy sauce, rice syrup and tomato paste for the sauce and served with noodles. Very quick and easy but so fresh and crunchy!
i can honestly say out of all the tatter reveal vids I've watched no one has been as excited as you lol I'm still giggling from that lol I want what you had for breaky that day lol I'm defo sticking with my tatters towers the oive had more success than buckets or in ground and they come out almost clean with out weeds no nibbles and instant mulch as soon as you pick up the towers ., happy eating
Hahaha - I think my expectations were just so low it came as such a surprise 🤣 I am intrigued by your towers... Maybe next year!!
@@dogontheplot it was funny i wa laughing with you and yes get some towers going they're so easy and use up a fraction of compost cos its mostly straw and I'm sure you could you the rabbit bedding in yours
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WINNER!
@@dogontheplot init
Absolutely amazing harvest Kerry Well Done!! Say hi to Dorie for me ❤
FIRST
LAST 😆
@@dogontheplot no way to treat a fan. Kerry. Arguably your biggest fan.
I've never seen anyone get so excited over a knobbly spud 🤣 "it hits the back of your throat ..." ... snigger @TheGrowUpChannel ... Danny, don't mention it 🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣 my expectations were clearly SO low, I couldn't believe it!!!