Start of the harvest

I have been busy this week making apricot jam, not as much as last year as the crop was not nearly as good. I have put away 8 pots which will please one of my daughters, she loves it.

Tonight I also bottled 4 jars of apricots for the winter and will get some peaches in the next few days to bottle. Tinned fruit is scarce here, very large tins of pineapple and  fruit salad and that is about it. I do miss raspberries, good english strawberries and rhubarb but figs and lemons and oranges are very good.

We also have a bit of a glut with cucumbers and courgettes and are having to be quite creative. I pickled some cucumber slices and I tried Jamie Olivers recipe for cucumber ribbons in a soy sauce, ginger, lime and chilli dressing.
We have had stuffed courgettes, courgette cake, a very nice penne, courgette and blue cheese bake and tomorrow I am making a soup.

The tomatoes are just starting now, the cherry tomatoes on the terrace are nice and slightly acidic and the tigerella are lovely, sweet and very pretty with the stripes.
The huge greek tomatoes are doing well but sadly not nearly as well as Filios`s. Must be the copious amounts of manure he puts in the very deep holes. Next year my preparation must be better.
It is getting very hot now and the only comfortable time to work in the garden is in the evening when there is lots of watering to do.


tigerella tomato

 We still have cabbage, swedes, rocket and spinach and the butternut squash and pumpkins are spreading all over one side of the garden.
The aubergines are flowering well and we have had the first pepper, loads coming soon.