September in the Veg Plot
September, 2011
It’s not been the easiest year for growing vegetables. Prolonged dry spells have made regular watering essential, especially for us down here in Devon with our very free draining soil.
Even regular watering won’t compensate for a proper soaking from the rain, so inevitably some outdoor veg has struggled, either growing slowly, or prematurely running to seed. That said, most will put on a good surge of growth when Autumn storms bring rain our way.
Whilst some outdoor veg has struggled, greenhouse veg has been prolific, we’re looking at an abundance of tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes, peppers and chillies.
All in, we’ve got a lot to harvest this September. Here are a few tips on how to pick to ensure you get the best tasting veg out of your plot.
Courgettes
Pick these when they’re 5-6 inches long for best flavour. Keep checking your plants every few days, especially after rain when baby courgettes can suddenly swell into marrows. And when they get bigger flavour diminishes and they become a little woolly. Pick by gently twisting the courgette on its axis between your thumb and forefinger.
Don’t forget to eat the flowers too. Only use the male flowers, with no baby courgette at the base, so you’re not prematurely picking your future harvest. Just tear up the petals and add to salads, or if you’ve got a little more time they’re wonderful deep fried in a tempura batter with other seasonal veg.
Runner Beans
These also have a tendency to grow at lightening speed, so you need to check your plants regularly. Try to pick them when they’re 10- 12 inches long. Any more and they start to become tough and stringy.
If they do grow too long pick them none the less and add to your compost heap. Removing them from the plant will encourage new beans to form.
Beetroot
Beetroot have been the heroes of our plot this year. Despite the dryness they’ve soldiered on, albeit a little more slowly, to give us a wonderful crop. And perhaps the taste is all the more intense for the slow growth/lack of moisture?
You can start harvesting beetroot when they’re about golf ball size. Work your way along the row, pulling them out, to create space for the remaining ones to swell up. Don’t be fearful of the really big ones. They’re still delicious up the size of a tennis ball.
If you’re not going to eat your beetroot straight away it’s best to leave the soil on them and keep them somewhere cool and airy outdoors. They’ll happily keep for many weeks and still taste great – Treat all root veg this way to preserve their freshness and flavour.
Salad Leaves
Even with great salad leaves and lettuces on your plot it’s easy to overlook them as part of your day to day meals. The trick to enjoying lots of delicious salads at home is to make them really quick and easy to prepare.
First of all, invest in good quality salad spinner. The one made by Oxo International is my favourite.
The cage makes is ideal for collecting leaves. Use it to collect a varied mixture of leaves each time you visit your plot - lettuce leaves for crunch, a few oriental salad leaves like mizuna, or wild rocket for spice, and maybe a few young beetroot leaves for colour.
Now fill the salad spinner base with cold water, and immerse the leaves. This plumps them up and ensures they’ll store well in the fridge. After 5-10 minutes drain and spin to remove excess water – and avoid watery dressings.
Clear a space in your fridge and leave the whole salad spinner in there, so you’ve got delicious ready-washed leaves on tap for whenever you need them – they’ll happily keep for 4-5 days. Just tear them up roughly and coat with a tasty dressing whenever you fancy a delicious salad.
Remember fresh herbs will really make your dressings come to life – try combinations of soft herbs like parsley, basil, coriander, chervil, chives or spring onions.
Onions
Onions can be eaten at any time while they’re growing, but if you want ones to store through the winter, wait till the leaves start to turn brown and flop sideways. If they don’t do this within a couple of weeks, give them some encouragement by pushing the leaves level with the ground yourself. Once the leaves are brown, lever the bulbs out of the soil and leave on the soil to dry out for a few days. Then bring them inside and spread them out some where warm, airy and dry to cure them. After a few weeks transfer to net bags to store through the winter – or if you’re feeling ambitious plait the stems together for that french look and hang up in the kitchen.
Maincrop Potatoes
When the leaves of maincrop potatoes turn yellow you know it’s time to harvest them. Dig them up, and like onions, leave on the surface of the soil to dry out and firm up the skins for keeping through the winter. Store in hessian or paper sacks and use as you need them.
Outdoor Tomatoes
With colder weather just around the corner it’s a good idea to finish harvesting any outdoor grown tomatoes in the next couple of weeks. Put all the green ones in a paper bag with a banana, and they’ll ripen up beautifully.
Sweetcorn
Sweetcorn cobs should also be harvested this month. Once the cobs feel plump peel back the outer layers and pierce a kernel with your thumbnail. If a milky liquid comes out, they’re ready to harvest. If the liquid is still clear they’re not quite ripe, so leave for a week or two and check again.
Ragged Looking Brassicas
Around this time of year kale can look distinctly poorly from the nibblings of caterpillars, and oriental salad leaves can look rather miserable from the attacks of flea beetles. Fear not, cooler weather will mark the end of these pests and these plants have an incredible ability to recover, so keep them well watered and you’re more than likely to see them recover.
What to Sow Now
September is the ideal time to sow broad beans to harvest next year. Make sure you pick a hardy variety like Aquadulce Claudia. They’ll establish themselves this Autumn and put on a surge of growth in the spring to give you a super early harvest.
Landcress and Lambs Lettuce can also be sown outside this month.
Sign-up
Sign up to This Month’s Tips and receive a monthly email updating you on key jobs for your plot.