The Quest for Water

So today Oscar busied himself with a job we've talked about doing for a year, but as is often the case, it takes a twelve-year-old to actually get on with it.  Since the neighbouring allotment belongs to my brother-in-law, and the lovely May does the watering for both of us, it made sense to open up a bit of the fence between us so she can get to the water butts which collect rainwater from the multitude of sheds they inherited with the allotment.

This water butt is entirely useless for collecting water, sitting as it does under a tree, and we've been filling it up with the hose so May had another source to draw on for the tunnel.

May emptied the butt...

... while Oscar opened up the fence and repositioned the butt that was already there, so now two butts will fill from the shed roof, hopefully, and they're both positioned conveniently close to the polytunnel.

The middle of September, and outside the tunnel I've got swedes to harvest (should I wait til after a frost?), parsnips, pumpkins, purple sprouting (not yet sprouting), runner beans coming out of my ears and leeks just gone in the ground.

Sunflowers have been and continue to be absoluytely delightful.  Oscar collected the seeds from one of the heads when they were ripe and swollen, and roasted them with salt in the oven.  Delicious snack, if a little messy spitting out the husks.

We've now pulled the remaining purple carrots from the tunnel.  They were a bit disappointing, and next year we're going to plant some outside too.

I'm picking daily tomatoes from the tunnel.  There are three main varieties - big not vey tasty classic looking ones, which I've been using for cooking and make a marvellous base for soups, stews and curries; gorgeously sweet 'sun gold' orange cherries, and small sweet plums which are quite delicious and I've no idea where the seed came from.

I've now harvested my grapes, which were exceedingly scrumptious, and best eaten fresh and raw, although I need some advice on how to proceed with a grapevine in a poly tunnel.  The last of my cucumbers have been picked and I have to say they were a fantastic crop this year.  Every one was sweet and delicious and so incredibly full of flavour.  Runner beans are a daily picking.... it's just working out what to do with the flaming things...Spinach and chard are the amazing crops which keep on giving.  Still perfectly lovely for cooking, I have a constant bag in my fridge which enrich soups, curries, nut roasts and anything else I make.