An plot inspection on Saturday afternoon proved what we thought: summer really is over.

So, we set about cutting down the tomato vines and digging up some more of the carrots to see whether they’d all been affected by the black veins we’d seen in the last batch. The answer, so far, is ‘don’t know’, as we’ll be peeling them tonight.

The tomatoes were far further gone than I’d suspected. They’ve not been ripening for a week or two now, and once we’d picked off the last kilo or so of edible fruits we disposed of the green ones. I’d had half a mind to pickle or fry them, but up close it didn’t look like they’d be much good for either.

The greenhouse is now almost empty, and it looks enormous.

By value alone the tomatoes were the biggest success of the summer, turning in a massive £90.68 and, apart from gracing the plates of countless meals, they have also provided the raw ingredients for over 20 jars of chutney, which are now maturing in an outhouse cupboard.

The herbs, universally, were a disappointment, and in light of Rich’s success at growing them indoors I’m inclined to make them a little winter project for the kitchen windowsill.

Lettuces and leaf salad, likewise. Not a great success, although they should have been among the easiest crops to grow, and in producing only 24 fruits at a value of £1, the strawberry plants were the only crop to actually make a loss.

So what lessons can be learned from summer 2007? Well, the first would be to plant earlier in the season next year. Not getting the house / plot / greenhouse until the growing season had already begun was an issue this time around that shouldn’t present itself next spring, so the crops should be a lot happier.

The second would be that beans are best when planted in the ground rather than pots. Again, though, this was done more through necessity than choice as the plot was in such a state that it couldn’t be used when they were ready for transplanting from the greenhouse to the outdoor world.

All in all, though, it’s been a good first season of experimentation, and despite the problems, mistakes and lack of experience the garden has yielded £162.54 of edible produce, with some more beetroot, peppers and carrots to come, as well as the sprouts, squash and leeks that we’ve not even touched yet.

The target for 2008 would be to increase that by at least 50% which, with a little bit of thought and planning, I don’t think should be too hard.

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garden, gardening, self sufficiency, vegetables