Harvest Time

While the farmers are out in the fields with their huge tractors trying to salvage something from this years rained on disaster, we gather a more modest harvest. Our garden has been a mess this year with the rain so consistent we have hardly had time to weed or clean, so the garden is a total mess with weeds 3 feet high. Despite this disaster we were able to crop this week and got in about 250 onions laid out to dry plus 5 whole supermarket bags of broad beans which are a hardy crop and survived and even thrived on the nasty weather. Broad beans are a big operation and it took my wife and I all day to pod them, then blanch in boiling water and strip off the outer bitter hull, leaving the nugget of wholesome goodness that is the core bean. We managed to freeze about 15 bags with enough in for four of us at a serving each. That will help with the winter bills. Still to come is the runner beans which are just starting with small beans and the potato which died from fungus but we hope to get some crop from when we dig it up and of course the wonderful carrots, still growing strong and looking good.