Amateur Gardening – 24 August 2019

24 AUGUST 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 19

Nextweek:Harvestingplumsandgages,growing

cucamelons,liftinganddryingonions,ripening

winter squashes, harvesting aubergines.

MANYAGreadershave,I’msure,

beennurturingpotsof pelargoniumsto

decoratetheirpatioordriveway.Didyou

knowthat,aswellastheseornamental,

free-floweringforms,therearemany

othersthatcanbeusedin thekitchen?

Termed‘scented-leaf’pelargoniums,

eachhasuniquecharacteristics.‘Attarof

Roses’,‘ArdwickCinnamon’,‘Coconut’,

‘AppleBetty’and‘ChocolatePeppermint’

allhintat theirflavours,whilelemonis

offeredby‘CrispumVariegatum’.

Leavescanbelayeredin a jarof sugar

fora fewdays.Theessentialoilsimpart

theirscentintothesugar,whichcanthen

beusedtomakesponges,sorbetsand

biscuits.Placingindividualleavesinto

jarsof jellies,orliningthebottomof a

sponge tin with them, offers yet further

HAVEyounoticedhowmodernorchards

aregettingsmaller?Commercialgrowers

arecrammingmoretreesintocompact

spacesand,in doingso,experimenting

withtrainingtechniques.Wecanglean

wisdomfromtheirexperience,andone

usefulmethodis knownasfestooning

• wherebranchesarecarefullybent
  intohorizontalorweepingpositions.
  Thebenefitsarenumerous.Treesare
  keptcompact,shadingverticalshoots
  areeliminatedand,mostimportantly,
  fruitnumbersareincreased.Festooning
  newshootsadjuststheircarbohydrate
  storageandplanthormoneflow– so
  budsthatwouldnormallydevelopinto
  leafyshootsinsteadchangeintoflower
  buds. By securing this year’s new shoots

Festoon trees to get more fruit!

Get more from your pelargoniums

ALSOknownas

asparagusbean

thisimpressive

legume,Vigna

unguiculata

subsp.

sesquipedalis,

almostlivesup

toitsname!At

maturity,podsc

reach30in(75c

long,althoughit’sbesttoeatthem

beforetheygetthatlongsoyoucan

ensuretheyaretender.If you’reused

togrowingclimbingrunnerorFrench

beans,treatthesebeansidentically.

Sowin heatundercover,and

thentransplantoutsidetoa sunny,

shelteredspotoncetheriskof frost

haspassed.Theyardlongbeanis

anannualfromtropicalclimes,so

long,hotsummersarepreferred;

onceestablished,theplants are

quitedrought-tolerant.

Thepea-likelilacflowersopen

at night,sopollinationis mainlyby

mothsandothernocturnalwinged

insects.Pickthepodswhileyoung

andtender,dicingandtreating

them just like French beans.

Test for sweetcorn ripeness

1

Thetasselsor‘silks’

protrudingfromthe

topofeachcobarea

greatindicatorofmaturity.

Asthecobmatures,they

turnfromgreentobrown.

Check for this daily.

2

Asthefirstfewtassels

begintoturnbrown,

carefullypeelbackthe

outerlayersofthesecobs

toseewhatcolourthe

kernelsare– youngones

are white or a pale colour.

3

Whentheyareready

forpicking,theywillbe

brightyellow(thosethatare

orange-yellowandwrinkled

areover-mature).Asyou

getyoureyein,youcan

rely on silk colour alone.

Step

by step It canbetrickytodetermineclearversusmilkyjuicebypiercingkernels,

plus you end up with a nail mark on your cobs. Instead, follow my guide:

my

Yardlong

beans

waystoinfuseyour

arealsoedible).Sowhynotexperiment

and see where your taste buds take you?

5 quick

jobs

1

Slideyourforkprongsunderneath

individualonionbulbstopart-lift

themoutofthesoil.Thisaidsdrying

out,allowingyou tostorethemlater

thismonth.

2

Stonefruits(peaches,nectarines,

apricots,cherries,plumsandgages)

benefitfromregularpruning.Donow,

assoonasharvestsarecomplete.

3

Earlyseasonorchardfruits,suchas

Apple‘Discovery’andPear‘Beth’are

startingtoripen.Pickandeatthefruits

quicklyastheydon’tstoreforlong.

4

Beginreducingtheamountof

waterthatyougivetotomatoes,

peppers,chilliesandaubergines.

Thisgentlestresswillhelptoripen

upthelastfruits.

5

It’stimetoharvestyourmaincrop

spuds.Gentlyeasethemoutofthe

earth,ruboffanyexcesssoil,and

storethosewith sound skinsin

paper sacks.

ofcherries,apples,plumsandpearsinto

anarchedorhorizontalpositionnow,you’ll

gainfarmorefruitbudsin spring.Anysoft

tie will do – even an old pair of tights!

Bendingbranches

overencourages

themtoyielda

heavier crop Why

not try..?

Scented-leaftypes

like‘AttarofRoses’

or‘Chocolate

Peppermint’(inset)

addinterestto

your cooking

Theyardlongor

asparagus bean

Inset: Alamy