When the garden gives all at once, it pays to be prepared. Thoughtful planting and low-effort storage keep the harvest manageable
Growing fruit and vegetables there is a moment when garden supply is just right every day. Then, inevitably, an overwhelming tide of more than can be dealt with – bolting lettuces, soft fruit fallen on the ground attracting wasps, and marrows instead of courgettes.
Cultivar selection is pre-planning that helps avoid glut. It’s worth thinking about now as there is opportunity to sample different ones to see if you like them. Keep an eye on what pick your own farms are offering, look at names on packets in the supermarket, as well as what friends and family may be growing.
Raspberries (Rubus idaeus) can be picked from June to October if you plant a selection of varieties, instead of one. For example, ‘Malling Promise’ is the earliest fruiting option, with classic plump raspberries in June and at the other end of the season ‘Autumn Bliss’ fruits in autumn. Yellow-fruited ‘All Gold’ has a small crop in July, and the bulk of production in autumn.
Strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) also have early and late season varieties. ‘Honeoye’ is an early season strawberry, producing from the beginning of June, while ‘Florence’ is a late-season variety. Producing two crops, one in May and one in September, ‘Vibrant’ can offer an early starting and a late-ending season of strawberries.
Homegrown tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) can be dispersed more evenly over a longer period if you grow a couple of plants that produce tomatoes with shelf life. There are several thick-skinned and firm-fleshed tomatoes that can be picked and kept through winter. ‘Burpees Long Keeper’ has a shelf life up to 12 weeks. Almost crunchy, green and red ‘Evil Olive’ is one of the longest lasting tomatoes for storage. An Italian heirloom variety, ‘Piennolo del Vesuvio’ is picked on the trusses, and hung indoors in a shaded ventilated space where fruits will continue to slowly ripen.
Perhaps the greatest range in cropping times comes from potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). Earlies are ready to harvest in three months and eaten when they are small as new potatoes. First earlies, such as ‘Red Duke of York’ or ‘Casablanca’ are planted in March and ready to eat in June and July. Second earlies, such as ‘Sarpo Una’ and ‘Charlotte’ planted early to mid-April, are ready in July and August. Maincrop potatoes like ‘King Edward’ are planted from mid-April to early May, ready to be dug up from late-August through to October. A Christmas crop can be grown by planting cold-stored seed potatoes at the end of summer in a container in a greenhouse or frost-free location.
Successional sowing is a technique to use with quick-growing vegetables such as carrots (Daucus carota), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), peas (Pisum sativum), radishes (Raphanus sativus) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea). Instead of sowing all at once, seed-sowing is spread out at frequencies between one and four weeks. Sow a batch of seeds when the preceding batch is well developed beyond having seed leaves.
Lettuces can also be managed by growing them in slightly different locations as spring moves to summer. An early crop can be started undercover in a greenhouse or under a cloche, moving to outdoor sowings in late-spring in a sunny location. Put later sowings in shadier spots; just cool enough to slow down their impulse to flower, which sends a flower stalk shooting up and makes their leaves taste indelibly bitter.
Some fruits can ripen in an immense glut but have shelf life if stored correctly. Apples (Malus domestica) and pears (Pyrus communis) selected for storage should have intact skins without any visible bruising. Placed in a crate not touching each other they can be stored for three months but check them regularly for signs of rot.
Tomatillos (Physalis ixocarpa) grow ready-wrapped for storage; they have slightly waxy skin and a paper bract around them. Left on the plant in the garden they rot. Picked and kept on a shelf or rack in shade they can last for months. Tomatillos can be eaten throughout their stages of ripeness. Immature green fruits taste sour. As they continue to ripen after picking, they develop sweet fruity flavours.
For now, if you are in the thick of glut and can see more coming there is still action you can take. Marrows (Cucubita pepo) are the epitome of glut – vast and relatively tasteless, a terrible thing to happen to a nice courgette. Instead of making marrow chutney or eating stuffed marrow, why not eat stuffed courgette flowers? The output of courgettes turning into marrows can be controlled by eating enough of the preceding flowers.
Similarly, runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) flowers are edible. They make a colourful and slightly fragrant addition to salads. So, if you look at runner bean plants and see ranks of beans, start eating the flowers. If you already have runner beans with pods that have started to turn fibrous, shell them and keep the beans. If you haven’t opened a runner bean pod before, the bright purple and pink skins on them are a surprise. Runner beans need to be cooked, and do lose their colour on cooking, but are beautiful to see when shelling the pods. They can also be frozen for using later.
Garden glut naturally coincides with sunshine and long days that invite enjoyment outdoors. Rushing around shops for ingredients like vinegar, stirring jam on a stove and sterilising jam jars might not be how you want to spend summertime. There are simpler ways to preserve fruits and vegetables that don’t entail additional ingredients or intensive preparation.
Dörrbohnen, green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), are a classic Swiss product of summer eating in winter. Simply picked and dried laid out in sunshine or a dehydrator, they keep indefinitely. They just need to be soaked overnight, for 12 hours before cooking in boiling water. They are considered a dish in their own right, not just a substitute for fresh beans, because of their rich concentrated flavour.
Borlotti beans, Phaseolus vulgaris ‘Borlotto’, are lovely fresh. But if forgotten or other produce is overwhelming, just pick the pods off the vine when it has dried out in early autumn. Open the pods and the beans will be dry and can be stored in a jar for later use.
Courgettes dry well spiral cut in long strips. Tomatoes also make excellent fruit leather. Just purée and cook down to a thick paste. Spread the paste over baking paper on a tray and dehydrate in a dehydrator or oven on a low temperature. After a few hours it will have turned into a thin pliable sheet, which can be cut into strips and rolled up for storage. Use it in dishes where you might otherwise add tomato paste.
Underlying garden glut is abundance. Don’t forget that sharing is an easy option. Put spare produce on your doorstep and let people take it for free..
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The Hampshire Seed company has a range of tomato seeds including Evil Olive and a few other thick-skinned and firm-fleshed varieties that could work well as winter keepers: thehampshireseedco.com
Four Acre Farm events and classes share inspiration on what to do with garden produce:
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