A decent days harvest

 A quick trip to the allotment this week as the weather has been awful.

I did a bit of harvesting.Half a carrier bag of tomatoes,200 grams of raspberries,a hungarian zucchini and some Annabel dwarf french beans.

Gem squashes,Rumba onions,French breakfast radishes,Kohlrabi and some Flyaway carrots,

Some Chioggia  beetroot.I also dug up a couple of Picasso potato plants that unfortunately seem to have split and are a pig to peel.

The garden clear up continues and here is the tomato graveyard,all waiting to be emptied.

At least I still  have my Sungolds producing and still tasting gorgeous.

Tomato seed saving.

Harvested my first Beijing Yellow tomato today,the taste is nothing spectactular but I am saving the seeds.I also harvested some Slovenian Black tomatoes that have a much nicer taste and likewise am saving seeds from them.
It's a production line at the moment.
Harbinger,Reisentraube and Slovenian Black have been fermented,cleaned and are now drying.
Latah and Early Tanana have been dried and bagged up for the Grapevine seed circle.15 packets of each will hopefully be enough.

Bargains galore

Had a little wander around the Poundshop and B@Q's reduced section.If they are too lazy to water I will take a tray of 24 Pansies for a pound even if a few slots were empty and some others obviously dead.A bit of water and some pruning and I have a winter bed.The Violas were half price but again they will fill a bed.
The Pound shop provided Tomato feed,Hyacinths and Crocuses,again a winter/spring pot sorted out.

Today at the allotment

Went down to the allotment before the weather turns and harvested yet more French and Runner beans.I picked Headstart sweetcorn and a Little Gem squash together with Autumn Bliss raspberries for lunch and my first Snowball turnip and Blauer hilds radish.
A bit of time was spent snapping off blighted tomato leaves.
I also got a Comfrey plant and some Strawberry plants from my kind allotment neighbours.
I also got my Thompson @Morgan order Ferline tomatoes,Aubergines,Salad leaves,Calendula and Cornflowers all for £2.10.
In the garden I have had my first Mortgage Lifter tomato,it was a good size and had a nice meaty flavour.I will be growing these again next year.

The garden tomatoes have appreciated the recent hot spell and are developing nicely.I am finally getting some decent Sungolds.I have harvested some Partner F1 gherkins.
I have started saving seeds from Reisentraube for the Allotments 4 All seed circle,Mortgage Lifter and Harbinger.
I have finally got a red Alberto's Locoto pepper to go with my ripening Napia Early Pointy peppers.

This week at the allotment.

The weather this week has been glorious so much time has been spent at the allotment.A lot has also been spent in the garden sorting out various tomatoes.Plantings include Grandpa Admires,Brune d'hiver and Austrian Greenleaf lettuce,Corn salad  and Oriental mixed green salad leaves.

Harvesting has included Gem Squash,Annabel french beans,White Lady and Painted Lady runner beans,Charlotte and Pink Fur Apple potatoes,Flyaway and Early Nantes carrots,Red and White onions,Chioggia beetroot and Autumn Bliss raspberries.

The tomatoes are reddening up nicely.I have now had Shirley,Harbinger,Losetto and Maskotka.

Today I harvested my first Hungarian Zucchini's that I received from the A4A seed circle.

My entry for the three carrots,all fused together.After the poor start to the carrot growing season I am happy   with anything that I can get.

Seed saving Tomato seeds

A simple guide to saving your own tomato seeds.

Here is Early Tanana,Koralik,Latah and Monkey's Ass in their containers at various stages.

Stage 1 remove seeds from the tomato,I tend to use a penknife.I put them into containers,add water,give them a stir,cover them and leave for 3 days.I label the pots.I stir this smelly mixture on a daily basis.Then I pour off the water and rinse several times in a sieve.I then pour the seeds onto a plate and cover them with kitchen tissue.I then put them somewhere safe and forget about them for a week or two.

After a week the seeds should be dry so I use a pair of tweezers to separate them and place them on a plate.

Then they get bagged up and labelled.I then put them away until required