End of Summer Harvest

Lovely colourful harvest, Nariz..
you have generous neighbours, bringing you apples and pears ... I can imagine all the baking you have planned ;o)

Wonderful Harvest! :)))))))

Living in Spain you can still expect a few more fruits to pick in the next month or so. I can name oranges as one example. Unless you don't grow any of them Nariz.

Well done for being positive about winter . . . of course, having a wood fire helps! We'll be lighting ours for the first time this season on Sunday . . . great. :))

what a great harvest and all the lovely things you have made for the winter so nice to look forward to eating it all..

its dark nights from sunday isn't it Sheila, just think it'll be dark a 4.30.......:o((
and I love my log fire but the ashes..( its rained all day and I'm a bit grumpy:~)

Its been so dark and dreary here with the rain Pamg, my security light goes on every time I go out back..even at noon!
Nariz, your blog is redolent of lush harvests and goodies ready for Christmas..I would love to be a maker of chutneys and jellies and jams...it sounds so... so RICH! You have my total admiration (and Im a touch green with envy too)

Looks good and sounds even better Nariz, you have been busy and going to be for a while judging by whats on the table....

That ash vacuum sounds a wonderful idea, Bilbo. We lit our woodburner last weekend, and already the house is full of ash dust.
You are doing well, Nariz - our peppers have all shrivelled on the plants, and I just haven't had time to do the chilli jelly this year, which is a family favourite. The tomatoes, however, go on, and on, and on.........
I've run out of jam jars! I've made my Christmas cakes today, though, and the whole house smells gorgeous! Next week, at least half of one of the monster pumpkins will be on the way to making chutney. The last lot I made, after a year maturing on the cellar shelves is the nearest thing to Branston Pickle you could ever get. One of OH's favourites.

Thanks for your lovely comments guys! Costas; I do have a small orange tree in a large tub, grown from a pip, but we're really too far north for expecting any fruit.
Tetrach; don't be envious - just get out the cookery books (try Delia) and away you go. Pamg and Bilbo; I actually LIKE cleaning out the fire, getting the glass sparkly again and re-laying with the expectation of warmth along with a woody ashy smell - then the ashes go back to the garden - free potash! Gattina; wish I could help with the jars, but I've run out too! I save ALL jars - small pate or caper jars get filled with my pesto; Horseradish and Tartare sauce jars receive chilli jelly or plum chutney (also just like a certain pickle brand ....); piquillo pepper jars are perfect for my marmalade, pulped tomato or marinated peppers and any bigger jars are used for bottling fruit. I've looked at the jars for sale in the local ferreterias, but the cost negates the making of chutneys and jams. I shall have to beg a few jars from my neighbour when I next take over a chocolate fudge cake or Tarte Tatin - that currency can barter for ANYthing! ;o)

That's a beautiful basket in your picture, Nariz. Locally made? I've been looking for smallish baskets to line with plastic and plant up with moss, small evergreen rooted cuttings and a few bulbs in so they're ready for Christmas - they make really nice presents and seem to be very well received. I can't find any nice ones, and they all seem to be really expensive, anyway. I think I shall have to do pots, instead - not so pretty though. That's another strange thing - you don't seem to be able to find prepared hyacinth bulbs here - I had to fill my suitcase with them when I came back!

Spanish, but not local, Gattina. We bought it when we went south to visit my daughter near Alicante. The local baskets here are nowhere NEAR as strong - just made with 3" wide but very thin strips of reed. Not as pretty either! It's quite a joy to wander round the garden with that basket over my arm - filling it with all kinds of goodies. I always feel I should be wearing a floaty dress and big hat to complement the basket instead of old mud-splattered trousers and a tomato-stained T-shirt! ;o)

I can picture you now, Nariz. Very elegant! My jeans are paint and creosote spattered, and the t-shirt dyed an interesting shade of pink from when I left a red towel in with the whites........ I hide when I hear the postman on his way down the drive. At least I'm not upset if i get mud on them!

Lol! ;o)

I don't grow food. It's just as nice from the local market.

I'm sure it's just as nice, Hywel, but you don't get that sense of pride when something you put in the ground as a small seed turns up on your plate. :o)

Hear, hear, Nariz. To our horror, we have actually noticed produce in our local markets that has been imported from South America, Africa, etc.. Stuff brought up from southern Italy we can live with, but we firmly reject the other. I think the Italians are beginning to subscribe to the idea that they should be able to buy what used to be seasonal fruit and vegetables at any time of year. Shame!

Those tom's look great, i say in envy! You mentioned Alicante Nariz, i used to go out to Calpe every year, to see family.
I hope your enjoy your harvest and the winter preparations are going well.

I put that comment because you said cacti do nothing for you. Well food does nothing for me. I get a sense of pride from growing cacti. Food does not interest me at all.
As you said yourself, we all have our likes and dislikes.

Well said Hywel! ;o)

At least you wont go hungry, well done you, I admire all your hard work, nothing nicer than your own produce on your table, we only grow {because of space} a small amount of edibles, but enjoy what we do grow.

Enjoyment is what it's all about, DD2. :o)