Brae Farm Harvest Notes - April 19, 2024

Hi everyone,

There's lots of change in the garden this week with summer crops finishing up, and late-autumn produce coming on.

The cape gooseberries and beans are finished. We'll be taking out the last of the cucumbers and melons on Monday, and we'll harvest anything left on the vines.

We can do another big pick of Espelette and Serrano peppers this coming week.

Eggplants are slowing down. If it suits the kitchen, I think we could leave them for a week, do a thorough harvest, and then take them out.

The tomatoes are still looking healthy. Unless the weather takes a severe turn, I think we'll keep harvesting the cherries well into May. We won't get many more ripe slicers now. If we can pick what's left as green tomatoes and pull them out by the end of the month, it would give me an opportunity to plant peas into that trellised bed. 

We've picked all the ripe lemons, so we'll have a little gap for a week or two. There are lots just turning yellow.

The sansho has put out a tiny flush of new leaves so I'm keeping it on the list for another week. 

We still have two pear trees left to pick, if we could have some more boxes, please. We should start stock-piling them for quinces also. They are starting to become yellow and aromatic.

There's a small crop of pistachios that looks ready to harvest. 

The first punterelle are heading up and should be ready in around two weeks. A good proportion of the Treviso crop is ready to pick, and we also have some di Luisa and precoe romea that have formed nice heads. The rosa and castlefranco are still a few weeks away.

The lemon and cinnamon basil is finished. We have a limited supply of the other basils in the polytunnel which should be good to harvest for another 2-3 weeks. The red rubin in particular still looks very happy. 

The shiso is getting a bit tough to use as a baby leaf. Let me know if the kitchen can use a quantity of larger leaves before we take it out?

Thanks! Jo 
Jodie Lawson - Brae Head Gardener