HELLO MY LITTLE PUMPKINS

The Hooligan pumpkins have been halted in their tracks too - luckily I harvested the fruits earlier this month.  They’re a great size for baking whole and stuffing with risotto, or just oven roasting with herbs and butter.  I’ll grow them again next year - but not as companion plants this time as  they aren’t remotely companionable.  Like most hooligans they need space to run rampantly around.

PEARS

If your pears are hard as rocks and then the next minute they’ve turned to mush (there seems to be only an hour in the life of a pear when they’re just right for eating) then poaching them is a good solution.  Use hard pears and poach them in red wine with some cinnamon, vanilla and a little sugar.  Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or thick cream for a dessert that looks all complicated sophistication, but is actually a doddle.

S A D

Getting out as much as possible and enjoying plants like this Verbena bonariensis - which has been flowering its roots off (they don’t wear socks) since June, helps if you’re suffering from the Change in the Season (I shan’t call it SAD anymore).  Also, getting exercise by clearing the veg patch is good, if you can gather the strength to go out there. I’ve usually acclimatised (or sunk without trace) by the time the hour changes at the end of the month, so not long now...

LAST CHANCE BALLOONS

It really is the end of summer now and the balloons that sometimes float over us on still summer days - usually early in the morning, or in the late afternoon - won’t get many more days like this.  It’s also the last chance for sowing winter veg like spinach, kale and chard and for salad leaves and hardy lettuces.  You will be able to sow oriental greens for stir fries until October, but don’t expect them to race away. Growth is slowing noticeably and many plants are thinking about hunkering down to wait out the winter.