A 21st century good life in Bristol: part 11 – harvest festival

It’s the time of glut – it’s impossible to think that in just four months the garden will be quiet, cold and largely dormant. Now everything is fruiting and I can barely keep up with it. I guess it’s that harvest time madness (see Adam Henson’s take on the harvest in our September issue).

It’s been a record year for broad beans – 17lbs – beating last year by 10lbs. I can never get enough of these. Meanwhile, fantastic potatoes, beetroot, spinach, chard, kale and cabbages have meant that I’ve only had to buy carrots and onions from the greengrocer since May. Peas were disappointing but mainly because I was away on holiday when they started podding. Courgettes and runner beans are now taking over but tomatoes look like being very late.

I’ve even been able to freeze excess chard and spinach – the trick here is to blanch them in boiling water for about 10 seconds then cool immediately and freeze. The blanching kills the growth enzyme in the vegetables and prevents them from rotting prematurely.

As for fruit – well, we’ve been lucky enough to be looking after next door’s garden where they have several fruit trees, especially apples. From windfalls alone, I have frozen enough fruit for dozens of pies and crumbles for the winter ahead. And the larder is full of chutney.

Better still, our local nature reserve contains an old plum orchard, completely overgrown and overlooked. But this year there has been a bumper crop – I filled two carrier bags in about five minutes in the rain. Infact, straight off the tree, these rainwashed plums are the most delicious fruit I have ever tasted… I’ve made tons of jam – delicious and good currency for barter.

The chickens seem to have caught the mood too, laying 2-3 eggs a day. We let them out for most of daylight (though they tend to go inside when it rains). I’ve noticed their yokes are even more golden and tasty after they’re allowed to forage for worms and woodlice – and gorge on fallen apples and plums.

A glut is wonderful – but it’s also exhausting – I haven’t even had time to go blackberrying or make elderberry wine. Here’s hoping.

Fergus Collins

Editor of BBC Countryfile Magazine