I’m harvesting still (in between the showers) and it’s all still coming thick and fast. But one thing I won’t ever complain about having too many of is tomatoes, for this is truly one fruit (not veg of course) that can be used up in so many ways without too much thought. Simply drizzled with oil, a touch of balsamic vinegar and sprinkling of sea salt being one of the best ways to enjoy them.

But if, like me, you feel you may have reached full tomato capacity you could try semi drying them for use at a later date? To do this you need to wash them, cut in half, season with salt and a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves, place them on a baking sheet and allow them to dry in a cool oven for approximately three hours.

Once done pop them in sterilised bottles cover with oil and refrigerate until needed. They will keep for months and can be used in pasta dishes, salads, pizzas and risottos adding a touch of summer tomato sunshine in the darkest winter days.

Green Manure

As your crops finish and you clear your beds in the veg patch, for the ones that you have not planted up with a winter crop, have you considered sowing some green manure?

There are two main benefits to choosing to do this:

1) when they are dug back into they return valuable nutrients to the soil and improve soil structure

2) they keep the ground covered so weeding is not necessary. You can find packets of green manure with your normal seed stockest, check the amount you need for the area you need to cover on the back of the pack, sow seeds in rows, or scatter them on to weed-free, moist soil and rake in lightly.

When you are ready to use the land again, chop down the foliage and leave it to wilt, dig it in the top 25cm of soil.

Leave for a good two weeks before sowing or planting the soil again.

You can sow green manure in the spring also but these are examples that you can sow at this time of year:

Grazing rye – this annual is good for soil structure and overwinters well for digging in next spring.

Mustard – another annual but as this one is from the brassica family it is best to avoid sowing other brassicas directly after to avoid disease build up. Leave for grow for two or three months before digging in.

Winter field bean – this hardy annual legume is good in heavy soils and can be left for two to three months also.