BeetrootandSpuds

One of our successes this year has been Swiss chard, which is still flourishing in the polytunnel, although beginning to look a little ragged thanks to some hungry slugs. The stems range in colour from bright yellows to translucent reds and pinks, and it is very tasty stir-fried (stems first, leaves a minute or two later with a knob of butter and some salt and pepper) and goes well with our home grown potatoes and apple sauce. But that is far from all that can be done with it, as enthusiastic vegetarian Laura Lawless explains here (click "Read More" to see the link): Laura Lawless on Swiss chard

Pickling is quite a tedious job. Apart from cutting up the item to be pickled (in this case Jalapeño peppers) the bottles or jars that are going to be used need to be sterilised. We put ours in a low oven for at least 10 minutes meanwhile boiling up the lids. Still, the end result is not unsatisfying

Tomorrow's job will be pickling the last of our jalapeño peppers

Despite the dreadful weather we have had of late - and, they say, there is more to come - our polytunnel remains, for the moment, in place. We've weighted down the side flaps with concrete blocks and bricks, and have lashed the tunnel down with rope run through ducting from our local electrical suppliers to reduce friction. The ropes are tied to large iron pegs secured under cement slabs. And, most important of all, our fingers are crossed.

No doubt about it, our pak choi is now running to seed (in fact this photo was taken a few days ago). Whether we will be able to gather and use them for next year's crop remains to be seen.