Autumn

I have pickled some plums.

That's all. I have restrained myself from making chutneys and jams. Apart from 3 jars of chilli jelly - red chilli flakes suspended in apple jelly, like pollen in amber. Rather beautiful.

But nothing else. Really. Promise. We have a shelf full of jam, and chutney, and quince jelly, and marmalade. So this year I'm holding off. Definitely.

I will make sloe gin. Rainbow wrote the labels for me last year, so it was all neatly labelled "Slow Gin". Actually, I find it is rather fast gin. but there you go.

I had quite a good summer in the veg patch. It is a blaze of gold and orange now - marigolds and nasturtiums, which gradually take over as the summer goes on - and there are 5 rather splendid pumpkins, one immensely tall sunflower, still a steady supply of courgettes (and the odd courges), and runner beans. I have some chard and kale on the way back, too. We may keep some over the winter, but last the year the deer came in and ate all my winter greens, so I'm not expecting much.

I have discovered sorrel - sharp, lemony, very useful in salads and sandwiches. Will definitely have some next year. And lovage, which is really like celery, so a little sprig gives that celery flavour to soups and stocks. I rarely buy celery, because I find I use a couple of sticks, store it til it goes totally flaccid and then put it in the compost bucket. And now I have lovage, I don't have to!

I have conceived a desire to grow jerusalem artichokes next year. Am trying to work out where to put them.

Also, some different kinds of beans, some mange-tout, more carrots and parsnips. The spinach was good, and we used loads of it, though it seems a long time ago. There is some perpetual spinach coming back. I am not entirely sure how perpetual perpetual is.

Nigel Slater has almost convinced me to grow beetroot.