TAKING A BREAK from the garden to go on your summer holidays is also a break away from the typically moribund pace of food growing. After a two-week holiday and a long flight we got back to the house at around 8am and though my pillow was calling me I couldn’t resist a quick visit to the veg patch to check on progress.

Things normally move so slowly when it comes to growing your own (particularly when you’re waiting semi-patiently for the first courgettes or tomatoes of the season) but two weeks away is enough of a time period that you notice some major changes.

So it’s officially courgette season! Before we left there were a handful of tiny little fruits visible that were too premature to eat. Two weeks later and we’re almost in glut territory already. The yellow courgette variety Parador is first out of the tracks and the plant has 8-10 good-sized fruits on it.

Maincrop potatoes are flowering which is a good sign, but earlies have succumbed to blight and the plants will need to be cut down. I have carrots, kale, cabbages and broccoli under fleece (to protect from caterpillar-laying butterflies) and they have all thrived while I was away – the kale (variety Nero Di Toscana) is ready to eat. Peas, which were flowering before I left, are also ready to eat and autumn-sown broad beans which we were eating in June have now passed their best and need to be composted. Runner beans and French beans are growing well, but the plants seem to be taking a hammering from slugs.

Not-so-welcome guests 

It won’t surprise you to learn that weeds also grew abundantly while I was away – it’s rather depressing to think that a weed-free patch can become so overrun in just two weeks. Goes to show just how much you need to keep on top of weeds at this time of the year – on the plus side, weed growth will start to slow down soon as summer moves to autumn. A pest I haven’t seen in the garden for a few years – the cuddly but irksome rabbit – is back and has been spotted hiding beneath the foliage in the legume bed. “There’s plenty to eat for all of us”, I tell myself, artfully trying to ignore the situation.

Things are going well in the polytunnel – tomatoes are unruly looking with sideshoots having taken off (I had removed them all before I left). We’re still a few weeks away from a really good crop of tomatoes which is very late compared to last year when we were eating tomatoes in June. I did have my first small Sungold tomato which I was able to savour despite my jetlag.

My four cucumber plants have gone bananas (if you’ll allow me the mixed fruit/veg metaphor) – despite the fact that I have wire supports in place, they seem to prefer trailing up the nearby tomato plants. Also growing well are the two Achocha plants – achocha is a vigorous climber that produces hollow cucumber-like fruits that are believed to reduce cholesterol.

Things to do this Week – Make your Own Herbal Tea with Lemon Verbena

Lemon verbena has the most refreshing lemon aroma, much superior in my view to the more common lemon balm. It makes a wonderful tea herb.

All you need to do is to put a few leaves in a mug, pour boiling water over it and drink it a few minutes later. In South America it is also used medicinally to treat fevers, headaches as well as for its relaxing properties. Unfortunately you can’t grow it outdoors. However, it is an excellent crop for your polytunnel, greenhouse or conservatory.

Recipe of the Week – Kohlrabi Carpaccio

I reckon I’ve come across the secret to cooking with kohlrabi – don’t cook it! Raw dishes make the most of its wonderful crunchiness and flavour. This healthy lunch or supper can be put together in minutes and serves four people.

Ingredients
1 medium (or 2 small) kohlrabi
4-6 anchovy fillets cut into thin strips
50g hard goat’s cheese
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Peel the kohlrabi, slice it into thin slivers with a vegetable peeler and divide these between four plates (or even one larger platter). Scatter the strips of anchovy fillet on top of the kohlrabi, then shave the goat’s cheese over, again using a vegetable peeler. Sprinkle on the thyme leaves, squeeze over a spritz of lemon juice and trickle on a little rapeseed oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve at once.

Tip of the Week – Bolting

Bolting is a term which refers to vegetable crops that run to seed before their time. The plant is essentially rushing in to procreation mode – trying to spread its seed (by producing flower or seed heads) before it dies. It is a perfectly natural part of the plant’s lifecycle, but unfortunately from a GIYers perspective it usually renders them inedible. It is often caused by a cold spell, changes in day length or other stress in the plant such as lack of water. Some plants such as lettuce, rocket and annual spinach are particularly susceptible.

Though bolting occurs as the plant reaches maturity it can be caused or initiated much earlier in the life-cycle. In annual crops it is usually caused by changes in day length but can be worsened by stressed conditions (lack of water, very dry soil etc). In biannual crops it is caused by unsettled weather conditions or a cold spell early in the propagation phase. Cold nights, followed by hot days will also cause it, as will late frosts.

The three main methods of controlling bolting are (1) soil conditions, (2) paying attention to sowing times, and (3) using bolt resistant varieties. I also find that succession sowings are the best way to beat bolting and provide a constant supply of produce.

GIY’s vision is for a healthier, more connected and more sustainable world where people grow some of their own food. Each year we inspire and support over 65,000 people and 1,500 community food-growing groups and projects around Ireland, and run food-growing campaigns, events and publications. www.giyireland.com

Michael Kelly is a freelance journalist, author of ‘GROW COOK EAT’ and founder of GIY.