Our vegetable harvests are weekly and our strawberries and blueberries are being picked daily.

It’s Mid July and we are harvesting:

Broccoli – Kabuki F1

The Broccoli has done really well since we have received lots of rain. It has been in a cage with environmesh netting since the end of May but only really needed protection from the cabbage white butterflies now in July.

• Sow: 25 March
• Planted outside: 27 May
• Harvest: 2 July and 15 July

Top Tip for getting more Broccoli from your plants

Slice the broccoli head off the stalk and leave the plant in the ground. The plant will grow tender stem broccoli shoots.

Kohl Rabi – Early White Vienna

• Sow: 25 March
• Planted outside: 27 May
• Harvested: 8th and 16th July

Watch out for the caterpillars!

Kohl Rabi belong to the cabbage family and although the experts say they don’t need to be netted, I’ve found they might need to be, due to the cabbage white butterflies laying eggs on their leaves.

Luckily the caterpillars didn’t ruin the crop of four plants. Once I spotted the caterpillars, they were removed along with the kohl Rabi leaves.

It was ok to remove all the leaves as the bulbs had already swollen to form the harvestable product. The plants have remained in the ground until I needed to eat them and fingers crossed no more caterpillars!

Recipe – Kohl Rabi and Carrot Coleslaw

This has a fresh tasting coleslaw, perfect with homemade pizza, burgers or chicken.

Serves 2 – You will need:

• A Kohl Rabi,
• 2 medium carrots,
• 1 spring onion,
• Mayonnaise

• 1. Wash and peel the freshly picked kohl rabi. Grate the kohl Rabi on the medium holes of a grater.
• 2. Wash and peel your freshly picked carrots, grate it on the medium holes of a grater.
• 3. Add thinly sliced raw spring onion.
• 4. Add 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise to the grated vegetables and mix.
• 5. Keep in fridge until needed.

French Beans – Sprite

• Sow: 30 April
• Plant Out: 30 May
• Harvest: 15 July

The green beans took a while to get going and are now forming in abundance. We planted four plants, which are ready before the climbing beans season.

Tomatoes – Latah

Weirdly my first tomatoes this year have come from the plants grown outside and not in the greenhouse.

However the tomatoes are tiny and so are the plants. Nonetheless the tomatoes are tasty and a nice little taster for things to come.

For more vegetable harvests in July, click here.