Try this tasty recipe if you’ve got a glut of tomatoes

The temperatures are noticeably dropping, particularly in the morning and evening, and it is time to start looking at which plants need some winter protection if they are remaining out of doors, or if it is time to bring in very tender plants like bananas, cannas, pelargoniums and palms.

It does seem a shame to be digging some of these exotics up now as it takes them until late September to start really looking their best and wearing their lush and large foliage with pride.

But it’s best to get them in stress free before they get damaged by cold and the damp sets in.

In our climate, it is often the wet and damp environment that rots the roots of tender plants more than frost, and getting plants in and protected before this weather sets in will be of benefit.

Dahlias are still singing in the garden, with plenty of flowers still being produced, so it’s a little early just yet to dig up the tubers and bring them indoors for winter.

If they are growing in a sheltered location, then a thick mulch with bark or straw will help to overwinter the tubers outdoors on a free draining soil.

Straw is a great insulator on the surface of the soil and will eventually break down and melt into the surface.

It is always a good idea to take some cuttings under protection at this time of year, of some of the more tender perennials such as salvia, fuchsia and pelargonium as insurance should we have a very cold winter.

Tomatoes are coming to the end of their growing season now also and they have had a good year, getting plenty of sunshine which is so needed for sweetness and colour.

At the end of the season there can often be a glut of this fruit and there are numerous ways to preserve this taste of summer for use over the winter months.

Some varieties freeze well when halved or quartered, and making a passata or tomato sauce for freezing is another option - chutneys can also include some apples in the mix. There are endless options and plenty of recipes out there.

One use of tomatoes which I have to share with you was obtained from a friend, Joy, recently and it is simple and delicious.

Take roasted and stuffed tomatoes - the larger beef steak are ideal, but really it can be done with any decent sized tomato.

Slice the top off and keep it as a ‘hat’, scoop out the inside flesh of the tomato and place in a bowl.

Add a glug of olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh or dried thyme (oregano or basil work well too) and a few spoons of breadcrumbs.

Mix all the ingredients together and refill the hollowed-out tomato with the mixture, then place the ‘hat’ atop the mixture.

Cook the stuffed tomato in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 30-40 minutes and then enjoy a simple and delicious taste of summer 2025.

Probably one of the most rewarding aspects of growing vegetables is the convenience and pleasure of harvesting and cooking produce and knowing exactly how it was grown and when it was harvested.

Trying to come up with new ways to cook them is part of the pleasure, and often the simpler the better, as when you are working with good ingredients they speak for themselves.

If you do have protected growing space like a glasshouse or polytunnel, then now is a good time to consider moving herbs indoors for winter, where they will be more tender and easily harvested.

Fresh herbs are a great resource at all times of the year, and particularly in winter when they can be used to add flavour and great taste to meals.

Rosemary, thyme, chives, oregano, winter savoury and parsley are some of the best for use over the winter months.

There are still some crops which can be sown now for harvesting over winter, particularly greens such as spinach, winter lettuce, and oriental greens.

Radish, turnip, garlic, and onions can all be planted now too.

If you’re not using some growing beds in the kitchen garden over winter, then get those green manures in now to germinate while the temperatures are favourable, and create a crop cover to protect the soil over winter.

Phacelia and ryegrass mix is a good one as it provides food for pollinators in early spring as the phacelia begins to flower and it is easy to turn back into the soil.

Mulching with garden compost, seaweed, manure, straw or leaf mould is also an option, and allowing the mulch to be integrated into the soil with the help of all of the microbes and insect life at work in the topsoil.

It can be a good idea to cover mulched soil with black plastic to prevent leaching of the nutrients over winter. as we get a lot of rain which can wash a lot of valuable nutrients out of the soil.

Plant of the Week

Eucomis, or the pineapple lily, are a bulbous plant, native to south Africa, that reappear each year given good, free-draining soil in a sunny aspect.

They begin flowering in late summer and produce exotic-looking flowers, as their name suggests, emerging from a rosette of broad strappy leaves.

They can get up to 75cm in height with a similar spread and the bulbs do not like wet soil and will likely die if planted in a damp location.

A great addition to beds and borders to provide some later colour and a taste of something totally tropical.