NOTES FROM THE GARDEN – AUGUST

August is the month the garden at Spitalfields City Farm reaches its crescendo: a riot of colour and summer abundance, with the glimpse of a fine harvest in sight to tide us through the cooler months. At least that’s the theory! It is also the month of the tomato and the kodu here at the farm; both crops beloved of our clientele and staff alike. In reality, a mixed bag of feeble but welcome sunshine, plenty of grey skies and cloudy days peppered with rain and humid warmth have played havoc with our well laid plans. And we are by no means the only gardening team suffering from this.

Let’s start with the tomatoes; the good, the bad and the ugly! We have grown 16 varieties this year – proudly nurtured since the first traditional sowing on Valentines Day. From farm saved seed, passed on for many years, the farms’ familiar Noire de Crimee (Black Russian), Yellow Plum, Red Cherry and Marmonde have been supplemented this year with new varieties - Green Zebra, Tigerella, Pomodoro, White Tomesol, Costoluto Fiorentino and much loved Sungold. We even have a fully blue/black tomato called Indigo Rose and the rare olive shaped Brad’s Atomic Grape. You can see we are serious about our tomatoes!

The salad tunnel is looking glorious – the many vines heavy with fruit and vying for space alongside climbing cucumbers, aubergines and achochas. Five varieties of basil and marigolds border the beds and a plethora of salad leaves underscore the heavily loaded vines. The pièce de resistance this year though must surely be three sugar cane plants which delight all, especially our West Indian and Asian visitors, who know these crops so well. We are debating how we process the cane and what tipple we might make!

The unbelievable Indigo Rose (black) tomato

Contrast with new variety to the farm, White Tomesol

Sadly, on the outdoor beds it is a different story. The dreaded tomato blight has struck with a vengeance. In the UK it is almost a badge of honour at present, and the top gossip on gardening social media sites, with almost every gardener we know having succumbed. Wet weather and humid days have spurred this ugly disease on like never before. The black rot has felled vines in garden after garden and we are currently running just ahead of it on our main plot, cutting out leaves, stalks and fruit as we see the tell-tale signs appear to salvage the rest of the otherwise gorgeous harvest. But that’s the way gardening is; each year unique with its triumphs and disasters.

Tomato varieties clockwise from top left: Noir de Crimee, Yellow Plum, Pomodoro, Sungold, Ukranian Purple, Green Zebra, Consoluto Fiorentino and Chocolate Cherry

Tomato varieties plated with buffalo mozzarella and various farm-grown basil

In our Asian veg polytunnel we are very proud to say that despite a delayed spring, Kodu (bottle gourd) are growing on our vines which cover the ceiling with large, handsome leaves and beautiful white blossom. We also have traditional Bangladeshi Kheera Cucumber, Aubergines, peppers, Chard and two type of Amaranth. The curious Strawberry Spinach has now been supplanted by a succulent Malabar Spinach and this year’s new varieties, Chinese and Taiwanese ‘Yard Long’ Beans are finally in flower. The seeds of these crops are saved each year by members of the farm’s Coriander Club and generously handed on so that we can continue the long-established practice of growing traditional Bangladeshi vegetables at the farm for the local community to enjoy and to educate visitors who are not familiar with them.

Kodu (bottle gourd) growing in our Asian focused polytunnel

Malabar Spinach – a Bengali delicacy, growing at the farm

All our vegetables are grown by a small team of volunteers who are truly dedicated in making the gardens as beautiful and productive as possible. You can visit us from Tuesday through to Sunday and may be lucky enough to come across the team working on the fields or watering the polytunnels. Stop and say hello; they’ll be pleased to talk you through the crops and show you what harvest is currently on offer at the farm store.

- Tanya Reynolds, Community Gardener