The warm summer months might be over, but the abundant wild berries, plentiful apples, and juicy tomatoes they helped create can make it feel like the sun is still shining.
It’s unlikely keen gardeners can manage to eat all this bumper produce immediately though, which is where the art of storage comes in.
Main crop potatoes and onions will keep well in a cool shed or garage, while garlic should be placed in a cool room in the house. All three should be free of soil and perfectly dry before storing. Onions and garlic can be strung and hung up, while potatoes will be quite happy in paper or a hessian sack, kept in the dark to stop them from sprouting.
If you have blackcurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries, these are perfect for jams, partly because they contain plenty of pectin, the ingredient that makes jam set.
If you have too many ripe tomatoes, try drying them in the oven, placing them on a tray at the lowest setting for several hours with the oven door just ajar. Alternatively, skin them by placing them in a bowl of just boiled water, leaving them there for a few minutes, then removing the skin and blitzing them into a puree which can be a base for any Italian passata, which can be frozen. Unripe tomatoes can also be transformed into delicious green tomato chutney.
Peas and green beans should be blanched before freezing, while courgettes freeze satisfactorily in prepared dishes such as ratatouille.
Root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, beetroot and celeriac can generally be left in the ground until required, although try to dig a few up to store in a cool place before winter sets in.
To store gluts of apples and pears, you’ll need to handle them carefully, placing them in a room with a low, even temperature, good ventilation and a moist atmosphere such as a cellar. If you are putting apples in your garden shed, wrap them in newspaper, put them in boxes, stack them in a cool spot under insulation and cover with polythene.
Check them regularly and remove any which have rotted.