Lady Godiva - modest, but well-endowed

I spent the weekend putting the veg garden to bed for the winter, pulling down old bean haulms and salvaging the last of the ornamental gourds that dangled forlornly amongst tattered foliage on the arbour. Twisting off the last few cobs, I founded a new compost heap with sweetcorn stalks, and anticipated how fertile that patch of soil will be next summer.

With regret I tugged out nasturtiums’ trailing growth – tropical wreaths of red, orange and yellow blooms that have cheered me for months. At least the pinks and purples of asters still colour the bank behind, and a handful of calendula splash orange through blue-green brassicas. It’s a pared-down look, but so tidy, and most of the beds are still full, with roots, at least fifteen different salad crops, cauliflowers, leeks and pak choi that I like simply steamed, with butter, salt and pepper – a flavour where chard meets artichoke.

Lady Godiva proved to be both modest and well-endowed. Chosen for its huskless seeds, a month ago we harvested three whopping squashes and a small fruit, but as I was clearing up, I tugged on a stem to find it anchored to a twelve kilo beauty, hidden in the beetle bank.