Backyard Harvest. Agterplaas Oes

I think a report on my harvests is long overdue. Don't let the word "harvests" fool you into thinking massive, farm-scale hauls however. No, the produce harvested in a backyard garden is much more humble. It still leads to pride and joy - especially if the harvest is larger than expected. An occassion that, admittedly, didn't occur very often in my little South African patch this summer.

So here goes:

Clockwise fltr: Gem Squash/Skorsie, two Pepinos/twee Boomspanspekke, tomatoes/tamaties

One of the most successful plants in my backyard veg patch isn't a vegetable at all, but the pepino. It's like the gift that keeps on giving. I get at least one juicy pepino every week from a bush less than knee-height. Plant it if you live in a sub-tropical or moderately humid region people!

The gem squash wasn't through any effort of my own. No, a volunteer plant sprung up under my little kumquat tree. I think the manure-enriched compost might have something to do with it. The plant soon lost the fight against white powdery mildew, but not before providing us with two lovely squashes. Two might be a meager amount, but they were unexpected, so I'm appreciative.

The tomato haul has been bitterly disappointing. Blight of course. The only tomatoes that seem to flourish are the volunteer cherry tomatoes, and even they got blight in the long run.

Clockwise fltr: Brandywine Sudduths, Red Kaki, Dr Carolyn Yellow

The Red Kaki tomatoes (dark-green round tomato pictured centre-right) were a complete flop. The plants all got blight too early for the poor little tomatoes to flourish. At least I received the seeds for free haha. The blight is definitely to blame, but this cultivar seemed the most prone to it. I don't think they will get any of the valuable garden space in future.

I got some decent-sized Brandywine tomatoes. The plants also developed the dreaded blight, so most of the tomatoes had to be harvested greener than should be, but their taste was  great. No fake taste, like all those beautifully plastic-looking shop tomatoes. They are a bit mushy for my taste though. I think I will try another fleshy cultivar next year. Any suggestions?

The biggest surprise has been the Dr Carolyn Yellow tomatoes. I harvest at least a handful every day. They also lean to the mushy side when over-ripe, but they produce like little machines! They also look beautiful in salads. I don't know if this is pure coincidence, but they also seem more blight resistant than the other cultivars I tried this year. Think I will give them a go again next year.

How does your summer harvest look thus far? Winter harvest, if you're living on the other side of the equator?