It must be nearly February. I have swede, sprouts and kale in abundance - but not a lot else. The leeks didn't get sown in sufficient numbers and the warm autumn made all but one of the purple sprouting brocolli crop far too early. The bunching onions have been a revelation, however. I've got maybe 150 when stored maincrop onions are a mere memory. Admittedly the shallots are still ok and there's garlic galore from store, but bunching onions supplemented by leeks = year round onions.

This is sprout Rubine. They taste even better than they look - even the 'tops' are like a sweet kale.

After the flood... these pictures are taken from pretty much the same spot - in summer...

...and yesterday...

.

The local fauna has changed too. From contented cows to... contented beasts of the water:

On the menu this week: kale, brocolli and cauliflower. This may be regarded as a form of torture in some parts. But kale with plenty of garlic and a little lemon juice is seasonal eating chez-nous.

It feels like another planet from the perspective of a windy, hail-y and increasingly cold January...but these are some of my late summer pickings...

Yu Choy! At long last a couple of plants got to the table without bolting or being obliterated by slugs. A brassica with tender stems the shape of very slender rhubarb.

Winter Squash. Unfortunately all eaten now...

Romanesco calabrese thing! 'Veronica' I think...

The last of the chillies and tomatoes picked in late October... I sowed some more today.