Our first apple...

Check out the size of this beauty, harvested in the allotment garden today!

We will be harvesting the rest of our lovely crop of coxes and dessert apples and pressing them for juice at the Harvest Festival.

Tomato disaster

Last week I noticed the tomatoes weren't looking their best. This Monday I discovered that a whole bed had succumbed to blight. We had to pull the hole lot - it was a very sad day. Now how will we make sauce for our Harvest Festival pizzas? It's just as well we have some frozen and over-dried in stock. However, if any Capital Growth spaces would like to sell some of their surplus please contact Amy - amy.capitalgrowth@gmail.com

The Capital Growth Edible Open Gardens Day

On Saturday 3rd September 2011 over 40 Capital Growth sites will be opening to the public. As part of this, space number 500 (our very own allotment garden in The Regent's Park) will be open for you to look around. Volunteers will be on site from 12noon until 4pm, and raffle tickets will be on sale.

You can find us on the corner of Inner Circle and Chester Road, in the heart of the park, next to the park office (NW1 4NR).

Find out more about the Capital Growth Edible Open Gardens Day at www.capitalgrowth.org/events/opengardens

Oven dried tomatoes (part 2)

This is what the tomatoes looked like this morning, after a night in the oven on a very low heat...

...and this is what they look like with some fresh thyme and extra virgin olive oil... yum!

Oven-dried tomatoes....

In preparation for our 2011 Harvest Festival we're trying out various preserves to make sure there's plenty of produce to enjoy for all. These tomatoes were harvested today by our volunteers, and will last in the cupboard to make lovely pizzas toppings or salad ingredients.

Oven-dried tomato recipe

1. Harvest tomatoes of any variety, shape or size.

2. Leave small ones whole, but medium ones in half lengthways, cut large ones into quarters lengthways.

3. Place in a baking tray (cut ones should be placed cut-side up).

4. Place in the oven on a very low heat (between 50-100 degrees C).

5. Cook for 4-6 hours depending on the size of the tomatoes.

6. They are ready when they look shrivelled up like sun-dried tomatoes.

7. Leave to cool then store in a jar with a few springs of thyme (or rosemary or garlic etc), completely covered with a good olive oil.

Family Open Day Friday 19th August 2011

Over 70 people came to our family open day last Friday, 19th August. Happy children explored the garden with their parents, taking part in a 'Hungry Caterpillar' garden hunt and making apple bird feeders. Seeds, plants and produce were the prizes in our raffle.

Remember that our next (and final) 2011 open day is the climax of the season - The 2011 Harvest Festival. There will be a children's scarecrow-making workshop, experts from The Royal Parks Guild on site to answer your questions, an exciting raffle and, of course, lots of tasty food cooked fresh on site from allotment produce. The event will take place on Sunday 25th September 2011, 11am-5pm. You can find the allotment garden on the corner of Inner Circle with Chester Road, in the heart of The Regent's Park next to the park office (NW1 4NR).

Allotment Garden open days

200-300 people came to enjoy the delights of the allotment garden during our last open day on Saturday 6th August. We will open our gates again this Friday, 19th August, for our Family Open Day. Between 11am and 4pm we will have children's activities, produce tasting, and a raffle. We look forward to seeing you

then.