After a slow start with the drought the Nasturtiums on the allotment quickly ramped up when the rains came in September. In fact Nasturtiums are very drought tolerant -indeed thrive on parched soils- but they need some moisture to get going.

 I see salad vegetables growing on the other plots with limited success but Nasturtiums are great. The young leaves are delicious raw, the flowers are edible and the seeds can be pickled (when still green) as "poor man's capers". By this time of the year the leaves are getting a bit tough but I picked a couple of handfuls of the younger ones to make Nasturtium soup. Delicious! However you take them they have a tangy, peppery taste.

 The first frosts will kill them though hopefully there have been enough flowers in their late growth spurt to self seed. I still have some seeds saved from last year if needs be. I will probably scythe a section next week because I want to try some Field Beans which are hardy enough to sow in autumn. The rest I will leave to mulch themselves as a 'green manure'.