When the last green beans were completely dry we have collected

and shelled them for seeds. We will pick over the beans in the photo

to remove any cracked, musty or misshapen ones before storing

them in a dry, dark place ready for next year. Optionally the beans

can be frozen for a couple of days to prevent any insect activity.

When the last green beans were completely dry we have collected

and shelled them for seeds. We will pick over the beans in the photo

to remove any cracked, musty or misshapen ones before storing

them in a dry, dark place ready for next year. Optionally the beans

can be frozen for a couple of days to prevent any insect activity.

Between the end of August and the start of September we managed

to finish clearing the track to the heifers’ barn that had been partially

covered by a landslip.

During September we have also spread slurry, topped fields and

mended fences.

As in August there was little grazing to be had so we

also gave the cows alfalfa, silage and a little feedstuff.

We continue to move the heifers from one field to

another, to make the most of the grass. Although we

only use local roads and tracks four or five of us help

out to avoid problems with traffic or to prevent the

heifers escaping.

Recipe of the month: fresh cucumber drink

It has been a particularly good year for cucumbers in the allotment

and we have found the following recipe to make a refreshing drink.

Cucumbers in themselves do not have a lot of taste and thus each

person can chose the sort of flavor to add. For this same reason we

haven’t suggested a mounts of each ingredient, so each person can

experiment until finding the combination they prefer.

The cucumbers should be peeled and chopped and then liquidized.

Cream should be added to taste and then herbs and spices such as,

pepper, chili pepper, ginger, thyme, parsley, rosemary or other herbs

or spices separately or in different combinations.

We went to the Farmers’ Market in Bilbao every Saturday

and to a similar market in Balmaseda on the 7th of September.

In this marlet in Balmaseda a local culinary group known as the

“Cofradía de la Putxera de Balmaseda” made individual portions

of rice pudding use Vista Alegre milk.

We also went to the organic fairs in Algorta (14^th September) and

Mungia (28^th September) and a small local fair in the Mamariga part

of Santurtzi (8^th September).

Flower of the month.  Pepper. Capsicum annuum

This is an example of farm biodiversity, Capsicum peppers are native

to the tropical and subtropical areas of America where there is evi-

dence of their use as a food stuff as early as 7000BC. Peppers were

brought Europe in 1492 and are now widely cultivated. Over the

years farmers have developed many different varieties, hot, sweet,

for frying, for salads, for roasting….We usually plant at least two

different varieties on the farm, one for frying and one for roasting

(in the photo). Pepper plants are quite hardy and we generally have

no problems cultivating them in our allotment, although they can

suffer attacks from greenfly and the stems of young plants may be

nibbled by slugs and snails.