Turks Turban are a winter squash, so leave them til the foliage gets manky, then harvest with a long stem and leave outdoors under shelter to cure. Then they should last months. Cook like any other winter squash e.g. butternut. Some people don't rate them, but we enjoy them roast and all

I wait til the foliage starts to wither (late Sept?), then cut stems to about 1 ft above ground. Then cover with an insulating layer of straw so they are diggable even in frost, leaving the chopped off stalks poking out so you can see where to dig. November is traditional for us starting to harvest....

Did they come good beeman?

LOL@tigger Thanks so much for those suggestions - I've bottled them for later use in pies/crumbles/puds/sauces as suggested, except for a few which I tried drying but to be honest after three days when they still hadn't dried out gave up and shoved them in a jar with vodka and sugar - something good...

I mulch my whole plot heavily with whatever is to hand - spent hops, leaves, comfrey, straw, hay, grass clippings, kitchen veg waste, compost etc. Fresh lawn mowings shouldn't go on too thick as said previously, as they will heat up! They are best spread out and dried a bit before layering in your m...

Why thank you oldherbaceous, you're very kind
c'mon then, let's see your leaf mould heap

Suspect they are identical Geoff - sadly my family don't like jam. In desperation, bottled this lot as a holding manoevre

Hey garlicguy feel free to disagree, I only garden the way I do because it's the best way I've found SO FAR ... there's always more to learn and modify, that's one of the great things about chatting here. Mwah I did end up shredding the comfrey leaves by hand - twisting off lumps about 2 inches long...

Yes - and other plants too. These are leeks freshly mulched with old tree leaves (front), shredded herbaceous border (middle) and fresh comfrey leaves (back). Only thing to watch out for with fresh leaves is not to layer too thick as they may form an impermeable layer, I tend to layer with other mul...

Or this? Do they taste nice?

The tree on our plot shed its load yesterday, so we furtled its crop this morning. All in great condition - but what can I do with them? We don't like jam - have a dehydrator and plenty of jars. Any advice please?

Hi Belinda, I get four or five from my ten plants - starting as soon as the plants are away and flourishing, with the last cut in early September so as to give them a good uninterrupted leaf-ing before they die down. A sickle does the job nicely - swish, just above ground level, and they're harveste...

I hope so sue, am growing these for the first time this year too and planted late. Mine are at the same stage as yours sound to be. As long as we get a few weeks with some sunshine, I still have hope so I'm leaving them to get on with it until the vines die back!

I make passata out of most of my toms. Any with splits, lumps, holes, BER and cracks get processed and put in the pot, just cut off the little bits you're not using. As long as there's no obvious mould or rot on the crack which would taint the taste, and you've got rid of any creepy crawlies (they c...

I'll take a leaf out of your book johnboy - I mulch partly to make sure no weeds sprout between the comfrey plants when they are re-sprouting (straw and spent hops), but will save the most nutritionally 'heavy' (pony poo) for after the last autumn cut this year I really appreciate your advice, can t...