I AM one of those people who doesn't really like to bother with breakfast first thing in the morning.

My mother used to call me a camel, as I could carry on happily without refuelling for quite some time. However, I know that you are supposed to eat quite heartily early in the day to raise the energy levels and get the glucose flowing to the brain.

I normally start my working day by taking a stroll (we call it a stomp) around the 30-acre site, checking on the garden's progress and outlining jobs for the coming day. During summer and early autumn, these stomps can turn into lengthy grazing sessions.

On our usual tour we start with a lovely discovery apple, plucked from the tree's crown. Now, we do try and take the ones with wasp holes or capsid scabs on them. The taste isn't altered and there are no creepy crawlies within the flesh itself, but they would be unsellable and unsightly left on the tree. To make sure that the apple is ready for eating cup your hand around it and gently twist. If it stays on the tree, try again on another apple.

Next we move on to the tyre gardens, where, if we are lucky, we might find a few tender young asparagus shoots. These go well with the crisp mangetout peas. Both crops need regular picking over in order to keep on producing, so we are actually tending to their needs in sampling them.

This is followed by the soft fruit. Depending on the time of year this ranges from blackcurrants, red and white currants, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries (wild and cultivated) and cape gooseberries (very good at the moment). There are some particularly interesting tomatoes growing in the small domed greenhouse. The little yellow pear-shaped ildi tomatoes are just right for nibbling at. The larger Black Russian (yes, it's a black tomato), however, could sustain a family for a week.

There are smaller delicacies to keep us occupied until we reach the orchard. Fennel seeds clear the nasal passages and freshen the mouth. The seedpods from the mallow have a nutty taste. They used to be eaten quite regularly, and were known as 'cheeses'.

The acerbic orange berries of the buckthorn certainly wake you up with their citric zing. There is something challenging about them. They sting your salivary glands, but, once you get over the shock, you just have to have another one. In the eastern block countries they make a jelly out of it to keep them through the winters. It has the highest vitamin C content of any fruit.

Towards the end of our ramble, we come to the plum trees. On our forage, there are basically three types of plum. The Victoria has put on a stunning display of large, mottled, maroon fruit. The Marjories, although affected by leaf curl, are festooned in shiny ink-blue plums. However, we usually shun these in favour of the innocuous little greeny-yellow gages. These trees never get raided because they look unappetising and unripe, but just pop one into your mouth and you will be treated to a honey-sweet, soft, warm and silky experience (I am not telling you where the tree is located!).

Sadly, the daily foraging sessions are not reaping quite such abundant rewards at the moment. Summer's bounty has dramatically turned into autumn's mere sustenance, and where once the raised vegetable borders overflowed with verdant morsels, there now remain twiggy skeletons on bare soil. The earth's cycle of production has definitely just cranked another quarter turn.

THINGS TO DO

Buy indoor hyacinths IF you want to have hyacinths flowering for Christmas, then now is the time to buy the bulbs. They can be grown either in the traditional glass and water method, or planted in a decorative tub filled with soil. I prefer the latter, as the bulbs transfer better into the garden once they have finished flowering.

Water cyclamen YOU should have ceased watering your cyclamen earlier in the year. Now is the time to start again. They should reward you with renewed growth and a display of flowers.

Leave the squashes PUMPKINS, gourds and squashes should be left outside on their plant remains. This encourages better skin colour and mature flesh. Once the bad frosts start, they can be harvested and stored somewhere cool and dry.

READERS QUESTIONS

MR George Shields writes from Darlington asking what can be done to control brown rot on apple trees. BROWN rot is caused by the fungus Sclerotina fructigena, which gains entry through holes made by insects, birds or cracks caused by irregular watering. It presents as a soft brown areas with creamy white pustules. Infected fruit either falls or becomes mummified on the tree. It has been particularly bad this year, due mainly to the prolonged warm weather conditions.

The best control is to eradicate any possible causes of injury to the fruit. Try and scare birds away, watch out for aphids and capsids. Use an insecticide spray, if necessary. Wrap grease bands around the trunk so that the codling moth cannot climb up to the fruit. Make sure that the tree receives regular watering during dry periods, even in winter. Give the trees' immune system a boost by feeding it early next spring. Remove infected fruit as soon as it appears. Prune the tree to open up the airflow. Pick up and burn all the leaves that fall from the tree this year.

Listen to Radio Cleveland 95FM on Sunday mornings to hear more of Brigid's gardening hints and tips. Contact Brigid at brigidpress67.freeserve.co.uk or write to her at Nature's World, Ladgate Lane, Acklam Middlesbrough TS5 7YN.

Published: 05/10/2002