This weekend I harvested a whole bucket of new potatoes, and my next harvest is coming along well.

I planted some brassicas and a few rows of sunflower and zinnia plants for the birds and insects to enjoy.

In late summer I love watching the little green wax eyes as they spot the sunflowers bursting into seed.

Also, it’s so nice to look out the kitchen window and see sunflowers peeking over the wall between my patio and vegetable garden.

My beetroot the seed is up, onion all stand proud, and I will have some lovely, sweet ones leek ready for the pot at the end of the week.

I have a cabbage ready for a big coleslaw, along with coriander, parsley and dill.

I have been waiting for a repair to be done on the lid of my tomato house, and with that now done I was able to plant my tomato harvest over the weekend.

The sage has come alive, which means I’ll be using some of my old potatoes and making potato gnocchi in a burnt butter and sage sauce.

Topped with some grated Parmesan cheese, it’s delicious (I’ve shared the recipe below).

I plant mine maize in a different area this year, along the side of the house where I have my persimmon, plum and Monty apple tree planted in the garden opposite.

This area gets a lot of sun in the summer, so the corn should thrive.

The peas are making their way up the makeshift frame and behind them I noticed this morning that the runner beans have poked their heads up and want some of that sun too.

My outdoor dining table is covered with bread trays full of pots of tomatoes to give away to friends, Chilipeppers ready for planting, and more cilantro, as well as more sunflowers and zinnias to be planted.

But by far my proudest achievement over the weekend is something I’ve had on my to-do list for at least a year, and that was building a flatpack rack for my wellies and garden tools – you know the ones that always stay by the back door or on the window ledge.

I can’t stop walking out and admiring it!

Good luck with your gardening!

Potato gnocchi

Ingredients

Method

Steam or boil the potatoes until cooked through and soft.

Let them stand and dry a bit before putting them through a potato masher.

Make a well in the center and add flour and spices.

Work the potatoes, egg and flour together gently into a dough.

When the dough is firm and pliable, roll it out into long even tubes.

Cut the gnocchi into small pillows ready for blanching. I like to put a little soft fork impression on each one.

Cook the gnocchi in small batches in rolling, boiling salted water until the gnocchi floats to the top.

Cool the cooked gnocchi on oiled sheets before heating through your favorite pasta sauce.

Serving options

My favorite way to serve is to quickly brown the bottoms in brown butter and sage leaves, grate some parmesan and serve immediately.

Or you can make a quick homemade sauce by crushing a few cloves of garlic in some warmed olive oil.

Sweat quickly, add a can of tomatoes and about a teaspoon of brown sugar.

Cook for about five minutes, season, add the gnocchi and stir gently until heated through.

Grate and add some basil leaves.

Serve immediately in bowls and sprinkle with some parmesan.