June means water chestnuts and this last year I tried something new. I used my old horse trough to hold the buckets with the soil, topping the trough up much less often than I need to with individual buckets.  I’m not sure whether it was that or that I used a course potting mix to blend with the soil I already had from the year before, but I got a higher proportion of nice, large chestnuts. Less peeling for more crunch.

By the way the other produce in the photo is from the garden as well- mandarins, tomatoes, limes, passionfruit and lemons. It happened to be on the bench so I lined it up together.

We have only just finished using the chestnuts from last year, they remained fresh and crisp in sealed containers in the crisper of the fridge for a whole year but this year we will be eating more of them. I have discovered they are also good in salads, adding sweetness and crunch.  Since my husband is one of the few men who prefer salad to vegetables, he will be very happy.