What’s in this issue?

As we tiptoe into autumn, it’s worth taking a few moments to reflect what a tricky year it’s been, particularly for our farmers and growers. Heatwaves seem to have rolled in on repeat, much like the waves of the ocean, and made growing of any scale, quite a challenge.

Although harvest is traditionally associated with the cereal harvest, it’s actually much broader than that, taking in soft fruit, salads, apples, root crops and more besides – and it links the biggest farmer to the smallest allotmenteer in the act of planting, growing and harvesting, something us humans have been doing, with varying success, for millennia. In this edition, chef Miranda Gore Browne looks at some of the traditions associated with harvest and has baked some delicious harvest-themed recipes, including whimsical spiky hedgehog loaves and a blackberry, apple and pear cake. And allotment gardener Lucy Hutchings looks at how to make the very most of this season and prepare for the coming year.

Finally, if your wellies have more holes in them than a particularly porous Swiss cheese, why not try your luck at our competition to win a rather stylish pair of Le Chameau boots, worth £250. Good luck!