SUMMER seems a long way off now – especially after this year’s weary and watery effort.

Autumn has arrived and ironically with it has come the better weather. It’s not exactly an Indian summer, but there have none-the-less been some warm end-of-season days.

The unexpected sunshine has helped eke out the last of the summer vegetables on The Journal allotment at the National Trust’s Gibside estate. But the French and runner beans have now exhausted themselves, the few remaining pods too fat and gnarled looking to pick.

The flowers have either snapped or are lying like matted carpets thanks to some ferocious summer winds.

About the only thing that seems to be holding its own are the weeds. Welcome to the autumn allotment!

It’s not all over. You may have reaped all you can of the summer fruit and vegetables, but autumn’s harvest is still to come into its own.

The butternut squash are growing well, and should be ready for picking by the end of the month. The sweet orangey flesh makes a sublime soup, is a welcome addition to stews and is especially good roasted and eaten with Sunday lunch or teamed with lettuce in a hot salad, as in this week's recipe.

They are fairly easy to grow, are troubled by few pests and if stored in a dry place will keep for months.

It’s awful to think of the frosty nights to come; it will be the end of any summer stragglers in the garden. But parsnips thrive in the cold weather. There is a good crop ready for digging in The Journal allotment – come the first chill of autumn.

Sue Adamson, Gibside’s community kitchen gardener, says: “Traditionally, harvesting starts after the first proper frosts, which is usually around mid-October. Frost actually improves the flavour of parsnips as it helps turn the starch into sugar, giving them that unique sweet taste.

“Parsnips are also best kept in the soil until you want to eat them as they tend to shrivel and lose weight very easily. Rather than harming the parsnips, the continual exposure to frosts will enhance them.”