An excess of veg, but too hot for seeds

Last week's heatwave was hotter than the previous (though less humid at least).  Thus I've been in harvest mode only, though even that has been almost too much work: a lot to pick!  Still picking lots of zucs, lettuce (not all have bolted yet in the heat), purple French beans, cabbage and new potatoes; and a few artichokes, kohlrabi and purple snap peas (I still plan to save seed from the peas).  The raspberries are just about done with;  and I managed to pick a tub of blackcurrants--unusually for me--to make a small batch of ice cream in the same way as the gooseberries.

I can see little cucumbers forming on my plants at home;  I also have a lot of tomatoes at the allotment, none red but maybe turning a little lighter green?  They are all really bushy in their containers and I haven't done anything to tame them;  since they are growing in composted horse manure they are extravagantly lush.  What's more, it's about time to harvest the allotment pak choi for a batch of kimchi.  Maybe I can do that next week, when school summer holiday starts.

I did have a moment of "what have I done" with the zucs;  I've given a few away, we're eating a fresh/marinated zuc salad every day--and I've dragged the dehydrator out to dry them, shredded.  These go well in stew/chili/etc in the winter.  I made a jar of refrigerator pickles;  I also sliced some thinly to use instead of pasta sheets in lasagna, salted first to draw out water (I defrosted some of last summer's tomatoes to make the sauce too:  really tasty).  And I've been sneaking the fresh shreds into burgers, meatballs, curry, everything. 

The heat/dry has rather put a hold on my seed sowing however.  I still need to start a few autumn/winter plants but doubt they will survive in this weather:  Chinese cabbages, spring cabbages, winter radishes and turnips.  Also the last sowings of beets and lettuce.  I just need it to cool down a little before I start these--I hope it's not too late in the season by the time it does.  Because we are so far north, we lose a lot of light by autumn--if cool weather veg are started too late they won't have enough light to carry on growing, even if the temps are still mild.