Catch up

What with a couple of summer weddings, a few days holiday and jetting off to Romania with work for a week (where I am now) we've only had fleeting trips to the plot to pick up dinner and do some watering and quick tending/weeding. But here is a quick progress report on how we're fairing...

This delicious lot (almost a kilo) was promptly made into jam and the remaining 2nd harvest (not quite so much) topped a gorgeous cheesecake. Not as prolific this year but possibly due to my pruning the bushes last year.The winter squashes and pumpkins have settled in and despite a couple of casualties (darn ants farming blackfly!!) they're starting to produce baby fruits. This pic was taken about 10 days ago and since the hot weather has kicked in they've become positively triffid-like in their bid to take over the plots.

The borlottis are coming along nicely and the purple climbing french beans have finally started to flower and produce mini-beans (about time too!!)
We've been just about self-sufficient in veg for about a month and half now (bar the odd punnet of tomatoes and bulb of fennel as ours is not ready yet). It makes such a pretty arrangement, all freshly picked and washed that it almost seems a shame to eat it. Pink and green definitely goes together.

The peas are now finished but gave us a few good meals (note to self: must sow much more next year) and the poor apple tree is visibly sagging with the weight of the ripening apples.

I picked the last of the mixed salad, sowed back at the end of May, but unfortunately the subsequent sowing hasn't appeared. Luckily the land cress, rocket and pak choi are just about ready. The tomatoes are thriving and by looks of the next couple of photos we're in for a bumper crop.
Most of the tomato plants have lost their labels so I'll have to wait until the fruit have ripened to find out which variety they are but I reckon I can guess that the ones above are the San Marzano plum just by the funny shape.

And finally on the purely decorative front the sweet peas at home in pots have been producing regular small posies to scent the house. On the plot the blue echium (bit of an oxymoron as the flowers were white, pink, purple...) has been flowering for the last 2 months and the 'Love-in-a-mist' has started to bloom in the last week or so...lovely! Definitely got the thumbs up from the bees.

Being away with work means I won't be able to get to the plot for another 10 days so I look forward to seeing huge leaps in growth.

Rain stopped play...

..but still managed to have a very productive bank holiday weekend. We went up to the plot on Friday night after work but sod's law the heavens opened just as we were getting the tools out of the shed.....!

However Saturday dawned fine and sunny so we managd a full day's pottering and got the following done (long boring list I'm afraid).

• planted the reamining broad bean plants
• dug and weeeded another small bed
• sowed 3 types of carrots - Giant Red, Large ????, Large 1/2 Long into the small bed
• sowed 2 types of beetroot - White and Bolthardy in to the small bed
• MJC started digging another large bed and put woodchips on the paths - very professional looking!!
• planted the horseradish next to the artichokes
• weeded what was the strawberry bed and rescued another 3 plants from the clutches of the couch grass
• cleared around the artichokes and one of the blackcurrant bushes
• mulched the new red gooseberry plant and the cleared blackcurrant bushes
• installed the 'Greencone'

On Sunday it was too wet to do any digging so instead I did some sowing at home and managed to finally sow some other beans - 12 borlotti (Lingua di Fuoco), 12 purple climbing french (name?) and once I find the rest of my supply of toilet rolls, 12 yellow dwarf french. Also sowed 18 sweetcorn (Golden Nugget) and most of the winter squash varieties - 3 each of Thelma Saunders Sweet Potato Squash, Buttercup XXX, XXX Acorn Squash but still got Baby Bear Pumpkin to do.

Monday we went up for a visit with our next door neighbours to show them our vegetable 'kingdom' but we didn't really have time for any serious digging.

Just wish I had the rest of the week off as the weather's supposed to be lovely....sigh!

After School Allotment

Left the office a wee bit earlier than usual because the sun was shining and I wanted to spend some quality weeding time as we're away all this weekend.

And it was lovely! (yes even weeding, sad aren't I) Such a de-stress from the banalities of work. Got rid of another patch of docks and couch grass. I should be able to plant some of the jerusalem artichokes out one night next week.

Decided to head home about 7pm as the light was fading fast but with the clocks going forward this weekend I'll be able to stay there even later.