August Produce

Yes I know it's actually September, but only just! This mini aubergine is half the size of a standard aubergine. I have three fruits on two of my three plants - the other two are quite a lot smaller, so not exactly good value in terms of yield, but it's satisfying to have produced some actual fruit.

A Marmande tomato - with growths on its bottom. The flavour isn't much to write home about, but they're a good size.

I ate these for lunch today - not quite as sweet as I had been hoping for, but perhaps I have picked them a few days too early, we'll see with the next ones...

I have found a way of using the mouse melons, which everyone seems to like - pickling. I have made about three jars full, and there are lots more coming.

Meanwhile, we are getting plenty of raspberries, and the blackberries - well to be honest I'm considering putting them on my local Freegle site, I can't possibly use them all! Also still lots of courgettes, beans, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes. I have been watering my celeriacs liberally, and pulling off the outer leaves regularly, and the signs above ground are promising, quite a bit of visible root, but I'm not pinning my hopes too highly for what's underneath.

Ryton Gardens and Bee Gardens

Yesterday we visited Ryton Gardens for their Chilli Day and Exotic Crops Fair. While my son and husband took the chilli challenge and stocked up on hot sauces, I had a wander in the allotment garden, and was greatly inspired by the squash frame, above. You can actually walk underneath this squash tunnel, and there are beans growing up the other side. I am now trying to think up simple ways to replicate this on my allotment!

The lady who runs the allotment garden (and the bee garden) at Ryton came to our Annual Allotment BBQ last weekend to give us a talk on 'organic methods of pest control'. When she saw our bee garden (which is in its first year and looking a bit sparse) she promised us a box of divisions and seedlings from the bee garden at Ryton, and these I picked up and brought back yesterday. We will be extending the range of plants to include butterfly-friendly flowers, buddlieas, scabious etc. The numbers of peacocks on the buddlieas around our garden this year have been staggering. Now we are left with hundreds of pieces of wing all over the ground underneath!

 

The Bee Garden in its first summer

I have been busy making jam: blackcurrant, loganberry & blackberry, and plum. Also lots of blackberry sauce but I can't make any more jam until I get my hands on some more jam jars. Like most veg-growers we are having a glut of courgettes, and I have just attempted to make a courgette and chocolate cake, but unfortunately it's disgusting. Burnt on the outside and raw and soggy in the middle. I've never seen so many blackberries as I have this year: great big juicy ones too, even the wild ones.

Garlic Plaits

 I have followed the instructions in Gardener's World August edition, on how to make a garlic plait. I think I need more practice, but that's all the garlic I've got this year! I will have forgotten what to do by this time next year.

Meanwhile, in the greenhouse, the first of the Sungolds are just about ready to pick. We have had our first cucumber and there are LOTS more to come. I have flowers on my aubergines and chillis and even a couple of green fruit.

Things were getting rather parched down at the allotment, until Tuesday morning, when we had some very impressive thunderstorms and heavy rain. It's done the plot the power of good, and with the weather remaining warm the squashes are putting on several inches of rambling growth daily, as well as producing plenty of flowers and the first few fruit. Courgettes are coming thick and fast. On reflection I'm quite glad I didn't plant outdoor tomatoes, as the warm damp conditions are ideal for the spread of blight on tomatoes and potatoes, but for everything else it's great growing weather. 

Blooming Flowers

  

I have been picking flowers regularly for the last couple of weeks now and they are starting to come thick and fast. These are anemones and chrysanthemums. I have been really impressed with both of these, especially the chrysanths, they are so easy to grow and last for ages in a vase. I also have some extraordinary sweet peas which start off purple then gradually turn electric blue. I will post a picture soon.

Other flowers I have been picking are elderflowers, here being brewed up into cordial. These lemons are also home grown, there are still a couple left on the tree.

All the crops are starting to get going now that we have some fine warm weather, and I am hopeful that I might even get a harvest from the peppers and chillies which I had just about given up on not long ago. I have been up at the plot early in the mornings this weekend, trying to get everything done before a) it gets too hot and b) the tennis came on. What a result for Andy Murray! Finally!

My plot is looking really tidy at the moment, and apart from everything being a couple of weeks behind, it's all doing well now. I might even go and take some pictures later.... and pick some more flowers!

Blue Poppies and Mustard

I came home from a week away to find this beauty had produced its first flower. I've been waiting ages for this. Here's another one just coming out:

Below is a patch of mustard green manure, which was just about to start flowering, so the first job I had to tackle was to cut it down. I've left it on the surface to mulch down until my leeks are ready to go in. Believe it or not I did it all with a pair of secateurs, which may sound bonkers but you see I didn't have a strimmer with me and the shears were just too much like hard work. (I'd been up since 3.30am to catch the plane home)

There has been some progress at the plot, a few beans have come up but I've planted some more in pots as back up. Back home in the greenhouse however, everything looked more or less how it did before we went away, a bit disappointing. Chillies are still only an inch high, some of them. Still, there are always a few failures aren't there?

Hungry gap harvesting

This time of year is known as 'the hungry gap' - when your winter/spring crops have all been eaten and your summer ones are not yet ready. If you are very organised AND have plenty of space there are things which are ready at this time of year, such as spring cabbages, cauliflowers and early salads. This year things have been a bit different. I have waited so long for my spring veggies to be ready, it's now almost summer (in theory). Anyway, my caulis are now finally ready, and of course they're all going to be ready at the same time. I've sown lots more for next year but now I'm wondering whether there is a way to stagger them so I don't have this problem again. They are definitely worth growing as they are currently about £1.80 EACH in the shops!

Today I have also harvested some rhubarb for a crumble, and a good sized bag of purple sprouting brocolli - another 'hungry-gap' stalwart.  

I am beginning to get a harvest from my cutting patch now too. These are Camassia, Ranunculus and Tulip 'Spring Green'. On Friday I visited the Malvern Spring Gardening Show, where I spent a very pleasant couple of hours wandering around the floral marquee, getting floral inspiration.

In less than two weeks we are off to Barcelona for half term week, so as well as the usual last minute laundry, shopping and packing I will also be stressing out over seedlings not yet big enough to be planted out, last minute weeding, watering and greenhouse organisation. Usually at this time of year my tomatoes and peppers are all in their final pots, in their final positions in the greenhouse, and all my seedlings would have been planted out for the summer. But this year nothing is ready, and it's still very cold to be planting out tender crops, so I am having to ask my friend/neighbour to look after them all, which I feel is a lot to ask of someone, especially as she will be feeding the cat as well. I hope it won't prove too much trouble.

Slow Progress

           

This year I have decorated my cherry tree (above left) with a windmill and some sparkly wrapping paper ribbons, to try and keep the birds off. It seems to be working, all the blossom still looks pristine.

I have put up some trellis against the rain shelter, and planted some sweet peas at the bottom, so hopefully that will look pretty later in the summer.

I now have a phone which takes reasonable photos, and is also easy to upload the photos to the computer, so I have no excuses not to take regular pictures of progress at the allotment. Not that there has been very much progress, despite the sunny weather we are now enjoying, things are still going frustratingly slowly. Seedlings seem to be taking for ever to do anything. I sowed squash and sweetcorn seeds two weeks ago, and they are only just starting to appear. In fact I have had to re-sow the sweetcorn because it did nothing. This time I have pre-chitted, so hopefully it won't take too long. There are some tiny lettuce seedlings coming up at the plot, and some tiny carrots. I have had to re-sow beetroot because they didn't appear. 

However, at least my potatoes are starting to show, which is reassuring. The broad beans are starting to form flowers and the later row I sowed has also started to come up. Below is mustard green manure, which is growing where the leeks, squashes and sweetcorn will go next month. I'm a bit worried that the cauliflowers will still not be ready by the time these need to be planted out, they're so late. My spring cabbages are still very small but if the worst comes to the worst I'll just have to plant round them.