armfuls of french and runnerbeans, carrots and a big bowl of tomatoes. She called me for the aubergines as the plants are prickly.
so for lunch we had onion, carrot, tomato, bean and potato [i harvested those] fritata - so just needed chickens! and for tea we have had bean, pea and sweetcorn curry [and chris and i had an aubergine and paneer curry too]
how fab!!
when I get sorted out with puttingthe back photos that are on flickr on here, i can show off the enormitude of our bean harvest. I am giving them away! must sort out blanching though.
today, for dinner we had potatoes, french and runner beans, sweetcorn and tomato and red onion slald - all from our veg plot, with plenty more where they come from. we did have bought flan - just need chickens and can make our own!
also harvesting first aubergines - very exciting. have harvestedall the onions and they are drying off. apples nearly ready, and pears a bit behind. some damsons there for me to eat, but a bit sharp to harvest for the family.
loads of peppers in greenhouse, though waiting for them to fully ripen, as not a big fan of green ones.
life is good!!
the french and runner beans have loved this wet summer we are having, and are cropping prolifically. yummy! my youngest DD very keen on the blauhilde purpleness.
Oh, and harvested very tasty first onions.
the greenhouse a forest of wonderful growth. aubergines, peppers and toms all looking good.
looks a lot of pears and apples are ripening too.
I like harvest.
And what a rainy while it has been too. The sweetcorn not looking too happy as a bit waterlogged.
beans and peas done really well. we have been harvesting loads of broad beans and strawberries. the french and runner beans are flowering. Soon we will harvest the first potatoes - lovely.
Florence fennel is bulbing up wonderfully, carrot tops looking healthy.
The greenhouse is luxurient too, with flowers on peppers and aubergines, and toms ripening.
Pears and plums and cherries ripening, and loads of grapes on the vine. Our weird red leaved ?wild plum type trees are full of sharp but edible fruit. lots of chutneys to make!
Still sad for the sweetcorn though.
well, harvesting loads of strawberries, mangetout and broad beans - goody! peas get eaten by my 2 little birds!!
lovely bushy potato plants, but as late in, haven’t looked for a crop yet. The toms are happy in their final pots and being tied in as they grow. the odd flower. peppers and aubergines all looking healthy. I think I’ll pot the aubergines into a bigger pot.
Sweetcorn went out too late, and don’t seem to be taking off. the weather has been unsettled, so I won’t loose hope. the popcorn ones have germinated, and although late I’ll give thema try!
finally got all the squashes in. both daughters helped - surprised by the prickliness of the plants. fingers crossed for a good crop, even though late.
how wonderful is that! Unfortunately DD2 also ate several more greener ones. We have changed the envir0mesh to proper fruit netting raised up to give little fingers more trouble! Also had some more podded peas and mangetout - eaten raw in the garden.
I am pleased to announce most of the sweetcorn are in. I should have grown more - might try and pop in a few late ones! Some of the cucurbits also in, and the onions well weeded.
Chris potted up the last toms and they are now in final position so ready to romp! We also sprayed with organic stuff the buildup of blackfly on the cherries, and assorted aphids on the apples.
The roses round the veg bed are looking nice as well, and the elderberry in full flower.
In the children’s plot, noticed DD1’s round carrots are also up. we don’t seem to have a problem with carrot fly - famous last words!
but… we did harvest the first peas today, strawberries are getting temptingly red [and are covered up!] there are pods on the broad beans too.
harvested a few more asparagus spears. potatoes are very leafy. cucrbits going out tomorrow.
propagator can be dismantled, as 100% melon germination, growing on a bit before going out. Also have the spare beans for the canes, and further spares can be sisters for sweetcorn and cucurbits
lovely sunny weather isn’t it.
It doesn’t take long to get behind does it!
this rainy weather has been fantastic for weeds, we have a veritable jungle coming up. Some determined weeding ahead I think!
Veg patch
Also coming up are the potatoes, planted under cardboard, which is good. I feel sad that they aren’t all nice and earthed up, but hopefully this will work, and we will put grass clippings on top as well.
The brocolli still don’t look that happy through cardboard, so won’t prob do that to the caulis. They are one of the behind items, as should have been planted out ages ago, so worried that they wont make a head. oh well.
Onions looking good - have kept on top of the weeding there, and we have picked the last of the asparagus. we will need to save seeds or buy crowns for a new bed next year as these have gone past sell by.
however, must turn the huge nettle bed into nettle tea, and then get it ready for the sweetcorn and courgettes and other cucurbits that are desperate to go out. Also in the wings are some leeks and spring onions.
Fruit Bed
well, the strawberries a tempting size now though still green. DD2 picked one, but pronounced it ‘not tasty’. hopefully she will leave the rest alone until red! We have fruitlets on the minarette trees.
The broad beans have flowered well. Though the imperial longpod has far less flowers on it than the sutton. The peas are doing well, and I got the runner beans in the ground today. Unfortunately some pest has had a go at a few of them, so popped some seeds in the gaps. wanted to get the french beans out too, but they will wait till tomorrow.
The squashed florence fennel seems to have mostly recovered, and the carrots are looking healthy. pulling most of the radishes now.
lots of weeding to do!
Under Cover
well, most things are in the right size pot, so that’s a bit of a relief! SOme of the toms don’t look so healty though - not sure why. better find a book to diagnose. the aubergines and peppers looking good. About to clear the final contents of conservatory into greenhouse and dismantle the propagator for this year. just waiting the melon to germinate.
So there you go. Shame I have very few days to do this in. frantic indeed!
well, it is only radishes, but it’s the first harvest of sown this year veg [we still have some broccoli and leeks from last year]. They are only grown as a line marker for other seeds - in this case carrots, as the girls, particularly BB walk over bare earth and emergent seedlings.
Under cover
today I potted up most of the cucurbits and about half of the toms. most of those left won’t get potted up - they haven’t made the final cut. I’ll take them to colleagues at work, and if anyone thinks they may survive the journey to legoland I’ll be happy to take them. peppers need potting up soon too, but the aubergines that survived Chris’s neglect don’t yet.
Chris worked hard to finish clearing out the greenhouse, and is going to revamp the staging in time to empty our conservatory before we need to semi dismantle it to fi it.
Fruit bed
still a slight misnomer! this year it still has strawbs and minarette fruits, but also the legumes. The broad beans are doing well. No flowers yet, even though the ones in the fields on the way to work are in full flower. I guess the farmers were more organised than me - it being their livelihood! Something’s nibbling the peas though. not too dreadfully, will keep an eye on them. doesn’t look classical slug though. I also popped in some florence fennel today. Back to fruit, I think I might espalier a bit the minarettes - well, the bits that I should have pruned already! We have lost 3 of the original 8 - 1 never grew, 2 died last summer. Anyway, will maybe get some more, but some side branching like we did for an archway in Leeds sounds a good plan. I did some weeding of strawbs as well.
The girls plot.
they helped me weed a little bit, and the onions are sprouting. of all the sunflowers, only 3 have made it to planting - which is very disappointing! We gave everything a good water though. They also did a bit of encouraging with the other jobs.
We had a look at our previous sowings, and a few broad beans have germinated, and we have a very thick row of radish seedlings - hopefully marking some carrot ones to follow! We also harvested loads of early sprouting brocolli - yum.
we reconvened to sow peppers, tomatoes and sunflowers. Watered in very well!!
