Last week the weather was just what you don't want when there is almost ripe Fruit hanging on the trees and onions are being 'dried' outdoors. It was wet and windy. Plot visits have more or less been confined to a quick harvest and watering in the greenhouse. During the week, Martyn did manage to strim the grass paths and I started a bit of tidying but any activity was interspersed with coffee breaks in the shed avoiding the showers.
Sunday we managed a full afternoon, I tidied the strawberry beds and Martyn lifted potatoes and did some tidying and of course we both harvested.
Sunday we managed a full afternoon, I tidied the strawberry beds and Martyn lifted potatoes and did some tidying and of course we both harvested.
This year our overwintered onions have provided us with a crop up until the summer ones being lifted. The ones above are Radar.
| 15 August |
The cabbage in the collection above weighed in at 2.7 kg (just a smidgeon under 6lb). It was another of the so called small cabbages. I prepared it and filled a large freezer bag to be kept in the fridge to use throughout the week. It keeps quite well this way.
We now have a steady supply of tomatoes from the Garden greenhouse and from outside on the plot. Incredibly, those planted outdoors are ripening sooner than those in the plot greenhouse. So far we have harvested Sungold and Gardeners' Delight. The pace of ripening is steady, just enough to provide us with fresh fruits for lunch.
We are still cropping watercress from our garden pond but it looks as though this will soon be ready to be cut back.
We are picking peaches and nectarines from the trees in the garden greenhouse and they are chin drippingly juicy.
We also have figs ripening in the garden. Just enough to add to our fruit salads.
I'm still picking peas, blackberries and blueberries on each visit to the plot.
| 17 August |
Martyn dug more potatoes - this time the variety is Vivaldi and Nadine. Again there was no pest although one potato did have the possible sign of blight. This may have been something else as it is strange that we haven't noticed a problem with the foliage, other than there being wilting due to a lack of rain. Also only one potato was affected. We have now sampled Casablanca, Orla, Amour and Vivaldi and all have produced very tasty tubers. Despite the lack of rain or any artificial watering, Vivaldi has produced some good sized potatoes.
We haven't grown summer squash before so the Yellow Scallop below is our first ever summer squash harvest,
We are being kept busy picking and preparing climbing French and runner beans. All our varieties are now cropping. So far this is the only crop that is giving us anything that could be called a glut. The courgettes seem surprisingly shy to produce this year.
I guess you could say that we have a glut of sweet peas but it's a glut that I can happily cope with.| 19 August |
The greengages are ripe and deliciously sweet in spite of the fact that they are not the prettiest looking fruit. All the fruit within reach from our two trees has been picked now.
We are also still picking Victoria plums and still the wasps have kept away. Coincidence or are the waspinators working. At the moment they have been weather battered and so have been given a makeover. This time to strengthen them I have used a double layer of paper bags.
We are picking apples to eat fresh from the plot and the garden. The ones below are the variety that we think is Discovery.
The ones below is Peasgood Nonsuch picked from the garden. They were cooked and mixed with some blackberries.
We had been waiting to pick a fruit from one of our small apple trees. This has been the first year that Baya Marisa, or to give it, it's more easily remembered name Tickled Pink, has produced fruit. The flesh of the fruit is red almost to the core as can be seen in the photo below.
I expected a sweet tasting apple but we found it to have a sharp, tart flavour.The potatoes below are Nadine.
| 20 August |
Martyn has produced a video about our Vivaldi harvest. The video is just over 8 minutes long.
