Peak Strawberry time

Yesterday I picked about 8 pounds of strawberries. On the whole they are good - well swollen because of the amount of rain that we've had - but a larger than normal proportion have been attacked by mould (not surprising) or, of course, slugs. So I've been making jam and putting a lot in the freezer. By cutting them up and freezing them spread out on a tray, then putting them in bags, they are ideal for use later - not fresh of course but for cooking, where they are a real taste  of summer.
I'm also picking lettuce (my second sowing is now coming up) beetroot (ditto) carrots and small broad beans. We eat them mange tout, rather than podding them, when they're small. 7 or 8 minutes in the pot - delicious! Next week there should also be peas and courgettes. I love this time of year!
I planted some sweetcorn seedlings a couple of weeks ago, but lost about three quarters to something - don't know what. It didn't look like slug damage, so could have been birds or more likely mice.In most cases the plants had not only been nibbled off at the base, but the seeds had been dug up and eaten. Anyway, I bought some more and planted them out, and so far they're OK. I have put mouse traps down and slug pellets and made sure that they are covered by mesh - can't do much more!

At the moment, the plot is just about full. There's a little space for leeks, but I have 10 purple sprouting broccoli to plant out, and there's just no room. So for the time being, they are in 5" pots and will be planted out when the broad beans have finished.

No sun - no strawberries

I have lots of strawberries coming on, but we need more sun to finish ripening them. Last year, I started picking them on 2 June. This morning - 10 days later than last year - I picked my first three. Last year we had 2mm of rain in the whole of June. So far this June we have had more than 100mm. So the strawberries are swelling - and don't the slugs love them! - but not ripening. Hey ho. Gardeners and farmers are never happy with the weather.
I planted some sweetcorn seedlings last week, but they are being dug up by the birds. Note to self : this plot will have to be netted. Otherwise, things are coming on OK. I will be able to pick broad beans and beetroot soon, also carrots and spring onions, and we have had several lettuces, so I have planted more seeds. Runner and French beans are climbing up their poles; courgettes and peas are coming on quite quickly now. Broccoli plants have settled in nicely after being planted out, and onions, shallots and garlic are growing strongly. Leeks are very slow - I shall probably have to buy some plants if they don't hurry up. But everything needs some sun!

Coming on nicely

 I have just planted out my runner beans (pictured), French beans and courgettes. Hopefully the risk of frost has passed, and the plants - now they have their feet in open ground - should romp away. I have of course taken the precaution of putting slug pellets down, since all of the seedlings are protected by netting cages and the birds cannot get in at them. In the background are my pea seedlings - now coming on strongly - which I have further protected from pea moth (they cause the caterpillars which can destroy an entire pea crop) with a very fine mesh, as the moths are small enough to get through the bird mesh.

This is my strawberry plot. There are lots of flowers, so if it doesn't rain (and we haven't had a lot recently, nor is much forecast) I will have to water them. Again, I have put slug pellets down, plus some blood, fish and bone fertiliser, and I have put chippings under each plant to hold the strawberries clear of the ground. I put straw round them a couple of years ago, and it was effective, but I had a lawn of barley as well, from the odd seeds caught up in the straw.
My broad beans are also in full flower. I have also protected these with a fine mesh, which will hopefully deter the blackfly.
So things are coming on as hoped. I should be picking lettuce next week, and beetroot, spring onions and carrots shortly afterwards. Later on there are broccoli, onions, shallots, garlic and potatoes to look forward to.

OK so far!

So far, things are not going too badly this year on the plot. The photo shows broad beans (which will soon be starting to flower) and - in front - kalettes, which will not be ready until the autumn. I also have garlic, onions and shallots coming up, and my beetroot, lettuce, carrots, leeks, peas and parsnips are doing quite well. My potatoes have now shown above the soil - no more frost please - and the strawberries are in flower. At home, I have runner beans, French beans and courgettes starting, to plant out later. The one thing that I am not happy about is a mole! You can see some of its hillocks in the foreground, and it is digging up much of the plot! I would really rather not kill it, so how do I get rid of it? Mothballs down the hole are said to make them leave - they don't like the smell of naphthalene - but I need it to go far away, and anyway, where can you now get mothballs? All ideas welcome!
On another note, we now have some more bees on the plots. The last hive did not survive winter, so let's hope these do better, and pollinate all our crops!

Springing into action!

At last it seems as if spring is here. We are promised warmer weather, and the frosts of the last few nights seem to have finished. So I've planted out some pea seedlings that I grew at home, but for now they are protected by a green mesh tunnel. This means that I have put down slug pellets - a necessity - and, if we do have more frost, should help them to survive.
I have also planted out potatoes, and hopefully by the time they show above ground there will be no more frost. Also some pea, carrot, leek and beetroot seeds, and some broad bean plants, which should be completely hardy. Next week I will plant out some kalette plants (open type of sprouts with a distinctive flavour) which should also be hardy, so today I have dug in some lime where they are to go, which will hopefully stop them getting clubroot. Also in the near future I will plant some French bean, runner bean and courgette  seeds, protected of course since none can go out until the weather warms up a lot. 

Is this Winter?

Purple sprouting broccoli

This time last year we had the 'Beast from the East', with temperatures here down to -14°C. This year could not be more different - temperatures up to 20°C with a clear blue sky. Things are coming on very early as a result. Our daffodils are in bloom a month early. Mind you, we are not over winter yet, so planting tender crops must wait! I fully expect snow in March, or at least more frosts.
The picture shows my purple sprouting broccoli, which is doing well. I picked some this morning, together with the first rhubarb of the year. I had put my wheelbarrow upside down over this to protect it from the worst of the weather, and it looks good. Two things to look forward to this evening!
I  have also just planted spring shallots and onion sets. The winter onion sets still look good, but of course when you plant them you cannot say how the winter will be, and how many will survive. So now I have lots of onions!
I've also planted some carrot  and leek seeds, and broad beans and kalettes at home. I'd never heard of kalettes until recently, but they are like flowering sprouts, ie instead of making sprouts with tight buds, they make much more open buds. They taste like sweet, nutty, sprouts - or crispy seaweed if roasted. Delicious.
Also starting early are strawberries, so I've been tidying these up. Next it will be feeding with blood, fish and bone, then mulching with a layer of chippings to keep the fruit away from the slugs.

January

This is what January means to me - cold, wet, dark, little happening. At least we are past the shortest day, although the dull weather means that it is still dark very early in the afternoon.

A time for manuring, adding compost and digging. Much of this is done now, and practically all the vegetables have been harvested. I dug up the last of the leeks and parsnips last week. The only thing left is purple sprouting broccoli, which should start to come on next month.

Because I took out most things, I can now finish the tidying up before the growing season starts. Firstly there is weeding (why do they never stop growing, even in the depths of winter?) then manuring and finishing off the digging. There are a few garlic cloves growing (they always benefit from a nice cold spell) plus some winter onion sets, but that's it. No seeds being planted until at least next month.
So I'll leave it there, and resume in the spring.