Strawberry time

 I went up to the plot today to pick some strawberries - about a kilo today, but I've been picking 1.5 - 2 kilos every day recently, more when there has been less rain and more sun, ie not many as we have had very heavy showers just about every day. However, there have been plenty for us, and relatives/friends, plus some that I have stewed (only for 3 or 4 minutes) with some sugar - not enough to set the strawberries as jam, but enough to give a lovely rich strawberry syrup with big pieces in, just right for filling cakes etc, and of course it freezes, so we will be having steamed sponge puddings etc in the winter.

The strawberries are of course netted, but the low nets are quite inconvenient, so by next year I plan to put up a taller enclosure that will cover them all, and that I can walk around in. As well as strawberries, I also picked some small broad beans, which we eat 'mange tout', ie pods and all, and peas, carrots and beetroot. The brassicas are also doing well under their tent, and we had a lovely pointed cabbage yesterday, with more broccoli to come and any amount of lettuces.
A few weeks ago, an allotmenteer installed a beehive, after consultation with the plotholders, some of whom were opposed on the grounds that they might get stung. This now has its own colony of bees, but the weather has been so poor that they are being fed with a sugar solution. I have always been interested in beekeeping, which undoubtedly brings great benefits to any gardener, but I was very surprised a few days ago on my birthday to be given a hive, suit/gloves etc and two books on the subject. So all I need now is a swarm, but even this has been promised for September, which will give me time to read the books and go on 'hive days'. I shall not be keeping the bees up at the allotment, if I can find a spot in our garden, unless our neighbours object (very unlikely), but watch this space!

All done - for now

The brassica 'tent' is now repaired, and everything in it has come on well. In fact today I picked my first broccoli - looks smashing, no damage from slugs etc. Also some lettuces, beetroot and carrots. And the weather has at last been good enough to plant out the remainder of my plants - sweetcorn, courgettes, butternut squash and some cabbage seedlings that I had been bringing on in pots. Some of the strawberries are turning red, so they will be ready in a few days (although the weather for the next week looks distinctly 'iffy'). Unfortunately, the straw that I put down must have had a lot of barley seeds in it, as my strawberry patch now resembles an unmown lawn! I have also augmented my French beans with some seedlings that I bought, as the ones I planted out a few weeks ago have been heavily attacked by slugs. I have put down some slug pellets - not really the thing to do as the plot is not covered, but it's them or us!
So all-in-all, things are more or less up to date, but of course everything will need weeding, fertilising, watering (maybe) etc .... a never-ending task!

This is summer?

The last few days have been very wet, very cold, and with a strong northerly wind - not like summer at all!
The picture on the left shows part of my plot, which is flooded. This is not surprising, as the whole site is on clay. Even with deep digging, there is an impermeable layer just under the surface, and even if we get no more rain (unlikely) it will take a week or more to soak in/evaporate.At least I won't have to water in the near future!


The picture on the right shows my fine-meshed,
anti-butterfly 'tent', which has been partly demolished by the wind. This will have to be repaired, but I will wait until the wind reduces. However, it is still butterfly-proof, so all my brassicas look OK.
Of course, what we could do with now is a period of warm, dry weather, to ripen the strawberries, which are coming on well. I wonder ....
Still to plant out (it's been far too cold this week) are courgettes, sweetcorn and butternut squash. Maybe next week?