Harvest Time Begins Weather Permitting

I have been pretty useless updating the blog recently, my apologies for that. I have though been busy on the plot with plenty going on. 

What a crazy year so far with the weather. We've had late frosts, baking sunshine and temperatures in the thirties, torrential downpours and near gale force winds at times all in the space of a few days! The mid-month heatwave meant the UK had its fifth warmest July on record but we'd also had the wettest May as I understand it and June was simply all over the show! 

It has certainly kept me busy and meant some harvests are going incredibly well whilst others are struggling. 

I have a Parsnip that has gone to seed, honestly the first time I have ever seen that in August and the Sonesta Dwarf French Beans (yellow) have been a disappointment thus far with lots of misshapen beans and the slugs have had a real go at some of the plants. There is hope though with some nice looking beans coming through now. The Amethyst Dwarf French Beans (purple) have faired better and cropped more reliably but when cooked they turn green! The reason I grew them was for a bit of fun and difference on the dinner plate and they look exactly like any old run of the mill bean as soon as boiled. It's a lesson learnt and they have looked nice on the plot. 

I am getting a glut of Runner Beans at the moment and they have been a real success story this season. I have had to keep on top of the watering during the warmer days but they have loved all the unseasonal showers we have had (it has just started to rain as I type). 

The Chantenay Carrots are also doing well in their pots and the first few were harvested at the end of last week and went very nicely with some of the Runners and a chicken breast for my dinner. 

The Strawberries weren't brilliant this year, no doubt due to the constant weather changes here in June, but the Raspberries are fruiting like there is no tomorrow (despite being Autumn variety) and the Blackberry bush has delivered some lovely big fat berries and continues to do so - I will be out in the garden later to harvest a few more of each. One of the beauties of Raspberries and Blackberries is of course they are so easy to freeze and if you find yourself with more than you can eat and gift to others simply place a few on a tray, pop into the freezer and leave for two or three hours. Once frozen take them off the tray and bag up before returning to the freezer to use when required later in the year; freezing them on a tray first meaning you don't end up with a solid ball of berries that turn to mush when you defrost. 

In the Greenhouse all the Tomato plants are going well and I am eating some every day. The first of the Gigantomo was picked at the weekend, not a record breaker but a big old tomato all the same. The Gardeners Delight aren't cropping as well as in past years but still doing nicely whilst the Santonio (small red plum) are going strong and very nice with the best probably the Limoncito (small yellow plum) that are cropping strongly and very popular with me and family and friends! 

As for the garden the Agapanthus are doing their thing and look lovely, the Miscanthus Indian Summer looks great at the back of the bed behind the French Lavender (that has not enjoyed the varying weather) with the Cosmos Purity flowering well and looking healthy. I have already purchased some English Lavender to replace the French variety and those seedlings are being brought along in pots at the end of the garden and will be planted out in late summer. As for the French Lavender, I will probably try to take some cuttings in due course and then grow in pots next year allowing me to overwinter them under cover and move when bad weather is forecast to a sheltered spot, they certainly sulk in cold or wet weather. All the pots are going well, the Hot Lips Salvia especially so whilst the Climbing Rose (the name of which I have forgotten) on the west facing fence was covered in blooms again this year and simply a delight albeit a couple of weeks later than usual, that weather again. It has always been in bloom on my old Mums birthday (late May) but waited until June this year to put on it's display; after a fair bit of deadheading and a little trim a second flush of blooms are now opening in August.  

Cheers  🍺