picked this week

probably the largest cauliflower we've ever grown, certainly the largest beetroot and an eaten-away cabbage



a BIG bag of broad beans



peas, french beans, the first 2 runner beans, more courgettes, first cucumber, a much nicer cabbage



mangetout peas which never make it this far


lettuce and rocket




blackberries and alpine strawberries

waiting at the allotment

we've so much produce looking nearly, but not quite, ready....... beetroot fattening up.......






tomatoes showing the first glimmer of orange
..........




and









blackberries showing the first glimpse of purpley black








and cucumbers just waiting to fill.......

picked this week

well, actually the stuff picked last Friday from the allotment
Cabbage, broad beans, courgettes (more sensible shapes than the ones at home), carrots



radish, peas and lettuce

I wonder at times how hard it would be to grow all our veg but then realise we'd be eating broad beans and courgettes constantly!

picked on Monday

Not going to wait for a full week's post - went down the allotment on Monday and picked all these!
lots of broad beans, a few peas, radishes and french beans
the first allotment courgette
a cabbage
and
the best carrots we've EVER grown!!

back home and remembered to check the cold frame for courgettes
Should have done it sooner!

fruit - this year's and last years

Two of the home trees and the allotment pear are heavy with fruit, so I've been thinning it out a bit. The only allotment apple has cramped small fruit, so I've taken some off that as well. Not necessary to do anything to the plum tree as there's only 3 plums!
Going to try and do something useful with it all though not sure what.

Meanwhile we've reached the very end of last year's apples. There were half a dozen or so, very soft wrinkly apples left - no good for eating, too small to peel, so sliced and semi-dried to add to breakfast.
These were our apples from the large pippin tree but we had lots from elsewhere in Autumn.

picked this week

a nice dry week ending in a totally wet Saturday! Still produce is growing well. We've lifted all sorts of goodies this week.

still picking alpine strawberries, a small amount of raspberries and the first blueberries - the birds have got their eyes on these.

lifted beetroot from the allotment and leeks from the garden

picked masses of broad beans and the first of the french beans




started lifting allotment potatoes and more cabbage


quite a good iceberg lettuce and lots of bits of a red iceberg




and another batch of beetroot - possibly the largest we've ever grown

picked this week

our first cucumber of the year


some broccoli that should have been early purple sprouting but.....

not so many raspberries this week and strawberries are mainly down to the tiny alpines

too many courgettes!

more broad beans

flowering this week

strange black hollyhocks, deep pink cosmos, bright orange marigolds and tomatoes in the hanging basket!

July garden - fruit

checking out fruit so far and thinking about Autumn -



wondering whether the peaches will grow any more?



raspberries and strawberries have cropped really well but are slowing down now. I hoped that some of the strawberry plants moved from the allotment would turn out to be perpetual fruiters but it doesn't seem likely.


the newest apple tree is getting ready for a bumper crop later and even the old tree has decided to flower at last.

picked this week

lots more broad beans and peas - for once we seem to have more than enough!
2 cabbages this week - pulling them early as I think there may be a glut soon

lifted the last of the garlic and the first (hopefully) of the beetroot from the allotment

lettuce -though starting to blot - rocket and this amazingly coloured chard
more soft fruit - strawberries and raspberries
and of course more comedy courgettes!

Pests

Recent rain has brought an increase in slugs/snails and the damage caused by them in the garden. Lost some strawberries to them and some nibbled bits of lettuce.

Still,
it's all at a lesser level than normal, probably due to the severely cold winter.
Could grow to like that.