BBQ

So this is the third BBQ we've held down the plot this year. We had an old friend (of The Wife's) visit us. So we had a jolly good cook-up down the plot with burgers and grilled slices of courgettes fresh from the vine.

Of course, when she left, she went with a load of tomatoes, apples and courgettes. After all, we can only eat so many. We have to give most of them away.

Working party (again)

So today was another working party. Part 1 involved getting an unloved plot back into shape. The plot regularly flooded and a previous tenant decided that a moat was the best way to counteract that. Unfortunately doing so made the site dangerous as it was very easy for anybody walking past to slip into it with potentially ankle damaging results.

We strimmed the long weeds, and uprooted what we couldn't strim (these ended up being dumped in a pile, then a load of horse manure piled on top and the covered by black plastic and some car tires to compost down). We also covered the plot with manure to give some of the bare ground a bit of nutrition where everything had gone to wrack and ruin over the scorching summer.

After Tea and Brownies, we then embarked on part 2 where we emptied out the MAGA Marquee and repaired the flooring (much wood chip and replacement carpet) and repaired some of the marquee flaps and side panels with new bungee cord. I didn't manage to get any photos of that part, so you'll have to make do with just a description.

After that we were so exhausted that we nearly didn't manage to do anything on our own plot. But there were a load of red juicy tomatoes staring at us saying "pick us, pick us".

So we did.

Plenty of trays of large toms (Ailsa Craig), one small tray of cherries toms (Sweet Million), a lonely chilli and a few obligatory courgettes (gave four away), liberally scattered across the back seat of the car, and hoping that the journey home won't leave them liberally scattered.

I guess we now need to figure out how to make tomato sauce properly. Unlike chutneys (where vinegar preserves it) and jam (where sugar preserves it), a good tomato sauce needs enough acidity to stop botulism forming, but enough taste so that it won't end up too acidic. Best get some research done quick.

But Freddy Fox doesn't think much of it all. He just wants his rest.

As do I..

We had rain...

Not the small splatter that only settles the dust, we actually had a decent downpour for a day or so that has given us a respite from the endless watering.

The courgettes are still cranking out far more than we can eat. So they're being given away to anyway that can take them away. But now the Toms are starting to crank out some decent sized fruits. And for a change we managed to get some of the sweetcorns that are edible... however the popcorns have only produced small powder-tasting cobs. Guess they're going to be ground into cornmeal.

But we thought we'd have a go at pulling a few carrots and see what they're like this year. Now we haven't really had much success with carrots over the years, and this year is the first time we've tried planting directly in soil, so we did wonder what we'd end up with.

So these are four carrot plants. They look like a cross between and alien from outerspace and a dodgy hentai movie. Still I reckon they'll taste pretty good anyway.

Bucket'o'spuds

So the spuds that are planted in the ground have seen their last. Their foliage is dying... which means it's time to dig them up.

Now normally, we do spuds in bags. In fact this year we have bags and buckets. I've already upturned a few bucket and found that the output was rather low. So I wasn't really expecting much from these. However as you can see, we've got a whole bucket of them. Certainly far more than I expected. So it would seem that the amount of spuds produced is in direct proportion to the size of the container... in this case the bed. But there is also a correlation to the amount of work necessary to obtain them. Bed spuds need careful digging. Buckets and bags can just be simply upturned.

So after the spuds were dug out I planted some of the pot bound tomatoes that were dying in the greenhouse. They were at the very back and as I didn't have any larger pots, they were decidedly sorry for themselves.

Mind you... it's still a jungle in there.

Yes, I know there may be blight issues since potatoes and tomatoes are the same plant family, but I suspect that this heat will keep the blight away by drying out the spores before they can set.

We're also expecting good things from the grapes this year as well.

And our Edamame (Soy beans) are now ready for harvest.

So today's harvest is thus (not including the bucket'o'spuds)

A typical Japanese snack is to have boiled salted edamame and a beer. Well, I don't drink beer, so I guess a Dandelion and Burdock will do instead. Cheers!

Too much sunshine

There has been a bit of a gap in the blog posts recently. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly there is an issue of redundancy. I am currently in the process of going through redundancy consultations with my current employer which has taken my focus away from other things. Secondly there is a health matter. This hot weather has not done my asthma any favours and I had to go to hospital due to getting flu and restricted breathing problems.

Happy to say that both issues have now been resolved, and I can once again focus on the plot.

I have managed to feed the plot enough water that it has escaped the worst of the solar onslaught, however not all have remained unscathed. Firstly the turnips seemed to give up the ghost and just bolted straight to seed.

Rather than waste the bed, The Wife pulled them all and planted Cape Gooseberries in place.

Despite an earlier loss of some of the courgette plants, it seems that a couple of them survived and these, along with the replacements, are now starting to churn out the little marrows in great quantity. Now despite them all coming from the same seed stock, we have a variety of types being produced ranging from the normal greens, to yellows, to a yellow/green mix with strange ribs. Just goes to show that courgettes seeds don't always breed true.

The petunias are certainly putting on a good show though. Almost everybody who walks past the plot comments on them. But then, I suppose, that was the whole point of them being there.

The spud foliage (Maris Peers) is now starting to die down, which means it's time to dig them up, or empty the bags as appropriate.

It seems that the ones in the baskets and buckets have not done as well as those in the big bags. No idea about those in the ground as yet. They'll probably get dug up next weekend.

Now one thing that has been an experiment, which seems to have worked in this weather is the melons. These were seeds saved from a supermarket honeydew melon. We didn't really expect much from them, but yes, we do have a couple of melons growing in the greenhouse.

And finally, the sweetcorn is now starting to ripen. Whether we'll be able to actually eat any this year remains to be seen, but there is a marked difference between the two varieties that we are growing.

The ones on the left are an organic variety. The ones on the right are our standard "popcorn" variety that we've been growing for a few years now. Notice the difference in the heights of the plants. The popcorn's seem to have two or three cobs per plant compared to the organics only having one.


We're used to having oddities being found at the plot. But here is one I have never before seen. An albino garden spider. It was hiding in the red sun flowers, and it certainly knew how to hide. no sooner had I turned the leaf over than it scuttled off to hide again, so this is the best shot of it that I managed.

Still, I hope Spid survives. It's certainly got a better chance than I have in this heat. Garcon! Something cool and refreshing s'il vous plait.