Sunday, 22 July 2012

Summer at last

At last the jet stream seems to have finished its wobble and pulled itself together. Not that the plot has suffered so very much all things considered.

The peas have been doing brilliantly although the runner beans didn't take off too well. The new potatoes have done well - I noticed the first signs of blight so have whipped the foliage off. The cabbages have been on the small side after an initial onslaught by the flea beetle and then the ravages of slugs and snails but I've been managing to eat one every day for the past couple of weeks so can't complain really. The brussels and broccoli are coming along nicely and the leeks are getting away. The raspberries did well although the gooseberry crop has been poor. The only real disappointment has been the carrots - the summer row is about half the normal number and size and the autumn/winter ones just haven't germinated in the wet weather - I've resown them for the third time yesterday so fingers crossed. In the salad department the red lollo rosso have been fine - I don't know whether the slugs ignore them because of the colour or the crinkly leaves - and the wild rocket has been filling up my sandwiches too.

All in all not such a bad result so far - and now at last we can enjoy the summer.

A philosophy

If I can make my plot of use to the wildlife as well as feeding me then so much the better.


 Knautia macedonia and phlox - good for the bees and butterflies.

Crimson clover - another good one for the bees...

...like this northern carder bee.

 A wasp going for field poppy pollen...

...and a carder bee eying me up from my shed door.