Summer update

We have reached the very satisfying time of year when I can easily raise a plateful of fresh food at dinner time. So far we have harvested: Radish, lettuce, spring onion, carrots, garlic, potatoes, peas, courgettes, French beans, raspberries and blackberries (those last berries being a benefit of having a wild bramble at the end of my plot). Currently waiting in the wings are: Onions, sweetcorn, leeks and parsnips.


I'm pleased to report my peas were delicious - one of the things I have been really looking forward to was my own fresh peas, as I can remember beign invited to eat them straight out of the pod by my dad when I was a boy. Here's a picture of one of my pods.




'Old Mike's' wise advice on plot location was proved right again last week, when I received a tip from two of my experienced neighbours about onions. Since we've had a hot dry spell, now's the time to lift my onions before they start growing again. Apparently if that happens once they've started to dry out, then they'll split and not store so well. I didn't have time to lift them all or anywhere to dry them (it's been raining since they told me) so I've bent all the tops over as instructed. They should be ready to pull up very soon and with any luck, will store until next year.

Mike's Wisdom Shed: Tip No.2

"If you want to cheat, get a second hand rotavator! Get some parsnips in for the winter, try cylinder beetroot instead of the round kind, they are awesome!

You need two kinds of peas, early & maincrop. "Little Marvel" best early ones, Kelvedon wonder, best main. Germinating peas will be eaten by birds if you don't use twigs & black cotton to deter them. Hope you get a chance to try, it's very satisfying!"

Moog thinks it would be nice to grow bonios, but he doesn't really understand where these things come from.