We have fruit

It has been a while since I have updated the blog and this is mainly due to how poorly everything is growing. I can't remember the last time we had rain and it is a constant trudge up and down with watering cans to keep what we hae alive. I really don't like watering as it encourages roots to come to the surface rather than going deep to get water, but it has got to the point where they would need to go very very deep. We try to only water the courgettes and squash, tomatoes, and salad crops, but the poor beans are going to need a good soaking soon.

It is paying off with the courgettes. This is one that I had missed and it is already a small marrow. As well as the traditional method of cooked courgette, it is lovely julienne in salad and I am sure Nick hasn't noticed that it isn't cucumber.

Talking of cucumber, we have a couple that are about two inches long and should be able to start cropping soon, but we need to start watering these twice a day unless the weather starts cooling down.





The squash that I planted in the full compost bin is doing amazingly, in fact we are in danger of doing a reenactment of Day of the Triffids. Unfortunately, there are loads of male flowers and only a couple of females so not much fruit yet but there seem to be a couple that I am hopeful will set.

I have good intentions at the beginning of the year, and make lovely labels for all the seedlings. By the time it gets to planting out, I have either lost them or the writing has washed off. This is my way of not telling you what sort of squash they are, so we have some lovely surprises to come when I find a giant pumpkin trying to hang on to the side of the bin.





Still on the fruit theme, the figs are growing well andthe plant is covered. This will be the first year we have fruit that we can use and I am never quite sure when the right time is to pick them. The test is to give them a gentle squeeze but I tried that with the jostaberries and got juice all down the front of my T-Shirt.











The biggest excitement is the peaches which are hanging on to the tree so it must have good deep roots and isn't suffering from the draught. We have been picking off any leaves that show signs of peach leaf curl and the tree now seems clear, although a bit bald.










Lastly, the soft fruit. It seems a bumper year for white currents and we are seeing a real difference having the fruit cage as the fruit is all for us and not shared with the pigeons. Here is tonights meal of strawberries, jostaberries, loganberries, red currants, white currants, black currants and gooseberries. Our raspberries are a later variety so, although there is a lot of fruit around, none ready for picking.