Post Holiday Roundup

Holy Crap!

Has it really been a whole month since I blogged the garden exploits??!!

Well, be warned, this post has a few photos in it, so grab a cuppa and some bickies!

After going on our jollies back down south to Gloucestershire to visit the family and friends, we came back to some glorious sunshine. But only for a few days though, then back to the usual grey. And let me tell you - those darned weeds just KNOW when you've left them alone for a bit don't they?!

I spent those nice few days weeding here and there, still got loads to do. It's like painting the Forth Road Bridge, once you clear a patch and move to the next it's time to go back to the first again.

BUT I did get a few early harvests in!

First up this yummy hearty Cabbage. This was one of the Autumn sowings I did last year.

Not too shabby huh? I also tested one bag of tatties to see if they were ready yet. Quite a small harvest from that and not worth the photo really!

Below are some Carrots. These were a test that I did after watching a guy plant some seeds in toilet roll tubes on 'Superscrimpers'. I planted these out in early July. Me thinks I should have got round to that sooner, BEFORE the roots came through the bottom and curled over! lol. Looks good though, and they tasted FAB!

Now, these next few are rogues.

This is a Kale - Cavalero de Negro - and the flipping thing has gone to seed!

Swiftly followed the stalk left from that Cabbage. I can use these little sproutings though, so I think I'll leave those to grow some more.

And as for this one - it's meant to be a Sprout, but those yummy little buttons decided to be leaves instead. ARGH!! Maybe I can use them too, look out veg pot!

I am very pleased to notice some flowers on the French Beans I am having a go at growing. Not tried these before, so they are all new to me. This one is called 'Amethyst', for obvious reasons. The beans are supposed to be purple too, but we'll see if I actually get any. Not very impressed with the other variety I am trialling, 'Solero' a kind of yellow bean. Not much growth there at all, and no flowers to speak of either. Maybe this year has just not been very good all round.

I am also still waiting for something to show on the Egyptian Beans. I thought I saw some flowers earlier, but apart from that not much going on.

My fruiting things are very sad too. The Strawberries are sending out runners everywhere, only a few of the flowers got pollinated, so I have very few decent fruits from those. Nothing on the Blackcurrant. Nothing on the new Pear, or the new Red Apple. Only this solitary Green Apple:

I have some flowers on my Winter Squash (Butternut), but whether they form fruit or not is anyone's guess. I also have flowers on the single Courgette that lived, a yellow variety that I forget the name of now, but here it is with one fruit set:

Think I need to so some feeding, those leaves are a bit yellow.

So, here are a couple of views of the patch in all it's glory(?)

 This is a Red Cabbage that is forming a nice heart. I am looking forward to pickling some of this for the Christmas Table. I do like my Pickled Red Cabbage, yum!

Are you still with me? lol. Well done folks!

I think I will leave you with a wee pic of some edible flowers - Calendula and Love in a Mist:

Thanks for looking folks!

Enjoy your harvesting!

xx