Reaping the rewards

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My wife despairs of me at times.

She despairs of what she calls my ‘Little Boy Mode’. She despairs because when I am in ‘LBM’ I can find childlike glee in all sorts of things, like the patterns the wind makes on the wheat field at the back of the house, the swooping of a swallow in the air, watching a bumble bee in and out of flowers. I can happily sit for ages and watch these things, usually with a camera in hand waiting for the perfect shot (which with my old camera will probably never arrive but it is fun trying to get it).

I think it’s more the fact that in ‘LBM’ I look at the world as a big playground. Trees are meant to climb up, puddles are meant to jump in, streams contain all sorts of delights and if I were to find myself at the top of a grassy bank I would have to stop myself from rolling down it.

I found myself weeding the turnips the other day and while there a few bees were buzzing around the lavender, so I stopped what I was doing and went to fetch my camera from the car and took a few photos over the next 30 minutes.

The turnips are doing very well, and are incredibly tasty. I keep pulling a couple up every now and then for dinner. It’s difficult because try as I might, and even though I am growing them in the middle of Summer, I can only see them as Winter veg. They are nice raw in salad or boiled in a medley of Summer veg though.

The rest of the allotment is merrily producing food for the plate and the freezer. Not only have we have a mass of mange tout, a bulk of broad beans, but we are in the midst of a load of lettuce, a plethora of peas , a frenzy of French beans and a crateload of courgettes. Please note that after a week or so it will become Crikey-not-another of courgettes, as we are getting probably 2 a day at the moment.

We could also start on the bulk of beetroot if we wanted to. I am trying to get the recipe for beetroot chocolate cake from mrs MK’s boss, she made it for my birthday last year and it is really good (and you wouldn’y know there was beetroot in it).

Alliterations aside, it does seem to be a good year for crops, my onions aren’t brilliant at the moment but I don’t expect them to be ready till later on. I think they need a lot more water or I’ve planted them a bit deep.

My garlic bulbs don’t seem to be as big as the ones in the shops (not that I have size envy, honest), but I have to admit that they are incredibly tasty. We’ve used some to make garlic bread and roasted some as well

Also I am quite impressed. My raspberries are flowering again, as well as bearing fruit, so come the autumn there should be another crop. Happy days.

• 16 Jul, 2009
• 9 likes

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