Busy Summer!

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The last blog was in May! Time flies. Theres been loads of things going on in the plot, almost too many to mention. The suprisingly magical thing is everything grew and we havent had to buy any vegetables for a good few months now. We have had an abundance of onions and potatoes (still harvesting them) and they will keep us going for a few more months to come.

The evergrowing lettuce is still evergrowing and is a favourite of the chickens who keep it in trim, they also love the beetroot leaves and the stawberries so we have to be quick if we want the stawbs. The fence which I still havent finished painting yet, was supposed to keep them out which generally it does, but its the open gate that they just seem to be able to walk through. Now a gate is ment to be closed after you enter or leave but still we manage to forget. So the chickens have a feast. When the sunflowers have gone to seed they will love them. The chucks have been a little off lay, first one was broody then the other stopped laying, now one is laying and the other isnt broody anymore. But at least we are getting an egg a day, which is not bad from 2 chucks. Need some more maybe although they would be a handful.

We were given a greenhouse, which took about 2 weeks to assemble, not because Im useless at DIY but inbetween work, the rain we had and other gardening stuff it just took some time. But the foundations were laid an now we have a glass house, albeit with some panes missing. Will have to adapt something. Cant spend money on a donation it would defeat the object. Hopefully it will aid the gestation and development of future plants that havent faired too well this year outside. Particularly the tomatoes, which are still green. We have had a few old wives telling us tales of how to ripen them so will have to give it a go. However the chillies have done really well outdoors, suprisingly.

The sweetcorn is coming on nicely and the carrotts and parsnips taste just like carrotts and parsnips should. We have eaten as many peas as we can and frozen the rest. But the french beans are still going as well as the courgettes and the smart little round squashes which I think are great.

Oh, and the garlics. Karin has platted them and they look, like, well, real garlic. The wonderful thing about all this is that it never fails to suprise me. Just a string of garlic, but, grown in your own garden. Amazing.

Outside the plot the constant round of grass cutting and avoiding mowing over the rare Bee Orchids goes on.

The stream needs claning out desperately but I like the overgrown look, but it is getting a bit out of hand. The cows in the field next to us have calfed since the last blog and now the little ones skip through the big fence into our garden! Didnt make that fence calf proof, just cow proof. Another job.

Its time to start thinking ahead for our winter crop, which we havent done before so it will be a new challenge. Its okay going to the garden in the summer to pick your dinner but in the wet miserable cold winter it might be another thing. Oh well, hope everyone has had good success with their gardens and veggies as we thoroughly have and reaped the benefits and have a fresh supply on our doorstep. Just hope we can sustain it. I think so as we have caught the bug.