Pattie pan squashes

These little squashes are in a basket in the kitchen at the moment because I haven't looked up what I should do with them yet. They seem more pumpkin-like than courgette-like, but I think I should read some recipes.

I bought a few interesting looking squashes as plantlets and this one has been very successful, lots of little pattie pans are forming, all very jolly and yellow.

Cute.
Happy gardening

Potato harvest

The spuds are lovely this year. I only did Charlottes, and of course they're all ready at once, but yesterday I dug up the first few plants and brought them home to sort into "eat immediately" and "store in a sack for later" My habit of discovering them by sticking a fork right through them leads to quite a pile of "eat immediatelys".

I've filled the space already with a wigwam of mangetouts. If I can get two crops from most of my beds then I feel I've done ok.

Dinner last night was mostly home-grown, the first time this year I think. Delicious new potatoes with mint, broad beans and spinach. I can't claim to have grown the duck though!

Happy gardening (whatever you grow)

Connected

Sad, isn't it? Here I am, crammed into the shed in the rain checking my email!

Oh the joys of a smartphone!

I used to be quite contented with a cup of tea and a spider for company before I became connected to the other sort of web.

happy gardening (and surfing in the shed)

Anteaters?

Unlikely, but there was an ant's nest at the bottom of the hole!
Happy gardening!

Too windy

We've been away. We came back yesterday and went to have a look and see what's to be done. Lots!

So....today I cut the grassy edges and did a bit of weeding. I planted out the sweetcorn too. Some strawberries were ready and lots of rocket too. But mostly, the new plants are getting on with their business of growing...slowly, because of the lack of rain. Oh, and the WIND. It's been windy since before the 1st of May! The runner beans, french beans and courgettes are all suffering from wind scorch. The leaves discolour, the plant fails to thrive unless sheltered in one of the many plastic bottle cloches we've used this year. The little brassicas in the photo are ok but mostly, everything this year is struggling on our exposed hillside. I do wish it would calm down and let my plants grow!

Happy gardening (and hope the wind drops)

Weed of the month

Forget-me-nots. All over the place. I'd have hauled them out weeks ago but I read somewhere that they're very attractive to honeybees so I've given them a reprieve.

Only for a little bit longer. Watch out little blue weeds - your days are numbered!

Happy gardening

The compost fairy

Well, so much for sowing seed! Of the seeds sown last time I posted, only three tiny parsnip seedlings have appeared and I don't know what happened to the rest. So I've sown some more, just parsnips this time and I also added a row of beetroot next to the potatoes. Over the last week or so I've been planting out pak choi, spinach beet and lettuce seedlings, but the big job has been watering (an hour and a half each time I go) and there's still no sign of rain!

The big thrill this post is that the compost fairy (burly bloke called Joe) has been, so I've now got plenty of good organic matter to dig in or spread over my plot. Just in time to enrich the bed I'm getting ready for the cane beans. Excellent timing.

Happy gardening