We’ve not had as much of that in the last few weeks as we probably should, but surprisingly, the garden’s starting to give us something back. At last. Yes, the tomatoes are still a long way off being ready, but tonight, Nik harvested a fair-sized crop of all sorts of vegetables, more than filling the enamel bucket.
We’ve already eaten our way through a lettuce (the first two went to seed), made blackcurrant and raspberry liqueur, had plentiful bowlfuls of strawberries, and enjoyed more than a few handfuls of broad beans in our risottos.
Today’s tidy up garnered beans of all kinds (Dwarf French, Runners, Italian Red, and Regular French), and Charlotte, Kestrel and Red Rooster potatoes. We also used our first homegrown onion this week. The carrots and parsnips have been more disappointing, though, with only two carrot shoots showing from three varieties planted, and while the chillies are doing something, it’ll be a while until we start using those, too.
Even the herbs have failed. We’re perplexed as to what’s not quite gone right this year so far, but who knows, maybe the autumn will yield better results. By then, we might possibly have had more of the fabled summer sunshine, a much more important ingredient than maybe we first thought.
Tags: Grow your own, Horticulture
Did you take precautions against carrot fly (which also attacks parsnips)? They can smell carrots from more than two kilometres away, but can’t fly above 60cm. I grow mine in 30cm clay pots on a bench so they can’t get at them. It’s also a very efficient way of growing them in small amounts, especially if you’re on clay like us. And if you put in a sandy compost mix, you can just leave em in there till you want to eat them. It’s also so much easier than erecting a barrier of fleece.
Thanks for your good wishes during my bout of flu. Am now pig-free!
We’ve just discovered the greatness of organic farming in our own backyard, I have to say potato soup is our favourite of the month. I found a website dedicated to potato soup recipes, which is quite amazing when you think about it. There’s a website for everything nowadays it appears!