Friday 26 August 2011

Where did the week go ?

I can't believe it's a week since I last posted ! I don't know about you but I am so fed up with the rain now !
OK it's good for the plants in moderation but these downpours have played havoc with the raspberries and the beans are going patchy and mouldy. I have actually dug up and composted so many plants as I can't bear to see the plot looking so untidy.

Next year we are planning to re-design the whole plot. The strawberry bed and the raspberries aren't getting enough sun and were a bit on the small side this year, so they have to be moved. In fact I think I will start again with some new strawberry plants from runners and different varieties of both raspberries and strawberries. I also want to make a larger cutting bed where I will grow my flowers in neat rows, rather than scattered all over the plot in different places. I cut enough Asters the other evening to fill three vases, they have been brilliant. I also had a decent harvest of veg,  photo below -


The raspberries were small, but are OK to make my favourite 'Raspberry Curd' I did get a few large ones from someone else to eat with ice cream. Those are the ones on top, my small squidgy ones are underneath getting even more squashed.  


Makes all the work worth while when I come home with this kind of pickings.

Have a good week-end

10 comments:

~TastyTravels~ said...

What a colorful harvest!! Congrats!

Damo said...

I know the rain's battered the Dahlia patch so I had to tidy that last night. Time does go so quickly, our summer show last weekend so we've been a bit exhausted this week! Lovely harvest you've got.

Anna said...

You have a treasure trove of goodies there Maureen. We have not had the same problems with the wet stuff and in fact last night/ this morning has seen the most substantial rain we've had in ages. Doing the same as you re strawberries so busy taking runners. It never stops does it but all good fun :)

Soilman said...

Nice carrots, Maureen. Very regular. Or did you only choose the straight ones for the pic???

Anonymous said...

The harvest looks great but I know what you mean about the plants looking poor at the allotment. Need some lovely dry sunny weather for a week or two now thank you very much!
P x

Maureen said...

Thanks for the comment HOLLY

DAMO I know you grow some amazing Dahlias so I'm sure you are as fed up with them getting spoilt by the rain as I am, I must pop over to your blog to see how the summer show went.

Thanks ANNA ! lucky you not having as much rain as us. It's driving me mad and usually the weather doesn't get to me, but this year it has. What strawberries are you growing ?

Thanks SOILMAN I was thinking the carrots looked good this year myself, and no I swear I didn't choose the best for the photo, ha ha ! actually I think I may have added some sharp sand to the bed I grew them in, as when I washed them in the sink there was a lot of gritty sand in there, so that may have helped, just guessing really as usually they are terrible shapes.

Thanks PAM and yes your right a good week of constant sun would be very nice as everything looks bedraggled. I was away in London over the week-end so goodness knows what it will look like on Monday.

Pam's English Garden said...

Dear Maureen, I hope the rain has stopped for you now. Our weather has been awful and my garden has suffered. But the wonderful thing about being a gardener -- there is always next year! P. x

i doodle garden said...

Love your blog!
Great for looking at fresh produce - just started my blog and have posted about my favorite allotments, it seems to have started a new obsession with allotment blogs!

earthwoman said...

Thanks for your comment.
It has been a strange year but I'm inspired by your aster harvest to make sure I have more cut flowers for next year.

Heather said...

What a fantastic harvest! I was proud of my recent achievements but yours put mine well into the shade. However, you're a couple of years ahead of me so hopefully, I'll be as successful - off to follow your blog now!