This is what my plot looks like after 3 weeks of being away unexpectedly. It's rained heavily but the temperature has been in the high teens so it's a tad wild and overgrown!!! 😱 But thanks to my lovely plot neighbours watering my polytunnel for me, my tomatoes and cucumbers have survived. Hooray! The cucumbers are getting a bit unruly but as I've never successfully got any to this stage before I've no idea if they need staked. Any tips welcome!!
I picked just over a kilo of raspberries! Some had gone over but there are still loads left to ripen. It's a lottery getting to them before the rain makes them soggy and inedible. When I got home I put them straight into the dehydrator. The smell is amazing! I've not done this before so it's a bit of an experiment to find new ways to preserve my fruit instead of jam. I'll report back on how successful they are (or not!)
Lots of 'stuff' is flowering so all is good. The daisies have just popped up by themselves but I'm happy to leave them. Not sure what kind they are (they're about 40cm tall) or if they have any culinary or herbal uses. Everything needs to have a purpose to earn their place! Let me know if you know!
My garden is similarly wild and overgrown. In this bed there are sweet peas, sweetcorn, squash, runner beans (I'm doing the Three Sisters method), Jerusalem artichokes and peas. I'm going to have to sort them out somehow or none of it will be able to produce anything to eat.
One of the things I did while I was staying at mum's house in between hospital stuff, was stitching some more of my sock yarn squares onto my blanket. I added the bottom 2 rows so it's now 12 squares by 13 squares. This is it laid out on a double bed. I still need to decide how big I want it to be. I've certainly got enough leftover sock yarn to make it double this size!! But as it's taken me (on and off) about 10 years to get to this size, it's starting to feel like a never ending project! 🧶
The blanket is looking lovely.
ReplyDeleteVeg growing can feel suddenly overwhelming at this time of year I find, the orderly little plants turning into rambling triffids, and especially as you've had other things taking up your time, I can guess how you must be feeling! I'm trying to ease up on myself over it all, thinking well, if we don't eat it all, give it away or manage to freeze it.......never mind it will make great compost for next years planting x
Alison in Wales x
I'm rather pleased with my blanket so far! I'm not going to stress about the triffid plants, at least they're growing. I think my compost is going to be amazing next year at this rate!! LOL! :-)
DeleteI love the blanket and the allotment is looking really productive.
ReplyDeleteI tie my cucumbers up but that's partly because they are outside and in a container rather than in the ground. Also, I do because my Dad always did. :-)
xx
Thanks! Lots of stuff is growing, some of it out of control!! I think I'll need to tie them up as there's not enough room to let them trail in the polytunnel. It's all new to me this year :-) xxx
DeleteAli, your blanket is lovely!!!! I really am interested in how the dehydrated raspberries go.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Thanks! I read that the rasps could take 24 hours. I'm 20 hours in and nowhere near done yet. The fun is in the trying! :-)
DeleteI love knitted blankets and the colours in yours are cheerful. I think any plant with a flower probably attracts pollinators, always useful. Saying that I have just noticed that I have a pink hellebore has morphed out of nowhere in my white garden I will have to move it before it sets seed. Hope your mum going along ok,happy gardening!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Sock yarns are really colourful and bright so make a cheerful mix. I'm always amazed when a plant pops up that I haven't planted. How did it get there? Did a bird poop out a seed? Has it been in the ground for years waiting? Was it in some compost? Love them any way :-)
DeleteLoving the blanket and it will be so cosy when it’s complete. I’m always amazed what pops up in the garden and wonder if yours came from the compost you got from the council as it’s from recycled green waste I think? Happy allotmenting! Catriona
ReplyDeleteI think it's likely it came from the council compost although it's supposed to kill weed seeds etc as it's a hot compost method! The blanket is warm when it's on my knees to stitch more squares on! :-)
Delete