Lots of light sunny evenings means lots of opportunity to get down to the plot. My pak choi appears to have bolted without getting big enough to harvest – a bit grim really. But the sweet peas are looking good, so every day I go to do a bit of watering or hoeing, at least I come back with something.

Its interesting looking at other plots. I guess because a third of our plot is effectively ‘wild’, given over to overgrown (although less overgrown than they were) rasps/gooseberries/rhubarb, we don’t have as much space as many. But it strikes me that we’ve done a little of lots of things, rather than a lot of something. and maybe we should do something different next year. And earlier! Seeing the stage of many people’s courgettes/beans/peas/sweetcorn makes me thing NEXT year I will be doing More and Earlier.

I’m starting to think about the winter, though. There’s still just about time to sow some more leeks, carrots, and cabbages. I’ve got caulis and broccoli starting at home. I’ll definitely do more overwinter garlic and onions – and probably more this year than that which I’ve just harvested. And I’ve got brussel sprout plants at home which I MUST plant out, but I’ve only got three and I don’t want to lose them to slugs. So we need to build another cage – or sacrifice something under an existing cage – and soon.

Had a bit of a harvest on Sunday. A lot of garlic and the first cabbage…

From Allotment

Also transplanted some leeks into the old potato area (we’re going to skip the disaster that is this year’s first earlies, and go with the advice of the old timer not to grow them ‘funny’ next year) and planted some courgette and butternut squash plants. Hoping for good things from them. I’ve also bought some seeds from these people for a squash – acorn maybe? – which are probably far too late to plant, but I’ve given it a try.

Off tonight, hopefully, to get some watering done.

(ooh, I’m going to give this a go too – the pictures look so clear, but I doubt mine will be that good. Is that where ‘french plaiting’ comes from?)

What do you get at the end of June? Why, the gorgeousness that is English soft fruit.

From StrawberriesandraspberriesJune 09

Very tasty. And, if you look closely, you might just see our first blackcurrants ripening in the back garden.

From StrawberriesandraspberriesJune 09

And what do you make with strawberries? Why, strawberry jam. Very tasty. And, if you look in this photograph of our rather messy kitchen (Pam, this one is for you) you’ll be abel to see a jar. We’ll just skip over the fact its made from a cheap glut of strawberries from the market, rather than from our own backgarden. They don’t last that long.

From StrawberriesandraspberriesJune 09

There’s also sweet peas, my first lot. These are the variety Swan Lake, from a plant I bought at the garden centre I planted at the allotment. They’re flowering at about 75cm tall, quite short really, but rather pretty and very smelly (just what I like).

From StrawberriesandraspberriesJune 09

In the back garden my sweet peas are at least over a metre now, (on the left on the obelisk of this shot) and the first buds are just about to appear. Yippee! Flowers for the summer. Talking about the back garden… this is what it looks like. Lots of annuals in a bid to aid the evening bind weed attack session. And our new ‘hen’

From StrawberriesandraspberriesJune 09

And finally, this is my new pressie

From StrawberriesandraspberriesJune 09

First of all, Success

From June 9 09

This is our first harvest this year: onions, garlic, potatos. The potato crop was quite miserable, given how much love we poured on these, but maybe the trenches were too deep and our earthing up too enthusiastic. Still, they tasted nice. This is probably about a third of the onions and garlic, with more to come. Very exciting.

In the back garden, the strawberries are looking good.

From June 9 09

And then, the failure

Remember my broad beans?

From Allotment may 09

I was leaving them for another few days, just to get tasty. Sadly, it looks like something else was as well. I suspect something short and furry. This was the only sign of the broad beans left today. I was SO looking forward to them – I’ve nursed these little darlings since last October. Any good advice on anti rat/mice deterrants?

From June 9 09

So, end of May. The weeds are growing like there’s no tomorrow, but there are definite signs of progress. Our onions, planted in the dying days of last autumn, are almost ready to pick.

Meanwhile, the carrots, (Adam is quite obsessed about his carrots, or rather the lack of carrots which didn’t grow last year) have germinated. Or at least the ones grown by seed – Nantes, I think. The seed strip we bought with impregnanted carrot seed has not, so far, shown much sign of progress.

Most of the broadbeans failed to survive the winter, but those that did are just about ready to pick. I also got a small crop of gooseberries for cooking. Sadly, however, the potatos don’t seem happy. Not blight, Idon’t think, but maybe some overambitious earthing up has deprived them of something important as the first earlies seem to be dying off and the second earlies haven’t really flourished. I dug up one plant, and found four measly potatoes. Not good.