The Victoria plum has been a pleasant surprise.
We thought that we were going to be plumless this year. Our largest tree – the yellow Oullins gage – produced a huge harvest of fruit last year but this year has only a few fruits carried on the topmost branches. Unfortunately the wasps got to them before we did.
The smaller Victoria plum has been quietly producing plenty of fruit hidden amongst the leaves. Turning from green to plum colour the fruits have become more noticeable and although many of the fruits had succumbed to brown rot there are plenty of ripening plums which we are picking as soon as they are ready – the wasps are not going to have all of these!
We also picked a couple of Mannings greengages – which were absolutely delicious – the gage trees too have only a handful of fruit and being green the fruits tend to be camouflaged. Unlike the Victoria plums the ripe fruits are no easier to spot. No photo as we ate them before thinking about taking one!
The dahlias have at last produced enough flowers for a vase - the ones in the photo are the ones on flower - there are others to come and one yellow one had gone a bit brown in the rain so I didn't take it's photo.
No idea what varieties they are maybe I once knew and have forgotten as the tubers are quite old now!
Our fourth variety of carrot hasn't let us down. We dug some just to see what they were like as really it's a bit early for this variety - Autumn King.
The smaller Victoria plum has been quietly producing plenty of fruit hidden amongst the leaves. Turning from green to plum colour the fruits have become more noticeable and although many of the fruits had succumbed to brown rot there are plenty of ripening plums which we are picking as soon as they are ready – the wasps are not going to have all of these!
We also picked a couple of Mannings greengages – which were absolutely delicious – the gage trees too have only a handful of fruit and being green the fruits tend to be camouflaged. Unlike the Victoria plums the ripe fruits are no easier to spot. No photo as we ate them before thinking about taking one!
The dahlias have at last produced enough flowers for a vase - the ones in the photo are the ones on flower - there are others to come and one yellow one had gone a bit brown in the rain so I didn't take it's photo.
No idea what varieties they are maybe I once knew and have forgotten as the tubers are quite old now!
Our fourth variety of carrot hasn't let us down. We dug some just to see what they were like as really it's a bit early for this variety - Autumn King.
On a more itchy note - is anyone else getting bitten to death every time they go outside My body is like the beach on a busy summer's weekend.
For last week's weather diary with more photos visit Martyn's blog here. Last week this included a video clips of our visit to Newmillerdam. (By the way the panting in the background isn't me!) and the canal lock near Fairburn Ings.
All in all a busy week!!
Posts
We are having a lot of plums to harvest this year. It is a nice surprise after 2 years of almost no fruit on plum trees. Are you preserving them in some way?
ReplyDeleteIt looks like all your carrots did great this year. I have mixed results, some are very big, but others look more like rats tail.
If we have too many to eat fresh then we will freeze some - we eat lots of fruit with yoghurt and then there are crumbles to be made!
ReplyDeleteThe carrots are good so far - just hope that the slugs stay away!! Not weeding seems to have stopped carrot fly sneaking in but maybe later pickings will prove that this isn't the case. Just as well that we love carrots!
the dahlias are beautiful...I very good show of a few flowers is always better i think than a rubbish show of a lot of flowers so I would be quite happy with these.
ReplyDeleteI am busy with plums at the moment too...crumbles and jellies mostly as these are my favourite but i was going to look up something a little different to try this year too....I really hope I will get around to that...What do you do with your plums??
Hubby's uncle brought me round a bag full of plums yesterday, seems he's got a bumper harvest this year. Talking of bites, hubby got bit by something, I don't know what, at the allotment before we went on holiday. It turned really nasty, blistering and weeping, and eventually he had to go to the doctor's where they dressed it, right from his knee to his ankle and gave him a course of antibiotics as it had become infected. The blisters turned in to something resembling blood blisters and although it's all cleared up now, it's left a scar. He was wearing below the knee joggers but won't go to the allotment now unless he's wearing jeans.
ReplyDeleteHi Tanya,
ReplyDeleteMostly eaten fresh unless we have loads and loads like we did last year when it is freeze, freeze, freeze. Sometimes these are stewed first. I really prefer fresh to cooked plums as I think the flavour changes when cooked and we don't eat much jam. WE eat lots of fresh fruit salad as dessert too
That's awful Jo - the bites are strange this year they seem to itch for ages and what's more Martyn is just as bitten as me when he is usually more immune - wonder what is different. Once the itchy dies down iy seems to leave dark pink patches which take ages to fade too.
I get bitten all the time, wherever I am. I'm slowly, & not very successfully, training myself not to scratch them but it takes more willpower than I think I've got. I haven't noticed it worse than usual this year [because I get...etc] but interestingly Wilma Wilbury complained of just that a few days ago.
ReplyDeleteHi Woody,
ReplyDeleteI try my best not to scratch but end up rubbing which is just as bad and then the itching just gets worse. Got some antihistamine cream from the chemist yesterday.
Not getting bitten outside but there is something in the house - have washed every bit of bedding to within an inch of it's temperature tolerance (including the duvet). Can't even blame the dog this year :{
ReplyDeleteTea Tree Oil cream seems to be working well on the bites.
Hi BW - we are using a witch hazel gel which also is working well on stopping the itching but the bites seem to be lasting longer than usual.
ReplyDelete