We had a couple of days away last week so our first harvest of the week was on Wednesday.
 |
| 20 July |
As it was very hot we spent all the time picking and watering. We are still picking strawberries. Cupid and Fenella are still providing a few berries but are coming to an end although Cupid is bearing one or two new flowers. The later Malwina still has fruits to ripen. The Tulameen raspberries which were unaffected by the mystery death of half of our Glen Ample canes are now producing lots of fruit and we are managing to share the tayberry with the blackbirds.
We have picked the first young leaves of spinach and the first baby turnip.
We are lifting autumn onions as we need them but the summer onions and shallots look as though they will soon be dying back.
 |
| 22 July |
More berries were picked on Friday. It doesn't seem to have been a good year for blackcurrants and gooseberries. There are nothing like as many blackcurrants and the fruits of both are much smaller than usual. Luckily the jostaberries are helping to full the gap that they have left.
Whilst picking the jostaberries the strong strawberry aroma attracted my attention to a few old, straggly alpine strawberry plants which were determinedly producing a few fruits. These were duly picked. New alpine strawberry plants were planted this year which will hopefully take over production next year.
I picked a few whitecurrants but these too were very small and hardly worth the effort of picking. To be honest this isn't unusual as they never seem to produce good fruit - maybe a hard prune is called for.
On the other hand the blueberries are providing the best harvest that we have had from them. Having decided to cover them this year we have been able to leave them on the plant unmolested to develop fully.
The sweet peas are coming on stream now and so far I am pleased with the colours that I chose.
The posy on the right also includes one or two cornflowers as the annual flower bed is now starting to produce cutting material, as well as a nectar bay for the pollinators.
I seem to have ended up with brighter colours this year. Maybe the pastels are just slower to flower.
Dead heading has been added to my regular allotment tasks.
We dug the first root of another trial early potato - Vivaldi - which like its predecessors passed the taste test with flying colours.
Whilst picking the jostaberries the strong strawberry aroma attracted my attention to a few old, straggly alpine strawberry plants which were determinedly producing a few fruits. These were duly picked. New alpine strawberry plants were planted this year which will hopefully take over production next year.
 |
| 23 July |
The peas are now starting to fill out and be ready to harvest. We picked just enough for dinner.
The Witkiem Manita broad beans have almost finished but the more diminutive Robin Hood beans - on the right of the photo below -have stepped in to fill the breach.
After what we thought was a very 'iffy' start the climbing beans are now going strong and we had a few Cobra - climbing French beans - to kick off the production line.
Posts
I love your netting system for the blueberries. I have 2 of my rows covered. I didn't cover the "late" ones YET, and still, the birds are just hanging out there waiting for the stray berry or two that occasionally ripen. They do find every one!
ReplyDeleteYour harvests are always so lovely to look at. Do you freeze a lot of your berries?
The blackbird was chastising me as I picked, Sue. We do freeze lots of fruit, some just as is and others are made into a compote.
DeleteI'm glad that your netting system is keeping the pesky Blackbirds off your Blueberries - it's the only way! You didn't say what variety the "trial" potato was... Is it as yet un-named?? :)
ReplyDeleteThe variety is Vivaldi, Mark sorry for the omission, I have added it in the post.
DeleteIt had a good flavour and was a floury type which would maybe break up if boiled. We cooked it in the microwave.
That does look like a great netting system for the blueberries. My white currants never seem to produce large fruit either. I just figured that it was the cultivar, as I've never gotten big ones from it. Those flowers are pretty, and I imagine very attractive to the pollinators!
ReplyDeleteI don't know what variety of whitecurrant ours is, Dave as it is a cutting from one that we inherited but I seem to remember the berries being larger. The flower bed is usually a buzz with activity.
DeleteYou're still harvesting spinach and peas which is amazing to me. Your berries and potatoes look so good. It seems like you've had an unending spring.
ReplyDeleteWe have only really started to harvest the spinach and peas, Phuong.
DeleteWhat a harvest Sue!!! Your blueberries look utterly delicious, along with all the other soft fruit. Thee sweet peas are lovely!xxx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dina
DeleteI love your harvest boxes overflowing with such lovely goodies, all sorted by type :) I'm taking note of your netting - my blueberries aren't likely to need protection any time soon, but I'm thinking it would come in handy for the raspberries and blackberries.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to manage to get enough raspberries and blackberries without the need to net them, Margaret our birds tend to go for the smaller berries first.
DeleteAll that lovely fruit! We netted our currants and blueberries this year so we're hoping for a better harvest. Hopefully will be picking them this week.
ReplyDeleteOur blackcurrants don't seem to have done as well this year, Margaret we don't need to net them fortunately otherwise we would be netting everything on the plot. The redcurrants are quite a different proposition as if we didn't Net them we would have none to eat as the blackbirds adore them.
DeleteGreat harvest, Sue.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Endah
DeleteMy blueberry bushes are in the fruit cage, I would never get anything if they were not protected. Your harvests look wonderful - did I ever ask how many freezers you have?
ReplyDeleteWe have two fridge freezers, one tall upright and one half size upright Jayne. We fill the lot of them. :-)
DeleteI see your blueberry bushes are so high, Sue. There are many of them here in the woods and they are short bushes with many berries. We picked blueberries as well.I liked your crop especially potatoes, I'm waiting for mine it's first time I grow them.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice week!
Could the blueberries growing wild near you be what we call bilberries, Nadezda as they are lower growing.
DeleteThat's great harvest of berries! Oh! look at those blueberries! It's so expensive here! I can imagine some cakes in your kitchen!
ReplyDeleteBerry fruit is quite expensive in our shops, Malar.
DeleteI love the look of your flower cutting patch, Sue, and think I'll do something similar up at the allotment myself next year. What type of blueberry do you grow? Mine here never come to much (perhaps the birds are getting to them first!) but I want to get more for the allotment.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first year that we have had a decent amount of blueberries, Caro and we have had the bushes for some time. I don't know whether it has been the weather or the netting that has made the difference. I we have four different varieties but I'm afraid they are one of the few things that we have no idea of the variety. We didn't make a note of it back then
DeleteThanks for this, Sue. I think I'd be best to get a selection of bushes as I've read of cultivars fruiting at different times to extend the season. I know that blueberries don't like being disturbed so I'll just have to persevere with the ones that I have in the veg patch!
DeleteThis as the idea of the four in the selection that we bought, they fruit at different times.
Delete