Winas and Losers

I decided to lift the garlic last week. The foliage was dead and no more growing would be forthcoming. I had a feeling that the harvest would be poor and I was 100% correct.

The bulbs were pathetic specimens. They have divided into cloves and are probably usable. We haven't really ever had a major success with garlic in the past and I am considering pulling the plug on our forays into garlic growing.

11 July

Despite loosing about a quarter of our raspberry canes we are collecting a steady supply of raspberries. 

We picked more Malwina strawberries which confirmed that the flavour is superb. Everything that I have read about this variety uses words like 'flavoursome' in the description.  It would have been a shame to add anything to the bowls of fruit that we enjoyed as a dessert.

Just add a spoon

A criticism is that the berries are a too dark red but we like the colour. Malwina is a late variety so the fruit is just coming on stream. For this reason and the flavour, I will try to root some runners to produce plants to replace the dead  or struggling Vibrant plants which are not living up to their name.

12 July

Fenella and Cupid continue to crop although the berries are smaller and coming to an end.

We are braving the thorns of the tayberry and picking a few fruits. The problem is that the new canes tend to cover the fruiting canes despite my best efforts to prevent this. Plucking fruit often requires the hand to be plunged into a tangle of vicious thorns.

The first two of what I hope will be a constant supply of Mini Munch cucumbers were ready for harvesting. I am refraining from photographing every fruit. We also have a regular supply of fresh salad leaves and herbs that never make it to our harvest photo call.

13 July

We found a head of cauliflower that both we and the slugs had missed. Many of the heads had been spoiled by slugs browsing the flower heads. We only just beat a slug to this one as I spotted one individual about to tuck in.

At the beginning of the week we picked our first courgette. The fruits seem much slower to develop at present. Usually the tiny fruits become monsters as soon as you turn your back.

Later in the week we picked more so maybe the glut is beginning - in anticipation I have added my list of courgette recipes to the blog sidebar. Strangely the yellow variety has lots of immature fruits that seem reluctant to swell although by the end of the week we did manage to harvest two yellow courgettes.

Our purple Glencoe raspberry has been added to our harvest of berries.

Our Glencoe produces plenty of tasty berries but these are always smaller than we imagine that they should be. Does anyone else grow Glencoe or the black raspberry- Jewel that I am thinking of adding to our collection?

16 July

We picked the first punnet of jostaberries.

We thought that the wood pigeons had stolen all the berries as they seem partial to them. Many of the branches of the bushes are broken under the weight of the wood pigeons fumbling about. The berries we harvest are in positions that the pigeons can't reach so at least we have a share.

We have also started picking red gooseberries.

We had the first small picking of mangetouts which is a bonus considering the state of the plants.

We dug one row of the Casablanca potatoes and made a late sowing of peas in the vacated spot. Last year our late sowing came to nothing but we had nothing to lose as the seeds would have gone to waste any way. At worst the plants will give the soil a nitrogen boost.

17 July

We stripped as many broad beans as were ready from the first lot of plants. These have been frozen.

Finally I picked the first of our sweet peas - not enough even to be called a posy but I am hoping that this is a sign that they are at last deciding to grow.

Today I am linking to Harvest Monday over at Dave's blog  Our Happy Acres

Copyright: Original post from Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments http://glallotments.blogspot.co.uk/ author S Garrett