Here is our garden looking very fresh and lush all ready for our open day – and here we are in full cake selling mode on the day itself.
And here is the lovely poster that Paula had made of our progress with the garden over the last two years.
We were very pleased with the day as we raised nearly £1200 for the National Gardens Scheme, had over 130 visitors and all had a really fun time.
But after the fun, down to work. So on Friday we had a harvesting session.
First up were our spuds. We could have left them a bit longer so that they would have got a bit bigger but we were all so keen to see if they had really grown that we decided to go ahead and dig! Very exciting….
And up they come…. How about that for a fine haul?….
Now we need to dig over the ground, add lots more juicy manure – and plant the next crop which should be ready well before Christmas. But it was not just spuds….. Here is Jacqueline harvesting our broad beans…
This was relatively painless harvesting – but not so the gooseberries which were distinctly prickly!
Next door were the redcurrants which were looking amazing and which we decided not to pick until they were fully ripe. But, disaster…… This morning I realised that because I had lifted the netting to get to the gooseberries and forgotten to put it back, some greedy bird had got at our redcurrants and there were only a few left…….
One could say that a similar fate had befallen our chard but this time we are holding Jacqueline responsible! Here was the planter full of vigorous chard – and nasturciums to keep the slugs off.
The idea was to harvest enough for everyone to take some home – but she went a bit mad with her choppers……
However, I am sure it will bounce back! Indeed, this morning I think I even saw some new shoots coming through. You cannot keep a good chard plant down.
Our other tale of disaster was our cucumbers…. Ten out of the twelve that I had bought got munched by the slugs!
However, I am delighted to say that the two that survived are doing well. I reckon that by the time the slugs had got through the first ten they were so full that they just couldn’t tackle the last two. So we look forward to juicy cucumbers in a month or so. And note those healthy corn on the cobs in the background too…
And a similar success with the tomatoes which are going mad. We think that they really like their new little bed with their backs to a nice warm brick wall – but whatever it is they are growing so fast that I have having to re-stake them every week.
And finally, boding well for the autumn, the Bramley apple is laden. We had such an abundant crop last year that I feared that this year it might take a rest, but it doesn’t seem so.
Addendum…… And just look what Jacqueline’s mum made with all that chard – paired with salt fish and bakes…… Yum!!!
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