End of June report

We've been up to the allotment and planted four rows of Canoe peas. There are enough left for another four rows, though they will have to go on the edge of the sweet corn bed.

The sweet corn is poking through.

My one soya plant, the two cape gooseberries, two pepper and 6 tomato plants are all doing well in the greenhouse.

There are nearly, nearly, nearly peas ready to eat.

The kidney beans and sweet potatoes were all looking a bit despondent. It has been beautifully hot and dry lately - but perhaps a bit too hot and dry for quite young plants. We bucketed loads of water on them and fed them some seaweed meal.

Back in the kitchen garden, I've planted seeds of a variety of different brassicas and some (late!) cornflowers. The raspberries and strawberries are ripening with enthusiasm. I'm not unhappy at all about having a raspberry glut. But I'm not sure quite what to do with a huge strawberry glut. They don't freeze well and I dopn't much care for strawberry flavoured things (though I like strawberries themselves). The Builder can't eat them and there are only so many strawberries one person can eat in a day! We are also munching on carrots from the first carrot box which I rather oversowed. I have undersowed the second one and they are coming along nicely. The beetroot (also in a box this year) is also coming along well. We have started pulling the autumn sown onions. The potatoes are coming on splendidly.

It might have been a good year for raspberries and strawberries but it hasn't been a particularly good one for cherries. Lots of cherries set, but they have nearly all fallen off or shrivelled. The few that we have had are lovely. Perhaps there will be more next year. The apple trees all still have quite a bit of fruit on them.

The Builder has pulled nearly all of the wheat and oats from the flower bed. But it is all still very dishevelled. I am hoping for some fine weather this weekend to get in and start clearing it up. It has to be said, though, that the flowers are all looking very cheerful and very colourful.

We harvested the red currants last week and got 500g. Not bad for two small bushes. I made 1.5 jars of jelly with them. Not sure what I'm going to do with the white currants though!