Friday 25th August 2006 - Weather: bright and breezy

A flying visit today as mum is over and was babysitting whilst I took the chance to pop to the plot to have a little pick. All of that lovely rain means the waterbutts are all full, but it also means the weeds have gone CRAZY! I couldn't believe it. The bindweed is the biggest thug of all and has been quietly making itself at home in the pumpkin patch. But I shall not worry - the urchins go back to school in just over a week, and then I will be able to spend as much time as I can over there getting rid of it all.

As I am in the pumpkin patch I can report that things are looking good. Not as many squashes as last year, but still plenty! Picked another bucket full of cucumbers, and the courgettes have started again thanks to the rainfall. I have several crown prince and a grey one whose name escapes me. Plus the swan gourds have grown to huge proportions! I shall take my camera next visit. There is a turks turban and a couple of others, so enough for us. The runner beans that run along the middle of this plot are in full bloom again, once again thanks to that rain, so it looks like we will get a nice late bonus harvest from them. Also the late peas I sowed have had a growth spurt, but I don't know if they will come to anything as they suffered such a check in growth because of the drought. Some flowered when they weren't even an inch tall. I shall monitor them and if they just sit there doing nothing, when I clear the squashes, I will just dig them in. The leeks have started to bulk up and I am saving loo roll inners to experiment with blanching the leeks. I know it has worked for others. The last major thing on this plot are the toms, and wow they are fab! Picked a lovely trug full, but they are slow to ripen. Picked the first beefsteak - Omar Lebanese. These are fab beefies, although incredibly ugly!

Over on the main plot things are really slowing down now. The second batch of sweetcorn has all but finished so I can start oiking them out. However, the good thing is the black and white radish and the mixed lettuce leaf that I sowed last visit are all up already!

I really do need to spend some quality time on the plot pulling up what has finished and raking the rough ground down. I am tempted to sow even more seeds in September as I reakon most quick to mature things like salads will do the business long before the weather turns.