Beginning to harvest

Yesterday I harvested some more lettuce- I have grown three different kinds. The red ones look gorgeous against the lime coloured ones. There was one solitary tiny cucumber so I ate it - delicious. Currants aren't very plentiful but we did treat them badly when they were given to us so are grateful that they are alive and have produced anything. Picked our first courgettes - forgot to tell hubby. The baby ones are lovely can even eat them raw. Today I found out I'd won a pair of tickets for the Latitude festival- very excited. The last thing I'd won before that was an egg rack. Have been picking and using onions from allotment and also more potatoes. Am digging up potatoes as I need them. When all their foliage dies back it will be time to dig them all out as otherwise the slugs might get them. Carrots are still tiny and will need thinning out to let the remaining ones have enough room to grow bigger. Had meeting last night to find out daughters first teacher's name. So it's real my baby's going to school.Boo hoo.

day out

Had a day out to Myddleton House a few days ago. This structure was in the middle of a wisteria glad pergola. Kids loved running around it and hiding from each other. Later the kids found a gentle slope to roll down but my friend complained that they weren't doing it with the same abandon she'd done it with as a child. So there followed a ten minute lesson from me and my friend on how to roll down the hill. It didn't half make me dizzy. Why do you seem to get dizzier as you get older or is it coz you do less dizzy inducing things? There were lots of different types of irises. I love them they look like they are dancing.




Here's the photo of the currants- my husband's friend gave us them and he can't remember if they are red or black currants. So here goes currant watching.

It's been really hot in London so naturally I have caught a cold!! At the allotment I have sown dwarf french beans and we have been doing weeding, weeding and more weeding.

allotment

I've had to accept partial defeat with my tomatoes so I've been and bought some from my favourite local nursery. I've put some of my sickly ones in bigger pots and they do seem to have perked up but I can't risk a relapse so needed to get back up plants. I love eating tomatoes straight off the plant -they taste so delicious especially when the sun has warmed them so I don't want to end up with none. My courgettes and cucumbers are looking well - in fact I need to plant them out in the allotment soon as they are rampant. I keep the tomatoes at home as it's nice for the kids to be able to step outside and pick them whenever they fancy. Also blight often sweeps through the allotment destroying the tomatoes. It spreads between potatoes and tomatoes really easily. You can spray the potatoes to stop it. Alternatively you can twist the stem and leaves off the potato plant and burn them (or put it in the rubbish bin) and that stops the blight from travelling down the stem to the potaoes and turning them into mush. Blight travels by spores so is easily blown around. Tomorrow I will try and bring you photos of the currants forming at the allotment. We have black, red and white currants.