First crops being harvested, second lot under way!

   Twelve days since the last blog entry. Umm.  I have frozen 4lbs of broad beans and so far 16oz of peas. These are ones that are surplus to our current eating! Rosebelle second early potatoes are now being regularly harvested and eagerly devoured. There are plenty! Carrots are being pulled. I have been a little disappointed with the early carrots in that the quantity has not been what I would have liked. The main summer crop is looking good though and should provide some baby carrots for the freezer. Over winter onions and garlic have been harvested and are hung up to dry. Very pleased with the garlic, disappointed with the onions. I doubt if I will plant over winter onions again. The sets planted earlier this year are also looking poor but those grown from seeds are looking fine. Shallots from sets look ok but not great.  Lots of weeding and forking being done. Marketmore 76 cucumbers in the poly tunnel are just wonderful. I have already cut two and there is another ready. They taste just great. My compost heap grows.

Weed compost heap -  over 2 cubic metres

   Runner bean sticks are up and beans sown. More Golden Primo cabbage sown in modules, mid season peas and sugar snap peas sown. More carrots and borlotti beans sown. Most crops are looking good with the weather being damp and warm everything is growing fast. I looked at last years garden log and read that I was picking haricot vert in June. So far this year my current haricot vert is just coming into flower. I still want to sow some haricot buerre (yellow) and need to find space somewhere! The sweet peppers are showing signs of flowering and the sweetheart melons are setting. Forage crops, cabbage and beetroot, have been sown although not in great quantity.

One of many sweetheart melons that have set

   All in all though I am quite pleased with the progress of the season so far. It is now time to start to plan for winter crops and first in will be the Limousin turnips and another attempt at parsnips. I sowed parsnips at this time of year in 2011 and they grew well only to be mostly eaten by moles or mice. So I will try again and see what happens. Two sowings so far have been an abject failure. I have winter carrots to try called Eskimo but still far too early for those. I think I may try more of the later variety of peas just for a laugh! In the poly tunnel I have transplanted some F1 Lion King white cabbage which is normally a white winter cabbage but I want to try and get some in the autumn. Further sowings of beetroot, primo cabbage and curly parsley have been sown.