The sun continues to shine

      The sun continues to shine although there is rain and thunder in the forecast for the week end. I hope it does rain yet despite everything the ground once you get through the top couple of inches is still damp.
   The summer harvest continues. Gardeners Delight, Galina, odd Ethel Watkins best and Millefleur tomatoes are being regularly picked along with cucumbers, courgettes, lettuce, haricot vert and Troubadour melons! Onions have now been gathered in and sweet peppers are close to being big enough to cut. Aubergines and chili's are now ready to cut.  I still have potatoes to dig up. The biggest disappointment this season has been the Gigante runner beans. I had high hopes for these but the chickens thought otherwise.
   In the poly tunnel the cucumbers are coming to an end as are the tomatoes. The sweet peppers are very close to being able to be picked. Of course Nigel's Green chili's are thriving! Beetroot and lettuce is now well established. I have sowed some winter lettuce seed in the hope to continue having lettuce available at least into the autumn. Bought cauliflower plants have also been planted.
   In the outside garden more Great Lakes lettuce has been transplanted. I am eating these lettuce before they are mature but hey ho there is enough of them. Winter vegetables have now been planted which included winter leeks and two varieties of savoy type cabbage. My winter cabbage and swedes grown from seed have been a total loss. 
  On the animal front the sheep are now more happy having been moved to better pasture. The geese continue to grow. At least one of the cockerels amongst the meat chickens is trying to crow. Processing date is about two weeks away. The hens are going through a non laying phase and the average egg laying is down to about five a day. One hen has now been broody for about two weeks despite being thrown of the nest regularly.
   The steady march to autumn continues. Our wood man has called and we will no doubt get the wood delivered in a week or two. My back aches are the thought of having to move it into the hanger.

Summer suddenly seems to be ending...

    Well the weather has gone from hot to hot and humid, to warm and wet, to cool, cloudy and wet. It has been a while since I posted my last blog. We have had visitors here at Watermeadows and have been have a great time enjoying the sun, food, beer, wine and messing about in the river!
    What has been going on in the garden? I have had to water regularly through July and well into August. That has meant pumping water from the well to refill the water butts on a regular basis. You would think the poly tunnel would benefit from the hotter weather. It did not. Temperatures in the poly tunnel got so high plants were just turned to dust (almost literally!) Fortunately the weather has changed just about in time to cooler and wetter. Some crops have benefited from the hot sunny weather and I am reaping the result of my persisting watering. The cucumbers in the poly tunnel have not done well. Outside they have been amazing! I have picked lots and lots. I have also managed to keep a succession of lettuce going so we have had enough lettuce. The tomatoes inside the poly tunnel have done well with copious amounts of watering with lots of Milfleur, Gardeners Delight (Irish) and Calina being picked and eagerly devoured by adults and children alike! Outside not so good. Not surprising really as I have not watered them, however, a reasonable amount is starting to be picked. One success this year is that I have managed to grow Couer De Boeuf tomatoes to a point where I am picking plumb ripe red fruit! One up to Rodger over the chickens. The potato crop has been good with the Binje and Charlotte potatoes now harvested. Desiree still to be done but the tops are still green so I am leaving them for now. Haricot vert are now coming on stream with over one kilo picked in one session. Plenty more to come. Good ole Nigel's Green chili's have come up trumps again this year with the poly tunnel and those outside cropping well. I grew a different onion set this season called Sturon. They have done really well despite the dry weather. Hindsight says I should have planted more! The shallots have also done well and are waiting to be turned into pickle onions! Squash, pumpkins, courgettes and melons are doing very well having been watered every day with the first Troubadour melons being pick on the 14th August. It should not be long before the water melons are ready. 
    Sowing for the winter has at last started with carrot, fennel, Gilfeathers turnip-swede, and Giant Limousin turnip sown. For once I got the seed in just before the rain started. 
    On the livestock front for the first time since we have had the sheep we have fed them hay and they ate it. The pasture has suffered badly in the hot sunny weather. Having said that as I write this blog the weather has turned cooler and wetter and the grass is already growing again. The geese are growing well and the second batch of "meat" chickens are thriving and putting on weight. One of our laying hens has gone broody and has to be removed from her nest as often as possible until she snaps out of it! Egg production is fast reaching the 2000th egg laid this year.
     So the summer is coming to an end and autumn is fast approaching. Blackberries are being picked and the apples and grapes are swelling. It has been a good year for my apple trees that I planted with a good number of good sized bramleys. I am hopeful for a good apple crop among the older trees assuming the bugs do not get them first of course.

Shallot harvest

First picking of tomatoes

Nigel's Green Chili

100wt pumpkin (its bigger now!) One of 5!

Sweet pepper in the poly tunnel

Troubadour  Melon