Summer heat

Stutgarter Risen onions

Red Sun shallots

   It is about two weeks since my last blog entry. That is quite some time in the vegetable garden at this time of year. I
 was away for a week in the UK to see my youngest daughter and grand daughter up in Gods own county, Yorkshire. Plants grow quickly and before you can say "Bobs your Uncle" you are inundated with produce. And so it has happened. On my return I harvested shallots, onions, cucumbers, haricot vert, carrots, haricot buerre (yellow beans), potatoes, mixed variety tomatoes, courgettes, parsley and lettuce all being harvested in various quantities. The last week has seen daily temperatures of thirty degrees plus Celsius and not a lot cooler at night! I only water the plants in the poly tunnel and outside cucumbers, melons and squash. The rest take their chance and unfortunately the winter vegetables (cabbage, purple sprouting, sprouts) are all starting to look a little tired. Despite the continued hot weather when I was digging up potatoes the turned over soil was still damp. A testament to how much rain we had earlier
 in the year. I continue to sow lettuce seed 
to maintain a supply. Slugs managed to 

Sibley winter squash

demolish half of the last ones I had grown but fortunately I still have enough to eat! So it is back to the market to get lettuce plants to cover the gap while waiting for the seeds to germinate and  grow to a size that they can be transplanted.

Waltham butternut squash

   On the animal front things have been happening. The female duck and the Limousin hen have died, however, a lamb has been born and one of our hens (Mrs. Chick, do not ask) is sat on seven eggs and is two weeks into her brood (eggs should start to hatch at about twenty three days). Our first pair of Ixworth chicks are now close to being integrated with the others and the second pair now have adult feathers. It looks like we have an Ixworth chick coq so our Mr. Ixworth will be replaced by his son.

Burrowing critters eating the carrots

Cucumber and mixed variety tomatoes