I’m sorry. This was written last week. There are no pictures. I am bad. I will write again tonight. Please bear with me…
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Three draft post entries and a million photographs later, I am here. I am here!!! I’m finally sitting down to write this bad boy.
I know I should have written earlier, and believe me, I intended to. But it’s that time of year where the days are so long that they just become packed with non-bloggy activities. I’m surprised I’ve managed to keep watering my plants, so we’ve had a relatively small casualty count this year. I still need to do a lot of repotting, despite writing about it over 4 weeks ago…
My chillis and peppers are coming on very nicely - so far the greenfly has stayed away and the banana (long sweet) pepper plants in particular are skyrocketing. And yesterday I found myself mesmerised by the Delicious Miss Dahl’s cooking, and have resolved to put on my apron today, get some recipe books out, and start expanding my culinary horizons. That’s partly why I enjoy my own food - I get to enjoy the food at its tastiest and freshest, and it forces me to think of ways in which I can use gluts of vegetables in interesting and exciting ways. Hopefully I’ll be able to update with some tantalising pictures in the near future…
Outside the runner beans are steadily making their way up the runner bean poles, the Charlotte potatoes have grown about a foot in a matter of days, as have the onions and garlic. I planted a few of the butternut squashes straight into the (fertilised) ground, and after an initial rehoming shock, they seem to be doing OK. It remains to be seen whether they need an extra hand in terms of soil warmth, but for now a regular water and feed seems to be enough. Nearer the house, the wild alpine strawberries have finally come into fruit, and despite their size, are absolutely delicious. I’m hoping to set aside some time to find some useful recipes for them. Likewise, my polka raspberries have fruited on the first year’s growth, and I’m looking forward to a few raspberry tarts and apple and raspberry crumble a bit later on this year.
Aside from the vegetable garden, the flower borders have virtually exploded over the last fortnight. A mixture of heavy rain showers and warmer temperatures mean everything is ‘growing like the clappers’ - including the weeds. Yes, the annual Battle of the Bindweed and Brambles has well and truly begun. This afternoon I’m readying myself with a few green bags and my gardening gloves, to begin an assault that will probably take a few hours. That’s in addition to the arduous task of lawn mowing. Here in suburbia, there definitely seems to be a trend amongst the menfolk and their lawn mowing - as in, it’s what they do on a sunny weekend. Tend to their lawns. Mow and strim and tidy. I bet many of our surrounding neighbours want to tear their hair out everytime they look at the state of our smallest smallholding. Neatness is not my forte.
I’ve allowed two or three ‘nature’ areas - that is to say, I’ve allowed two or three areas to just do their own thing, and become overgrown. It’s great though - they’re buzzing with life. They tend to resemble patches of long grass, nettles, thistles (flowers are fab for bees et al) , a couple of woodpiles and a few wildflowers, and probably annoy our lovely but neater neighbours, but I think it’s really important to give over part of your land for that kind of use. It’s a kind of controlled natural chaos, or a ‘breathing space’, as the BBC would put it.
And so, I plod onwards, nothing really exciting to tell. I still have lots on and lots planned, so I *promise* I will make a concerted effort to post again soon. My ‘experiement’ may well be underway in a week or so, so keep checking back!
Weight: 11stones 1lb (almost at my first milestone!)
Running: Week 4 of 9 - Up to 6 minute intervals…
Tags: veg
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