Plums and making marrow jam

After careful consideration, I decided to pick the plums, even though they aren't quite ripe. They will finish off indoors, so at least we will get them, not the wasps. The summer raspberries from Glen Ample are still ripening, but they do seem a bit mushy compared to earlier in the season. I've put some in the freezer for jam when I get around to it. This is a cunning link to my next plan, for those overgrown courgettes I mentioned. They will be turned into marrow and apricot conserve, rather than marrow and ginger. This is partly because I misread the recipe for the ginger one and I've started it off wrongly, and also instead of buying preserved stem ginger, Andy got me some ginger preserve, basically ginger jam. It seems a bit silly to put jam into jam, so as we've both made mistakes, I'm adapting a recipe from the Internet so as not to waste anything. The marrow is sitting in the bowl with the sugar until tomorrow, and is already marrow in syrup. I've chopped the dried apricots finely and put those in too. I also found some flaked almonds, which I think I'll add to the mix tomorrow. I'll let you all know how it turns out!

So frustrating

Well, two weeks into the holiday, and I've managed 3 acidents. the first 2 were annoying, severely bruised ankle and 3 burned fingers, painful, but didn't slow me down that much. However this lastest one is a bit more limiting. I was cutting up some watermelon on Saturday night, and sliced through my thumb nail and into the flesh below. 4 hours later I came out of casualty with instructions not to get the dressing wet for 5 days, after which, if I am careful, a full recovery will follow. Vicky was a star, she came running with the first aid box, but it was soon obvious that a plaster would not be sufficient, so she offered to come with me and her dad. She even came into the treatment room while they did the dressing, so 5 stars all the way.
As far as the garden, well I can water things if I am cautious, but I can't get a glove on and any pressure is still very painful, so other jobs are out. I had spent Saturday afternoon packaging up spare seeds for the Grapevine seed parcel swap, which should be on its way to me soon, so that will be a welcome diversion.
The spring cabbage seed I planted on Saturday is already showing through, and the plums have colour. I keep checking them so I get them before the wasps. I thought it was just around us that they were bad, but at the farmer's market on Sunday they were everywhere. The cake stall left one of each cake on display, and had to keep the others under wraps, and the punch stall had similar problems. It must be a good (bad) year for them.

At the moment the chillies are having a holiday in the garden. The greenfly infestation got so bad I brought in 12 ladybirds to help out, but I didn't realise the stupid things fall off the plants so easily. I was constantly rescuing them when they got stranded on their backs. I think because they were on the smooth window sill they couldn't right themselves like they would on soil. Anyway I felt really cruel, so I gathered them up and put them back outside. Then I realised we had, among the wasps, a number of hover flies. As both eat aphids, and I didn't really want them to come inside, I took the plants to them. This was on Saturday, and now, after a good squirt with dilute Fairy liquid, and a few downpours, the plants are looking much better. I hope to move them back in today or tomorrow as strong winds are forecast. (Well I will get the others to do it for me.)

I did get my cabbage, it was so fresh and crisp, lovely, and the caterpillar damage was confined to the outside leaves. We have been doing really well, the french beans have really taken off. I think Cobra will definitely be the ones of choice next year. I'm not so sure about my white flowered runners. In the garden many of the flowers have fallen without making beans, we have only had a few so far, so disappointing. The mini cucumbers planted at the allotment garden have done so though. They were a bit expensive, from T&M, but I picked 8 from 2 plants on Saturday. Mum likes these ones taken into the home for her. She can't manage a large one at a time as she has no fridge. The other ones at the allotment, I was a bit mistaken in. the seeds were given to me, and I was told they were like Telegraph, which I thought was a longish cucumber. These are short and spiky, like gerkins, although they taste nice if peeled. I won't be growing them next year.

Jam in July

Almost 2 weeks of the holidays gone, and I've still so much I want to do! Just everyday things seem to be occupying me at the moment. I intended to spend most of today in the garden, but didn't make it outside much until the afternoon. However, I did pick some blackberries from the hedgerow, so coupled with the few from the garden, I made 2 pots of blackberry jam. One will definitely be travelling to Portsmouth in September when Daniel returns to uni, although by then I will probably have a few more. Yesterday I made a similar amount of raspberry jam from the berries that had gone a bit soft in the recent rains. For both I used the sugar with added pectin. It makes life so easy!

Tomorrow I intend to go to the allotment garden to get a cabbage for dinner, as I've promised my sons beef stew with dumplings! They are asking for all sorts of favourites which they cannot be bothered to make for themselves when they are away. The caterpillars have made some inroads, but rubbing off any eggs I find, picking off any caterpillars, and the old net curtains protecting the plants have, I hope, left us with some edible hearts.

Sadly we are now convinced we only have 5 cats instead of 6. Polly hasn't been seen by anyone for a couple of months. She had taken to visiting elsewhere, but always turned up for breakfast. On happier note, Smokey has produced another lovely litter of 4 kittens. All are doing fine, and she is looking well, despite it being so soon since her last lot.

Cherry Disaster

This is a very despondant post, as it deals with a total crop failure. Our fan trained cherry tree flowered really well this year, and there was a large number of green cherries. These began to turn red mid June, but as they are black cherries, Sunburst, they were not due to ripen completely until mid to late July. We waited impatiently, watching the luscious bunches of cheeries deepen in colour, and a couple of weeks ago, I decided some looked ripe enough to try. Imagine my horror when I realised those delicious deep red clusters concealed a horrific secret. They were welded together and inside a horrible caterpillar had been busy munching away.

A truly disgusting discovery, and I set too, separating the bunches, squashing caterpillars, and picking off the damaged fruit. There wasn't many left, and they were still a bit tart, so we decided to leave them for another week.

Well, the wasps then moved in, during the last weeek of school, they had an end of term feast, and ate most of the remaining cherries down to the stones! I took 3 perfect ones to my Mum for her birthday, and we had 5 each. Even then, my 5 were not perfect, I had to cut bits out of them!

I am not sure on the policy for next year, I found an article that said Kent growers did not produce organic cherries because of the need to spray in spring against caterpillars, but the article did not give any details. I do try to be organic, but to be honest, as Vicky said, she would prefer to have the cherries with a little bit of poison, than no cherries at all. If I could find out what is used, and if it is available to home growers, I could do some research and make an informed decision.

As far as the wasps are concerned, I am determined they will not get the plums. There is not many, and I don't want to lose them too!

What I picked this week

Things have been very hectic in my life recently, so I'm afraid this blog has been a bit neglected, but I thought it more important to keep the plants alive!

This week I've been picking the Meteor peas that Amanda gave me. The ones at the allotment garden aren't doing too well, but those in the garden are lovely. I've also been picking dwarf beans from the plants Peter gave me, as well as the first ones from the climbers. The ones in the greenhouse have been cropping for a while now, so the bean season is underway.

I'm not sure about the benefit of the early tomato sowing. Although I picked the first one on the 1st June, I've not had many since, and they have been small as well. However, the kohl rabi in the patio gro trays has been doing well, and we've been self sufficient in lettuce and salad leaves for a couple of months now. The garlic is safely pulled, and drying off in the garage.

I pulled the first white beetrooot today. It does look strange, but I've been impressed with the leaves. I don't like the red ones, but these are much more like spinach, so a dual crop.

The fruit has been doing well too. I've picked several bowls of raspberries, and the blackcurrants have been picked and frozen, ready to make into jam when I get time. The cherries are lovely tasting, but still red, so I'm risking leaving them fro a few more days. If we do get rain it might cause them to split though. Apparently it's the rain on the skins, that causes the problems.

Flowers!

Believe it or not, I do manage to fit in a few flowers, and this year I've already enjoyed some beauties. It started with the bulbs, then my alpine clematis, the camellias and the rhododendron in its pot. My Gertrude Jekyll rose was flowering its heart out, then down came the rain, and spoilt a lot of the flowers. However the recent dry spell has spare the later ones, and the scent is amazing. Vicky's Ice Cream rose, a white hybrid tea, is now in full flower and despite a few aphids, looks lovely.

The hardy carnations are a bit tardy, covered with buds, but we are still waiting for the blooms to open. Not so with the sweet peas. Air warden looks great, although it's companion was supposed to be blue, not pink. The packet definitely show blue flowers, but every one is pink. Luckily the red does not clash, as I planted them to climb together. Although the beans are technically veg, I am looking forward to their contribution to the colour in the garden having chosen varieties with white and mauve flowers. I've also put snapdragons between the celeriac, so brighten up the view.

Home Veg Garden Update

Where to start? The fruit is looking promising this year, I've raspberrries, blackcurrants, blueberries, cherries and plums, although I might lose some to the June drop yet. The blackcurrants are beginning to colour though, and I swear they were darker tonight than this morning after the sunshine we had. The cobnut trees have a good number of nut clusters, considering they are still only about 4 ft tall, and the apple tree that was broken in the post managed to set 4 apples so far, although again, they might not all make it.I never did get a replacement, but perhaps they meant next season! I won't get so many grapes this year though, as one of the main rods died back, and the fruiting shoots are less. I have got 10 cuttings taken from last year's prunings, so I'm taking them to the Strawberry Fayre next week, where the Garden Club is having a table.

On June 1st I picked my first tomato, Tigerella, from the Dec 27th sowing. I've had 2 more since then, and another colouring up, but I haven't tasted one yet as the girls have had them. The other varieties are nowhere near ready yet. I have been picking chillies for a couple of weeks. The purple jalapenos are much hotter ripe, but the hot lemon are pretty tastless so far, so I'm hoping they develop. As far as the peppers go, I've a ripe Canape, and the 2 orange bell are showing streaks of colour. All are still living in 6 inch pots on the kitchen window sill!

Lettuce and salad leaves abound at the moment, but I've had to resort to washing them with my reading glasses on. I remember Mum serving up greenfly with the salad, and I'm in danger of doing the same.

The cucumbers in the greenhouse are looking good, and I've some fruit set on the cape gooseberries, Little Lanterns. Takae said they are lovely when ripe, so I'm looking forward to later in the year. Vicky is really pleased we didn't lose a single kohl rabi to the slugs, and she's now enjoying them raw, munching on them when chatting away on MSN. The carrots have been really slow considering I planted them in January. We've had a few, and they are lovely, but I don't know they are worth the effort of such an early sowing.

However the broad beans are another story. I've finished picking the first crop planted in November, with some frozen for later, as Takae and I are the only ones who liked them. I've some more coming on, and the earlier sowings escape the blackfly. The globe artichokes have been attacked though, that is one thing Takae didn't take to.

I sowed some of the white beetroot seed I got from a Grape when we visited Wisley, and the roots look around an inch across, so they are on their way, but the radish have been poor, probably because I didn't keep them watered enough in the dry spell. My garlic leaves are looking a bit tired now, but I think it will still be a few weeks before its time to get them up, and the shallots will of course be later, although it looks as if most sets have split into 4 or 5 at least.

It looks as if I will get a few successes this year, but I think a lot will depend on how the weather behaves over the summer!