July

The weather is a bit temperamental and much cooler than last year. I have been away for nearly 2 weeks, though I popped back occasionally to pick raspberries, I have loads again this year, the freezer looks nearly full. I have now dug up my garlic, which look much healthier this year and some of my onions look like they may reach a decent size as well, though many have 'bolted'. I have dug up my first sowing of potatoes and there are a lot and all a good size.
My strawberries did well but now something has come and eaten the leaves, fortunately after I had the fruit, whatever it is, a deer I think, has also decided to eat leaves off the raspberries.
My last sowing of lettuce has taken off and the first plants are now very big so it is lettuce, lettuce, and lettuce! The 'mange-tout' have flowers and some of the beans are looking good. I think the courgette is slow this year but the last couple of weeks have not been very warm.
My leeks are getting very big but some-one (something) has broken one of them, I'm not sure if it is worth while digging it up and freezing it, I may try.
There are loads of plums, I will try and pick them myself this year and lot let someone rob me.
All in all things look promising.

9th July

 

These are the pretty flowers from the 'Mange-tout', I hope this means I will have plenty of peas.

 

These are some of the plums on one of my small trees, I am tempted to sit on the 'look-out' this year and see if I can catch whoever steals my fruit.

My raspberries have nearly finished, looking back to what I wrote last year they seem to have been much earlier this year. I have enough to last until the beginning of next week. The cherry season is under way but I think that won't last much longer either.

The courgette is still not doing well, it just gets one flower at a time so the fruit never has chance to be pollinated. My tomatoes are looking healthy, I have had 2 tomatoes already but that is because I bought one plant with baby tomatoes on it, I thought that was a good idea but it wasn't as the plant put all it's energy into the tomatoes and made no effort to grow, now finally it is growing but it is well behind the others. I have one plant that is a self seed and it is doing really well, it compares very favourably with the plants I tended carefully over the Spring!

The old barn I bought next door is now down and slowly turning into a garden, at least it is at the front, the back part is still full of wood to saw. I have bought myself a saw and have been very busy. There is now a good supply of wood in the garage but the mound of wood outside doesn't seem to get much smaller.

 

25th July

It is nearly the end of July and the Feast Day of Santiago, a special day here in the village. For lunch I had courgettes, potatoes, mange-tout, lettuce and Spring onions all from my garden and then finished with Raspberry Sorbet, made with my raspberries.

 

Once again my vegetable patch is nearly full.  I have frozen some beans and I have sown cabbage and some more spring onions, I will see what happens.

 

29th July

Nearly the end of the month and what a difference a month makes. This afternoon I sat outside in my garden and enjoyed a cup of tea.

The patio isn't quite large enough so I have bought more slabs to add another row but, all in all, I am very pleased with my garden, all I need now is a door into the kitchen.