All the tomatoes are in and doing well. They are surrounded by French marigolds and the bed is looking quite pretty. The first flower trusses have appeared and I anticipate a good crop given a half-decent summer.
The courgettes and squashes were planted nearly a month ago and most are doing well. They have sulked a little in the cooler, damper weather of late but a few warm sunny days should see them spread their wings. Unfortunately all of my One Ball courgettes were destroyed by the weekend gales, snapped of at the base, so I've had to pop a few more seeds in and anticipate a late crop.
The various climbing beans have started to wind their way up the supports and the first flowers are setting. They seem to be suffering from the wind, which tends to unravel them, so I've been tying them in with soft twine. I hope for a really good crop of French beans, which seem to be a week or two in adavnce of the runners even at this early stage.
The bl00dy pigeons have decimated my red cabbages, pak choi and kohl rabi. The only survivors are the five or so red cabbages under a cage. I hate using netting, mainly because it's ugly and can also cause problems for birds, but I think it is now a necessity on my plot.
The potatoes are looking really healthy with no signs of blight at this early stage. The first earlies should be ready in a fortnight and then it should be regular cropping until late September, when I'll dig up and store the maincrop.
Finally, the soft fruit is staring to ripen, with strawberries and raspberries leading the charge. The blackbirds have managed more than me so far with just the odd berry ripening, but soon there'll be more than they can eat and I can take over! Looking forward to plenty of fresh fruits then a batch or two of jam.
I've taken a few pictures of the plot so they'll be uploaded when I get the chance. After the pigeon attack and the midsummer gale, here's hoping for some warm sunny weather and a few night time showers to really get things growing. Happy gardening!
