Courgettes anyone..?

It's about a month since my last post, but in reality not that much has been happening down at the plot. At this time of year there is always a bit of a lull, now that the main growth spurt is over, and fortunately the weeds have slowed up enough for me to just about keep on top of them. It's also been a busy few weeks with the business, so time on the plot other than for harvesting has been at a premium. That said, I undertook a two-hour weeding blitz on Sunday 27th July in preparation for the allotment inspection the following week. Our site lost its 'Best in Nottingham' crown last year, after what can only be described as some rather dubious judging on a terribly wet day, having won the title for the previous two years. The pressure was on this year to regain our prize so I couldn't let the side down. I have to admit that the weeding was more cosmetic than thorough but it appeared effective. The judging was apparently very positive so I'll keep you informed of progress when I know the results.

We've had our fair share of sun and rain over the past month and that combination has brought the courgettes on a treat. They really are producing a huge crop now and we currently have a bucketful of each variety (One Ball and Kojak) that were picked last weekend. There were plenty more embryo fruits still forming so I expect another bumper harvest when I visit the plot tomorrow. Courgette soup anyone?

Another star performer is my Jack O'Lantern pumpkin. It has really started to motor in the past month, with its vines and tendrils reaching far and wide across the plot. I am training the vines as best I can to maximise the growing space available and so as not to swamp its (currently) less vigorous companion - the butternut squash. This flush of growth is now carrying a heavy crop of fruit, so I'm hoping for plenty of football-sized pumpkins come the autumn.

One rather worrying sight has been the beginnings of blight on both the potatoes and tomatoes. Last year's monsoon brought about an early and severe attack which decimated the tomatoes in particular, so last week I took some drastic remedial action and removed about 50% of the leaves from the tomato plants. This won't eradicate the blight completely, but I'm hoping it will stave off its worst effects long enough for the majority of fruits to ripen. The first Sungolds were just starting to change colour last week, so it won't be long before we can dispense with the tasteless, watery offerings from the supermarkets and feast on frest, tasty, homegrown tomatoes for the rest of the summer - hopefully...

Potato blight has become an annual problem on our site, so I'm seriously thinking of growing only first and second early potatoes next year to avoid it altogether. That said, I'm partial to my King Edwards so there might always have to be a small space allocated for them, regardless of blight problems. They should be ready to lift in early September and what they lack in quantity of crop they certainly make up for in quality. They are the 'king' of roasting potatoes and for the past few years we've managed to store some of our harvest long enough to have them for Christmas dinner - yum!