Tidying

Well I have spent most of today pottering about doing bits and pieces, and quite a bit of weeding so everything is tidy before I go on holiday.

I finally managed to sort out the tiny plot at the side. I am going to give up trying to grow vegetables here as the soil isn't good enough. So I dug in as much compost as I could and planted some beautiful lavender and heathers. I have a yellow jasmine plant (I think) that will go in the middle and climb the wall when the one bean plant I have is finished(!)

Yesterday I dug up the last potatoes, composted and covered the ground the stop the weeds - this is where my winter brassicas will go when they're big enough.

And I did lots of weeding, planted some black radish, endive and more swedes and replaced the pea contruction with a much bigger one so they can grow as much as they like. I planted these really late but they are covered in flowers so hopefully I will get a few peas before the weather gets cold.

A Momentus Day...

Oh yes. Believe it people. What you see below are the very first potatoes ever grown in my garden.

I really didn't expect these to be ready as they hadn't flowered yet but were supposed to be earlies. But they were starting to smother my broccoli overflow area (!) so I thought I would dig them up and see, if the spuds were tiny I reckoned they'd still be tasty.

Only I got a bucket-full from about six plants! I did a little dance in the garden and immediately called my mum to celebrate. I will be eating them for dinner - way-hey!

Elsewhere in the garden things are still going well, apart from a cucumber plant which has died. I'm ashamed to say that it was totally my fault - I was transferring it to a bigger pot when I snapped the stem in two. Oh dear. I tried to bandage it (feel free to laugh!) but it Withered and Died to quote Kate Rusby. So now I only have three left, but never mind.

Dead Potato

Oh dear.

I was planting out my brussel spout and kale plants last night and noticed that a random single potato had withered and died.

What does this mean? Has a mischievous cat chosen to do its business right on top? Was the potato plant protesting that I had planted them all too close together? Or is this the dreaded blight?

Well I dug it up and the tuber was totally rotten and soggy - it was gross so no picture. A frantic check through potato problems in 'The New Vegetable and Herb Expert' (thanks Dad) brought me to the conclusion that Dr. D. G. Hessayon hadn't come across this before either.

So...anyone any ideas? Dad?!

And so I carried on and planted out my brussel sprouts and curly kale.

The garden is starting to fill up finally. Tonight its the turn of the courgettes and squashes so I'd better be off and get busy. And the housework is beckoning too. Oh dear.