Bounty - 20 July 2008

With the exception of a post-party visit to the plot with friends (pictured below, sideways), we have largely ignored the plot while planning for, and recovering from, our summer party.

Despite our inattention, all of our plants have been busy growing. Exceptionally well, it turns out, since we've had loads of sun and rain. Working across the plot from left to right (as you face the pasture beyond:

Our main-crop potatoes are thriving, with many beautiful white and yellow flowers. These were torn off yesterday, when Mr G said they draw energy away from the spuds. (This I knew, in theory, but I also thought there was something to do with the flowers that would signal harvest time.)

Leeks and kale in the Fruit Cage have come on, too. Leeks now too big to move out (as we had planned). Kale very leafy with bright purple stalks. Marigolds, sweet peas and sunflowers (pictured below) are also bursting with colour and growth. Raspberries growing nicely (but short on fruit so far). Blueberry bush fruiting. Strawberry plants died down, but I don't think we were expecting them to crop again. Apple trees have little apples on them (again, predictable, but exciting).

In Bed 4 (?), the Elephant Garlic is still some time from harvest, but we had one of the regular garlic bulbs for dinner with courgettes (more later). Very tasty and, being fresh, the cloves were visible but with no dried wrapping between them. We've had carrots from this bed, too.

Bed 3 has a few carrots in, too, but is specialising in peas. Yesterday we harvested all the pods that were ready, which, if we still used shopping bags, would have filled half a bag.

From Bed 2, we took about eight broccoli, heads the size of a person's head, but a little smaller, many of which we gave to friends and other plotters. Word is that they will continue to crop.

In Bed 1, the corn is tall and have those corn wispy things poking out. Butternut squash are growing slowly but surely. Beans and peas are on the ascent up their frames. The most amazing crop, so far, is the courgettes (zucchini) who can, literally, grow a few inches a day in the right conditions.

Sunflowers on the bank and by our fence are beautiful - and look just like the sunflowers you see on television. Who'd have thought.

Despite being sunny, the day was overshadowed by a creeping concern that we won't be able to cope with the harvest. Of course we know this is nonsense, because we can always give it away, but we had two full carrier bags to take home yesterday, even after sharing most of our broccoli. (Oh, yes, lessons to be learned about planting little and often, rather than everything maturing at once.)

But we also turned our thoughts to dining in the coming winter - with this in mind we froze some broccoli and the peas, after blanching and (this was fun) plunging them into iced water. We may need to get a bigger freezer.

We were heading out (into the big city) to our friends John and Ray's celebration of their recent civil partnership, and thought we'd bring them a basket of goodies. So, on a bed of kale, there's broccoli, two carrots (one of them rude) and two courgettes. Happy eating!