July already !

Today I made a cage to support the Jerusalem Artichokes. With the horrendous weather we've been suffering from lately they were almost horizontal - apparently they don't like wind rock, so I'll have to wait and see what happens. I've not grown them before, so don't have anything to compare them too. Fingers crossed I guess:


Me thinks we'll be eating runner beans shortly, it's fascinating how they wrap themselves around the canes so delicately - some of them have already reached the top of the supports. The flowers are very delicate:


My aubergines are looking really good and look as if they are about to burst into flower any day:


Despite the slugs my carrots are doing really well. I'm very impressed with the Red Dragons - the colour and taste are great and they look so fantastic. Unfortunately I was so busy dodging showers this afternoon that I ended up forgetting to put the fleece cover back over the carrot bath. Am worrying now about carrot fly, so I'll have to pop back up there tomorrow night and cover them up again.



My melons have loads of flowers and what look like little baby melons !!! It's so exciting, I hope they don't get damp or slugged


The rhubarb has finally recovered after being transplanted a couple of months ago. It should do really well next Spring:


It might not look so pretty now, but come September and this Turk's Turban will be a thing of beauty. I've got four plants growing up frames:


Now you see them ... this is proof that I do have Basil seedlings. I've never managed to get them past the seedling stage though - presumably the slugs and snails are feasting on them. I've tried them in pots, in the brick greenhouse, outside, direct sown and finally now into the greenhouse border - they always look promising:


The sweetcorn is between one and two foot at the moment. The big ones look really strong, but I'm worried about the smaller ones. We've had enough rain now God - could you press the sunshine button for a bit please ?


Do you know what this is ?

It's a Ladybird lavae - they are such strange looking little things. I say little, but they are considerably bigger than ladybirds. I'm going to do some research to see if it possible to tell which ladybird it will become, or whether they are all identical at this stage.

At the moment I'm harvesting broadbeans, potatoes (rocket and charlotte), peas, herbs, salad leaves, strawberries, onions, garlic, welsh onions and carrots. The lavender is gorgeous - I wish I could take cuttings, but I've never had any success - despite people telling me how easy it is. Maybe I'll peg some down into a pot and see if I can get it to root that way: