Well that’s that then, I’m back after my week away. It was a nice break, but the weather was pretty rubbish, so our options were somewhat. So chilly was it that, unusually for me, I didn’t take a dip in the sea – well not further than shin high. And to think, in the previous week when I was rushing around trying to get everything in order at the garden, the temperature was up around 30°. Despite that there were some highlights – lots of beautiful walks, the finding of a large spider crab on the beach and watching hundreds of tiny Hermit Crabs heading for the sea or burying themselves in the sand to await the next tide. An evening visit from old friends, and meeting up with Trevor in the pub for the first time in 44 years! Observing the Stonechats in the scrubby vegetation by the cliff path. Finding orchids in the meadow above the beach. The photo above was taken on my early morning Nellie walk yesterday before heading home, it was along the Percuil River. What it doesn’t show is the heavy rain shower that soaked us only 2 minutes before I took the shot, or the fact that it was only 11°, but still lovely.
I am indebted to Laura from the village for watering the greenhouses and picking a few things, without her assistance it would have been difficult to get away. I went over to the garden first thing to assess its condition, and I have a busy week ahead of me getting things back in order in the polytunnel and greenhouse in particular. It is amazing how quickly the cucumbers become an impenetrable mass of foliage, and how rapidly the tomato plants develop side shoots and put on top growth that now desperately needs supporting. But all is good, and the rainfall since my departure has really led to healthy growth of the outdoor crops, with the cooler conditions holding back some things that I thought would be finished before I got back. Sadly that does not apply to a whole 100ft row of broccoli that has ‘gone over’ and is unusable save for a few heads.
More positively, the broad beans have hung on, there is kohlrabi and Florence fennel this week, padron and green chili peppers, cucumbers, and the first of my tomatoes. These will be in bags of mixed sized fruit, and like many of the items just mentioned they will be in short supply. I was hoping to be offering my own courgettes, but the cooler weather last week has not encouraged them to produce very much at all yet. The climbing beans are now looking healthy and are galloping up their poles. There are still round summer cabbages, and some large round lettuces, which I thought might have begun running to seed, but haven’t….yet. So there is a more summery look to the shop, albeit still supplemented by some bought-in items, though there is far more home grown produce than there has been for a very long time.
Because I’ve got a lot of catching up to do I’m going to leave it at that. I really enjoy my week away, but it’s always good to get home – the chickens, ducks and cat are all delighted that we are back. All deliveries will be as normal this week, and I will be at Wyken farmers’ market next Saturday. I look forward to seeing you.
Phil