And just like that I’m back! Did you miss me? No really, did you? At least pretend to, just to massage my fragile ego. Tell me that you were yearning for my return…..or have you got used to Tesco/Aldi/Waitrose and can’t live without them? In some ways it feels like a long three weeks, on the other hand it seems to have flown by.

So what have I been up to?

Well this….

And this…..

And this……

And this…..

And lots of…..watering!

So, to put some meat on the bones. The object of the exercise was for me to get ahead with the growing, coinciding with the dearth of decent quality fresh produce, both my own, and from other growers during the hungry gap. On that front there was limited success. Limited because of the weather….it was just too darned good! The lack of rain has meant that my heavy clay soil is like concrete, and in places there are cracks in it wide enough for me to put my hand in. This has meant that the cultivation and preparation of beds for some of the summer crops outside has been impossible without first irrigating extensively. However, I wasn’t able to do that at the same time as using the sprinklers to provide the crops already growing with the level of moisture they required to achieve their potential. I mostly opted for the latter, which has resulted in some lovely cabbage and lettuce for this week’s deliveries, and cavolo nero for next week. The new potatoes have been earthed up and have just started to flower, so we are not too far off those loose skinned beauties being ready to lift. Less encouraging is the rate of growth of the beetroot, it is just sitting there sulking.

Meanwhile, better news in the greenhouse and polytunnel where the sunny and warm conditions have enabled plants in there to thrive, and they will yield a harvest weeks earlier than usual. Tomatoes in the greenhouse are already chest high and have set their 4th trusses of flowers, one or two cucumbers are very close to being large enough to cut, I have planted Padron, hot chilli peppers and basil in the glasshouse, only leaving one bed to clear for the sweet peppers. In the tunnel I will be cutting courgettes for this week’s boxes, and I have planted others outside for a continuous supply throughout the summer, along with patty pan and spaghetti squash. The chard in the tunnel is now bolting because of the very high temperatures in there, but I have planted a couple of rows outside to follow on, and some Florence fennel. The garlic is coming towards the end of its growing, with leaves beginning to yellow, and it looks like being my best crop ever, with some good sized bulbs evident. I now wish that I had planted more, but it is usually a disappointment. What I am most behind on are beans, I haven’t even got the poles up for them yet because I can get them in the rock hard earth! I have plants ready to go in as soon as I can erect the supports, but I need some more rain to soften the ground.

Down in the orchard there seems to have been a pretty good fruit set, so I am hopeful of a decent harvest. Meanwhile there are still ‘Spartan’ apples available from Kent, which is a real bonus this late in the year.

With all of the watering that has been required I didn’t get as much downtime as I was hoping for, but did manage to do a few things away from work. Last Tuesday we went to the Dulwich Picture Gallery to the Tirzah Garwood Exhibition, which was in its final week. It was very good and demonstrated what an exceptionally talented, witty, imaginative and creative artist that she was – not just the husband of Eric Ravilious. I have long admired her as an artist and was fortunate enough to buy a limited edition print of the image shown in the photo above of the gallery entrance, but at a time when she was not appreciated in the way that she is now, so it wasn’t expensive. The same edition of the print I have is now selling for 10 times (and more) what I paid for it. It was nice to walk through the leafy, fashionable and very expensive Dulwich Village en route to the gallery, a glimpse in the window of an estate agent was enough to make one’s eyes water!

On Thursday evening we went to an outstandingly good amateur performance of Calendar Girls at the Arts Centre in Haverhill. The whole cast was excellent and the direction of the musical was spot on. My grandson Hector was in it playing the son of one of the leading ladies, all of whom bravely (discretely) bared themselves on stage. Safeguarding for him and the other younger members of the cast was taken very seriously by the production team, so he saw nothing as much as a bare shoulder during rehearsals or the performances. Bravo ‘Centre Stage’ for a great show.

Yesterday afternoon/evening I went to the annual ‘Leestock’ music festival in the grounds of Kentwell Hall in Long Melford, an event that we have gone to for several years. The weather behaved itself and we saw some very good bands. It’s a two day event, but Saturday is when they tend to have the guitar bands on, which is what interests me, whereas Sunday is much more ‘pop’ music – today’s headliner is Boney M! Glastonbury it’s not, but it is a fun and friendly event right on our doorstep with some terrific artists.

The other thing that I have spent a bit of time on is Beekeeping. At times the tail has wagged the dog because there have been a lot of early swarms this year because of the weather conditions, so I have had to go and deal with a couple of those from my own hives. I also extracted the first small batch of honey last weekend, so you will find it back in the shop this week, albeit at a higher price than previously. The cost of beehive parts, beeswax, honey jars have all increased significantly, and I reflected last weekend on just how long the honey extraction process takes…..ages! The photo above is of a swarm entering an empty hive during my time away from you.

I must briefly tell you about last Sunday morning’s dog walk. We took in the water meadows down the hill from where we live, and were admiring some Canada Geese with their young goslings on the river when my eye was caught by something swimming upstream towards me. It was an otter, which upon seeing me arched its back and disappeared beneath the surface before emerging again a little further on. It then appeared close to the opposite bank, but it wasn’t just ‘it’, it was three otters! I am assuming a parent with a couple of adolescent youngsters. It was magical, and in the middle of the morning!

Oh, and I finally heard a Cuckoo.

So everything is back to normal this week – delivery days, farmers’ market. Thank you for your patience during my sabbatical, it’s good to be back.

Phil