It feels like in the last couple of weeks we’ve had all the weather. It’s been very hot and sunny and also (Sunday I’m looking at you!) unseasonably cold and miserable.

The plot is looking ok for it though.

I was solo this weekend because Ma has covid. I’m testing negative but I feel like a loads of people have gone down with it recently. Anyway, Ma was confined to home and I did an early morning session at the plot, before it got to hot (7:30 to 2pm).

My plan for Saturday was to deeply water the plot, gather some potatoes and fruit, maybe potter about and then get out of the heat. I’d already given the plot a massive watering on Friday night and emptied two pots of potatoes that I suspected had ant infestations. One did, one didn’t, but I had watered that used up compost. On Saturday, I another quick weed of the back flower bed, watered it and laid down some cardboard and put the used compost on top of it. I didn’t get the whole bed, but perfect is the enemy of good and we’ll do the rest this weekend or as the compost becomes available. As we empty the potato pots, the used compost will mulch my flower beds and rhubarb plants.

I also harvested onions, carrots, peas, blueberries, boysenberries.

I also finally got the extra sungold plants that I ordered back in May. Except they weren’t sungolds, they were tumbling toms and 10 of them are dead. I have enough tomatoes though but I am miffed, my guess it that they got more orders then they had tomatoes, and they had to grow other seedlings that might not have been in the best health. I have ordered from the ‘Grow Your Own’ magazine offers before and was really impressed with You Garden plants. Not so much this time.

The polytunnel is looking fuller at the moment, very soon I’ll get the garlic and onions out, I’m thinking that for next year I need a laundry pulley thing for drying the onions and garlic out!

I also planted out the remaining summer squash. All of them are alive, final count is three courgettes, one crookneck squash, four pattypans and three straightneck squash. The straightnecks are less fussy that the crooknecks and if we were just growing for production we might not grow the crooknecks, but we love that they look like swans….

I did a bit of weeding and admired my jasmine, which is about to flower.

Finally, I welcomed a visitor to the plot. Hello, little frog…

I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. Frogs….