Super Sunny Sunday and 7 hours on the plot!

Yes a very sunny Sunday and as you can see its well over 100 degrees F in the greenhouse!

We spent 7 hours today, just clearing, weeding, grass cutting & planting.

I cleared this patch of mostly Poppies & some weeds, then made 2 wigwams with 1" mesh and planted 2 lots of purple podded Peas & Mange Tout. 
Also planted 3 Butternut Squashes and a Courgette. 
Don't worry I left a large area of Poppies as the Bees were busy collecting from them as they do from all the flowers we grow.

So while I was busy, Jo cleared all around the Broad Beans and found a space for another Courgette, she also cleared around the back of the Strawberry beds & found an underground Bees nest/hive, we think might be Bumble Bees.

Flowers on the 2nd early Potatoes, so should be ready soon to do a test dig. 
Can't wait.

The pond was getting choked by marsh grass and a rather large Comfrey, so Jo cleared it all away so the sun can finally get to it, hope the pond weed will go soon.

Bumper Harvest: 
Strawberries, 
Raspberries, 
Broad Beans, 
Peas, 
Onions & Rhubarb.

Anyway, after 7 hours we were shattered, but happy to get so much done, including cutting the grass paths again with my trusty petrol strimmer and having a bonfire to burn all those weeds we have dug out!

We had the Strawberries with vanilla ice cream after dinner and were lovely.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo.

Fathers Day on the plot

We have lots of Poppies on our plot, all self seeded. 

But love this white edged one, wonder what it's called?

We have pulled & dug up so many weeds so I had to get a bonfire going, luckily as our site is surrounded by farmland we can have bonfires anytime.

Got the last of the Picasso main crop potatoes in today, another 4 rows of 10 in each, to add to the 3 rows planted a few weeks ago. 
So thats 7 rows (70 seed tubers) in total!

Brought the petrol strimmer down and cut the grass path again, it looks a lot better too. I cut the paths in the fruit cage too and we spotted loads of berries ripening.

Just a few of the Cox's apples now forming due to the warm sunny conditions.

And our goosberry bush is laden, so we thinned it out by removing a few from each stalk, to allow the rest to swell & sweeten.

Look at this handsome caterpiller munching this stalk & leaves. 

Wonder what butterfly it will turn into ?

Another harvest of rhubarb, this one is Stockbridge Arrow, a prolific producer when you feed it well over winter. 

After removing the leaves this lot weighed 6 1/4lb (2.83kg)

And more Victoria rhubarb, again after removing the leaves this lot weighed 8 1/2lb (3.85kg).

The heaviest stalk was 1 3/4lb (800g) another record breaking stalk!

So todays harvest to add to the Rhubarb: 
Red Onions 
Strawberries 1 1/2lb (680g)
Peas just 1/2lb (226g)

And here are the Gooseberry thinnings, just 1 1/2lb (680g).

So another 6 hours work done today, with a break for lunch and a cuppa too. 

Not too sunny so it was easier to get all that done!

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo