Week 22

Saturday 2nd June, 2007

Well I have got a little helper. Maureen has offered to help out on the lottie and today we just whizzed through all the jobs. It was really lovely having someone to help out and just to talk to. We got the onion bed weeded – don’t think that they have much more to go. The white onions are huge now and the red ones are also a decent size. The garlic has got rust but Ron pulled one bulb and they are a bit on the small side. I have read that the rust will not harm them so I am leaving them in for the time being. Maureen planted out all the sunflowers into bigger pots, the last sowing of peppers and also put in the squash and pumpkin plants. Nick surprised me and came over and told me that he had cleared the bed in the greenhouse on the lottie because he was bored so I planted out the aubergines into the green house with a Tangella tomato plant. We also prepared the last hot box and planted the Hubbard squash into it. Draped net curtaining over it and fingers crossed we will be getting some lovely pumpkins this year. Maybe even have some that we can store for a while. Terrence popped over at lunch time and mowed the lottie so it is looking a lot better.

At the end of the day we went over to Tim’s allotment and picked some rhubarb. I made some lovely rhubarb jam but at the last minute panicked that it was not going to set and put in 125ml pectin which made it immediately firm up. I have bottled 4 bottles and fingers crossed it will be edible. I must pick some more rhubarb to make some chutney which I believe tastes like mango chutney.

When we went to the tip to drop off the rubbish we found a lovely long hosepipe I can tell you I was over the moon. It was the one thing that I was desperately in need of and had been purloining my absent neighbours when the plants were dying of thirst. Well it was better than carrying watering cans up and down. Ron has linked it up and I am away. What a lovely time I had watering the lottie. The hosepipe was on from the time I got there until I left. Such pleasure! I am sure my vegetables think they have died and gone to heaven. I noticed that the redcurrants have ripened and although there are not lots of them I must remember to pick what there is before the birds get them too. Hopefully now that I have netted the other bush which is still green we might get some.