Summer 2008 Overview - The Good, the bad and the ugly

This year, despite the weather office saying that this August has been the wettest and most miserable since 1942! – it has been very good for me on the allotment – despite the little time I have managed to spend there between all the visitors but we had a decent crop of garlic, shallots, potatoes, French green beans and tons of tomatoes!! I have processed about 10kgs of tomatoes for the deepfreeze. I have liquidised them, oven roasted them and whizzed them into pasta sauces and even made tomato soup and still they keep coming!! If anyone wants some seeds of the “Peacevine” tomato which has been the best producer this year let me know and I will pop some over ot you. It is an old heirloom variety which I got from a seed swap and comes from the Victorian era - I have been really impressed with it. We also got a good crop of gem squash and about 4 lovely big Hubbard squash. My mielies have still not fruited yet – they are quite late, but I am sure that we will get some good mielies as they are looking very healthy.

My green peppers and aubergines have been a disaster as have the melons – I do not think that I will try them again next year – a waste of time and effort. I must get Ron to bring me some more seed back with him in December – I have no more mielie nor hubbard squash seeds left. I also harvested my first load of Swiss Chard last Saturday and managed to get half the potatoes lifted and all my leeks in – a bit late but we have had really good rain since Sunday I am sure that they will catch up.