The garden is producing

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The UK summer is a bit of a mixed bag, but the combination of sunshine and rain means the garden is getting quite productive. We have already had a fair few strawberries, but it is not the best crop we have had. The other berries are starting to mature. These are jostaberries which as a cross between black currants and gooseberries. They can be eaten raw. These are one of several plants that were planted by a lady who we let use part of the garden as part of a 'landshare' scheme. She left them behind when she moved.

Jostaberry

Next we have some beans which are just starting to produce. I do not know the varieties of plants we have. I think we grew these from seed.

Beans

Between the rows of beans we have several courgette (zucchini) plants. I picked one yesterday, but we may be overloaded soon. There are also some cauliflowers towards the front. When I took this picture I was struck that the weeds were taking over, so I have been in with a hoe to clear them out.

Courgettes

We have black currants too. I like to mix different berries with my breakfast cereal, but they can be used for other things. We are not into making jam, but then we would not generally use much of it.

Black currants

The raspberry canes have also started, but I just seem to find the odd berry for now. These are nearly ready. Yes, I know there are nettles in the bed.

Raspberry

These are a dark form of gooseberry that are sweeter than the green ones and can be eaten raw. We have a green bush too.

Gooseberry

The rhubarb just comes up every year and there is enough for us to give lots away.

Rhubarb

We have a few tomato plants and the first fruit are starting to form. We were given a selection of plants and so should get different varieties.

Tomato

I am kept busy weeding and watering all these unless it rains.It is actually raining now, but it may not be enough to really soak in. We have plenty of water in the rain butts.

We have also planted spinach, shallots and potatoes. I need to keep an eye on things and maybe plant other things as these finish to keep production going. I am just not a very organised gardener. Maybe I can start some more things in our little greenhouse.

For anyone who is interested the chickens are fine and we get around three eggs per day from them. Whilst I am home they get to go out around the garden most days. I just have to chose some of them out of the vegetable beds where they look for worms. I spotted a mouse in the chicken run, but that is inevitable with all the food that gets spilled. Either a chicken or a cat will probably get it. The chickens will happily eat a mouse if they find one.

I hope the other gardeners out there are also having a good crop.

Hive five!



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16 comments
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Blackberries make great jam, we made some in 2018. The recipe included a ridiculous amount of sugar, it makes you think how much of the stuff is in production jam.

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There are blackberries growing next door that we can pick over the fence. Don't really want brambles in the garden. I try to catch them before they get big. I would rather eat fresh fruit and could freeze some.

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We haven't been getting near enough rain over here. I think we are finally getting some tonight, but I doubt it will be anything significant. I have been needing to water the garden daily just to keep things alive. My Zucchini looks similar to yours. I haven't pulled anything from it yet. I have a nice looking pepper coming in as well as a tomato. I hope to do a post about it this week yet.

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We have had some heavy rain recently so the ground is fairly well soaked. I will still water whilst the plants are working hard. As expected the rain today did not do much.

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Looking good, berries really are one of the joys of summer!

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I expect the birds will take some, but I don't mind too much. I just use some netting to ensure we get some. My other half loves strawberries, but has had to buy them to satisfy her craving.

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I don't think they eat raspberries, the birds, the never touched them on my allotment, I did net my strawberries!

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They don't seem to go for my strawberries and there have been very few slugs and snails this year. In previous years I could go out and pick about a pound of strawberries in an evening. Nowhere near that this time. The other berries seem okay, so it could just be a matter of when it rained or not at the right time.

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Never knew chickens will eat a mouse 😜 Always good to have some green production from our own effort - gives a different kind of pleasure all together.

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They have found dead mice before. For them it's not much different to a worm. They will even eat eggs if you drop one.

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hello dear friend @steevc good afternoon
You are absolutely right, rainwater is a blessing for plants, weeds also thrive with it, perhaps better than vegetable plants, yes, the hoe is a good tool to beat them
Thank you very much for letting us know the situation of the garden, toamtes plants will soon bring their fruits to salads
have a wonderful day

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Cheers. Just trying to spread the joy of gardening :)

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Looking good. I also have beans, as well as onions, but my blueberries have dried up for some reason. I also had an exotic berry (I don't know the name in English, but it's a cross between two different berries), but the birds got to it :(

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We had some beans for dinner and I had some berries with dessert, so that's a result. I really ought to try blueberries. So far the birds seem to leave my berries alone.

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