Vegetables - or not.

The vegetable garden is very depressing this year. The main things doing well are those in the polytunnel, where there are lots of courgettes coming along, cucumbers galore, chillies, peppers, and tomatoes shortly. We have had lettuce in the polytunnel too, and have some strawberries as well. It is great to be able to make salads with most things being home grown. We also have cornflowers and calendula for cutting and start off the herbs etc.

The image on the right was probably taken last year or the year before, but it looks similar this year, although my experiment of sweetcorn in the polytunnel did not really work!

But, outside, the story is rather bleak and windswept. The soft fruit is doing fine, there are lots of raspberries, although I do not think they are the yummiest variety, so may need to be replaced. Black-, white- and red currants are all doing well, adding a sharpness and colour to the breakfast fruit salads, and I may have enough to make a few pies etc. The rhubarb is lovely. The strawberries have looked good, but, where do they vanish to? They are in a fruit cage, but seem to have mostly disappeared!

Otherwise, a sorry state. Simon spent hours preparing the soil, adding compost etc. and then planting seeds. Of the carrots we have one. That will be a precious carrot indeed, if nothing has eaten it underground already! The fennel never showed at all. The beetroot should be OK eventually, and the broad beans have done a bit. The sweetcorn may be OK. The peas were hopeless, and my favourite, runner beans, have been eaten or blown away, i have tried about three times, using seeds and bought in plants. The winds, rain, salty air, seem to have had a dramatic effect this year. And as for the slugs and snails, they have feasted and reproduced and feasted again...

I only feel comfortable confessing all this because I know others have had a similar time locally in their gardens and because we have had far more success in previous years! We are still novices and have little time to devote to the garden, but it is very exciting to bring the produce in and use it in the kitchen for our guests, and there is enough to still get some satisfaction and not give up, and the pain will be all forgotten by next spring!