Times running out. If summer is going to make an appearance this year, it had better get a move on. So far, July has been very wet. We’ve had heavy rain and thunderstorms which I usually associate with the breakdown of a warm spell. This must be a misconception on my part as we hadn’t had any warm temperatures. The rest of the time we have had fine drizzle. The sort that tempts you out and you end up wet before you realise that it is actually raining.
We have managed some time at the allotment. We’re now into the stage where keeping things tidy and harvesting is the order of the day.
The early potatoes had stopped growing so it was time to lift them. We grew two varieties Ulster Prince and International Kidney. The last time we grew International Kidney it proved irresistible to slugs so after all the rain we were concerned that history would be repeated. Happily, that wasn’t the case and both varieties produced a good undamaged crop.
The potatoes had obviously enjoyed all the rain as both varieties had produced some huge tubers. It’s not something we would expect from early potatoes.
We also gathered a few other things together. We have several jostaberry bushes but only one protected by netting. This is the only bush to have escaped the attention of wood pigeons. Unfortunately, the wind blew the net off one side of the bush allowing access to some of the berries. Of course, the birds took advantage. We also lost some of the blueberries in the same way. I picked a few blackberries. Plenty of blackberries are growing wild on site so I am hoping that the birds satisfy themselves with those and leave ours alone. A vain hope I know.
The early sweet peas are still producing lots of flowers but the stems are now very short.
In the garden, the pots that I planted a couple of weeks ago are filling up.
Unfortunately, the wet conditions mean that the slugs are active and they quickly homed in on the marigolds. We are trying to give them a chance to recover by surrounding them with some of Ruby’s hair. This has been saved up after she has been groomed. It’s too early to tell whether this is being successful but it is certainly intriguing Ruby.
Slugs and snails are also attacking any seedlings as soon as they emerge so we are also protecting these by creating a moat around them. In the tray of water a pot of radishes and a tray of beetroot sit on uptirned saucers. This keeps them out of the water. The tray is not near anything the molluscs can climb in order to gain access to the seedlings by abseiling. This has worked in the past but isn’t always practical. I just hope the pests don’t learn how to build bridges.
At least some garden plants don’t seem to interest our slimy foes.
As usual, we needed to fit in walks with Ruby. In the park the lime trees are now filling the air with perfume.
It was very quiet during our visit to Nostell. The weather isn’t encouraging visitors. Most, like us, were walking their dog. Dogs certainly get you outdoors when otherwise you would hide away indoors.
All four cygnets were on the lake having come out of hiding. It’s two weeks since we last saw them and they have grown quickly.
I think that the ducks were disappointed that we hadn’t taken any food for them.
The sight of cows grazing in the meadow is a typical summery scene. Pity that the weather isn’t playing along.
Our tomatoes did really well last year and we still have some left in the freezer. I used some of these and some of last year’s onions, that I froze when they were in storage and starting to shoot, to make a batch of pasta sauce which was frozen.
I used some of our winter onions and the first of our courgettes to make a spicy turkey dish.
A spicy vegetable stew was made using our onions, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage along with peas and red chilli from the freezer. 
That’s all for this week so as always until next time stay safe and well.
I am joining Dave for Harvest Monday on his Our Happy Acres blog.
Those meals look very tasty! We’re thankful that other plotholders are generous otherwise we’d be starving waiting for our plants to produce!
What’s the white flower in the slideshow after the crocosmia? It’s very pretty.
It’s an astrantia, Belinda. We have pink ones two.
Always good to lead with flowers when you don’t have any tomatoes! Oh the travails of gardening with adverse weather. You’ve found some clever solutions.
We have green tomatoes, Sue so just need to be patient
Well, we are having too much summer here for sure! I love all the flowers, and the crocosmia is lovely. I don’t see it planted much around here, but we have it in a couple of our beds.
Can we have some summer please?