Update on vegetables and fruit

Anyone who grows their own produce will know that there is always something to be done if you are going to crop anything decent during the year. From sowing seeds, to digging over the soil, pruning, pricking out seedlings, weeding and watching for infections or infestations, it takes the full 12 months of the year to keep the garden productive.

The pear trees are beginning to flower but the greengage is still struggling after all this time. The orange tree is beginning to get fruit of note and lots of it. The fruit bushes are doing reasonable well to say we re-planted the raspberries and blueberry bushes. Red and black currants are sprouting new leaves and the rhubarb continues to give us delicious ruby red stalks.

We planted 100 potatoes which are now growing their leaves and seem to be doing well. The early onions although battered with hail stones and now scarred, are swelling nicely and it won't be long before we are harvesting along with lettuce. The leeks, Swiss chard and mange tout are harvesting well and the pea crop has taken and will shortly need their perfect twiggy pea sticks once again.

There are trays of seedlings lining the steps including tomatoes, peppers and chili peppers, kohlrabi. fennel, cucumber, lettuce, pumpkin, marrow and beans.

Elsewhere in the garden new life is finding its place in the grand scheme of things....