It has been a while since the last update of the garden.
This year has been quite different to the previous one, so little rain and so much heat.
The soft fruits have been very bountiful this year with endless strawberries and a huge crop of blackberries. The raspberries were very slow to produce but eventually came up with the goods.
We had another super batch of plums and this year and, after further care of the peach trees, we had quite a lot of fruits, some of which were huge.
The vegetables, on the other hand, have been extremely poor. Even the tomatoes and potatoes have struggled.
Now that the extreme heat has subsided many things seem to have picked up, perhaps too late in the year though.
We already lifted the potatoes a couple of weeks ago, not enough to warrant a celebration. Many of the other seeds such as lettuce and peppers, never germinated in the first place, the majority of those that did have withered and died in the heat - even with copious watering. Only one carrot seems to have survived - its condition is yet to be determined. Onions and leeks that we bought from the market to plant seemed to be going well but, again with the heat, simply stopped growing although only a few have actually died.
The few tomatoes that survived are now producing miniature fruits - tasty though.
Janet's asparagus plants have been growing steadily through the year, a couple have flowered and are now sporting little red seed pods.
The courgettes, that were hugely successful last year, have been very slow but are now flourishing.
The various melon types are also finally beginning to grow with vigour, perhaps we will have some if the weather does not cool too quickly. A few of the watermelons started well but dried and collapsed. However, the green melons seem to have improved and are the largest so far.
We have at least one butternut squash growing, possibly some others developing.
Another success is the Opuntia (Prickly Pear, Indian Fig) that we planted a few years ago as a single pad that we found on the side of the main road and brought home. This has really enjoyed the sunshine and has actually produced a single fruit this year.
Not too far from ripeness, it will be interesting to see what it tastes like.