At the allotment, August 2024

At the allotment I'm still waiting for my climbing beans to flower, though luckily the sugar snap peas continue to produce in the meantime.  Also harvesting a couple of beets per week, the very first of the tomatoes (both cherry and plum types) and I've started my first pickle jar with four small cucumbers.  Last year I  discovered I actually prefer them cornichon size: one or two bites;  I'll be picking them much smaller this year.

I've picked all the artichokes now, bar a couple very small heads which I'll let go to flower.  The raspberries are also completely finished, and while I've been pretty diligent at recording all my veg harvest, I didn't keep a faithful record of these:  we ate a lot, froze some and gave a good amount away. 

My squash vines are taking over one climbing bean frame--I built it from odds and ends and it's very flimsy--making it hard to get to the beans;  the other frame is better accessible.  I have at least one big yellow squash growing and one big green.  While I don't think I need 21 big squashes like last year, I'm hoping for more than just the two.

My leeks are growing well in their bed but so is the grass, and there's no way I can pull it up without pulling up leeks too.  I've got several large purple sprouting broccoli plants that seem to have some new growth on them, after the shock of transplant;  these and the leeks are for harvest in late winter/early spring.

Somehow I got some achocha volunteers growing in a couple of my bigger containers;  I've not grown them on purpose for years as they keep self seeding, but this is the first time they've done so at the allotment.  I can only assume I put some seeds in my kitchen waste tub after harvesting at home (normally I give this waste to the chickens but for a short period last summer I was putting it in my allotment composters).  They are just starting to form little flowers.

It looks like my corn isn't going to produce this year;  it's still below my waist and even though we've had a few weeks of warm weather now, it's only inching along.  Oh well.  I may give it up and next summer grow something else instead.  However, my newest beet beds look great and I've got a newly sown bed of radishes both white and black, all fully enclosed in insect mesh to hopefully keep out the slugs, bugs and birds.  I've started one more new sheet mulched bed with plans for turnips and/or swedes in the next day or two.  Got to keep growing while I can.