The Wanderer Returns and all is not lost

Returning from a late summer break I wasn't sure what I would find at the plot - as the weather had been hot and sunny all week.  It turns out the plot did pretty well without my interference



patty pan summer squash - sungold tomatoes - mixed runner beans
and cocozelle courgettes

 Just wish I had spotted this courgette before we left - I found it lurking -  whale-like -  when we returned.  The runner beans which were practically non-existant seemed to have found their feet during the week and have been cropping well ever since.  The freezer is now just about bursting at the seams - not sure what I am going to do with all the spare produce from now on.    This burst of activity on the plot is really welcome after a very slow start.  The late crops I planted as a back-up will have to get a move on if they are to reach maturity before the cold weather sets in. 

spaghetti squash

Out of the four different types of winter squashes that I planted only one - the spaghetti squash - has produced anything.  One huge one and two smaller ones.  Of the rest of them - the Turks Turban - Butternut and Sweet Dumpling - there is nothing.  Not sure whether to call it a day on the squash front as I didn't have much success last year either.  The summer patty pans have been fairly prolific though, as they were last year,  but it would have been nice to have some squashes in store for winter.

patty pan squash

As for the rest of the crops - well, I have spring cabbage ready to plant out, plus cauliflower and winter cabbage plants.  The Savoy cabbages are hearting up nicely and purple sprouting broccoli  of various types is growing rapidly.  It may have been a bad year for some veg but others don't really seem to have been affected by the weather too much - and even with the slug and snail invasions -  they have survived constant attack from all sides.  So maybe, just maybe, we might make it through to next spring.

Greenhouse goodies - mixed tomatoes, banana chillies and aubergine

And in the cutting patch the sweet peas are still throwing out short-stemmed sweet peas but the stems of the plants are brown and wizened now

the cosmos are still flowering  and one or two zinnias but I doubt I will get many more bunches for the house

So our short summer is slowly coming to a close - blink and you missed it.

Till next time ...