A Happy Homecoming

After a week of being away I was a little apprehensive about what I would find at the allotment.  To my amazement everything was tickety-boo, if not a little scruffy looking.  The runner beans have finished now, there are still a few courgettes and squash growing away, but the courgette leaves have mildew, and don't look very attractive.  But, other than that, the brassicas are still going strong, and the cutting patch still has zinnias and rudbeckia, cosmos and marigolds for picking.

The sunflowers are still standing, despite no staking during the gales, and no water for weeks.  The biggest surprise was the raspberries

there weren't that many when I left but the branches were bowed down with them on my return.  So all is not gloom and doom as I expected.  The raised beds at home, however, are not in such a good state.  The soil is very free draining and doesn't hold water that well, and the plants seem to have suffered from it, sadly. 

Since I have been home I have given everything a good soaking, trying to keep it all going a little longer.  The squash I grew in a pot has a tiny 'ping-pong' sized fruit on it, so I may as well give up on that, the french beans that I planted in a container, for a late crop, has dozens of tomato plants growing in it (I used some of my compost mixed in with the soil, so I presume that is where the tomato plants have come from).  The swede plants have been attacked by something or other and the leaves are practically non-existant.  The only plants that are thriving are the spring onions.

So, on reflection, it hasn't necessarily been a happy homecoming after all.  So I offer myself a piece of advice - don't go on holiday, you never know what you will find on your return.