I've been out every day to look at my strawberries.
Today here is the first sign that they are starting to ripen. Only a couple of days now and I will be eating my first fresh strawberry.
I must get the net over them now because if I have noticed them, then you can be sure that the birds and the labradors have noticed them too!
The fine weather has brought on my lovely
Royalty dwarf beans. They are fully hardened off now and planted out. Unfortunatlely the local cats have also decided that they will take advantage of the newly dug soil and have dug several of them up already and used the bed as a toilet. Grrrrrr!
I have also taken the plunge and planted out some of my
Queensland Blue pumpkins. They are covered at night with a plastic cloche to keep a little of the warmth overnight. Another squash I have planted out are the
Hunter Butternut squash. These have been specially bred to withstand the British climate, so they will compliment the
Queensland Blue that prefer the warmer climate.
It is always worthwhile leaving some veggies to go to seed. These are some of my
Oarsman Leeks which I left to flower and go to seed, alongside some brussels sprouts and broccoli. These beautiful blue Alium flowers will break open soon. The bees will love them.
Meanwhile in the greenhouse these
Bishops Kiss chilli plants are enjoying the heat and the light. Very good going in the greenhouse for the heat loving plants.
These
Mexican green Tomatillo plants are romping away too. I think they have doubled in size in nearly a week. You can see the benefits of these long days now!
And finally, Leo went for another swim today. I couldn't hold him back, he loves it! He even took a few jumps off the side of the pool into the water to go retrieve his toys! He just swam round and round without much encouragement. Brilliant exercise!
Today here is the first sign that they are starting to ripen. Only a couple of days now and I will be eating my first fresh strawberry.
I must get the net over them now because if I have noticed them, then you can be sure that the birds and the labradors have noticed them too!
The fine weather has brought on my lovely Royalty dwarf beans. They are fully hardened off now and planted out. Unfortunatlely the local cats have also decided that they will take advantage of the newly dug soil and have dug several of them up already and used the bed as a toilet. Grrrrrr!
I have also taken the plunge and planted out some of my Queensland Blue pumpkins. They are covered at night with a plastic cloche to keep a little of the warmth overnight. Another squash I have planted out are the Hunter Butternut squash. These have been specially bred to withstand the British climate, so they will compliment the Queensland Blue that prefer the warmer climate.
It is always worthwhile leaving some veggies to go to seed. These are some of my Oarsman Leeks which I left to flower and go to seed, alongside some brussels sprouts and broccoli. These beautiful blue Alium flowers will break open soon. The bees will love them.
Meanwhile in the greenhouse these Bishops Kiss chilli plants are enjoying the heat and the light. Very good going in the greenhouse for the heat loving plants.
These Mexican green Tomatillo plants are romping away too. I think they have doubled in size in nearly a week. You can see the benefits of these long days now!
And finally, Leo went for another swim today. I couldn't hold him back, he loves it! He even took a few jumps off the side of the pool into the water to go retrieve his toys! He just swam round and round without much encouragement. Brilliant exercise!
Leo is adorable!
ReplyDeleteThe veg and strawberries are looking good too! Not long til strawberry time!!
Hope the worms are ok too!
Martin :)
Your strawberries will be ripe soon! Lucky you! Leo sure loves his swims!
ReplyDeleteyay thats fantastic that he loves it so much;-)
ReplyDeleteI want strawberries too! Actually I have found some wild ones growing in my backyard. Your new dog seems lovely I wish my dog Poonie had somewhere to go swimming as she has gained some weight over the long winter.
ReplyDeleteHope your Queensland Blue pumpkins do well. I've decided they are best for roasting, while the Musquee du Provence I grew are better suited to soup and pies!
ReplyDeleteWe have strawberry flowers...sigh
ReplyDeleteWyatt and Mom
Your strawberries are further advanced than they are here. It looks like Leo is having loads of fun, I reckon he might need a few strawberries after all that retrieving.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! These all look fab! So jealous - not a hint of colour on my strawberries yet. It doesn't matter how long I sit and watch them :-) Love 'n' hugs, Mel xx
ReplyDeleteThis is why it's so good to read other gardeners' blogs. I've looking at what I planted this season, and have thought... what's missing? Something's missing! Now that I've seen your robust seedlings, I realize it's the tomatillos!
ReplyDeleteLove those oarsmen leeks of yours btw.
We'll be picking some strawbs today, the girls will enjoy that. I've also got some water cooler bottle cloches, very handy for the larger tender plants at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteJust picked our first strawberries from our new plants - interestingly we have some on each type of plant - early, mid season, late and ever bearing! Maybe because they all grew on in the greenhouse before planting out.
ReplyDeleteWe have been enjoying our first pickings of strawberries too but the slugs have got to some before us!
ReplyDeleteLeo is discovering a hidden talent to enjoy.
Your plants are coming along splendidly...strawberries soon, how exciting! And Leo coming along splendidly too, he's a true Lab, loving the water and retrieving :)
ReplyDelete