Potato Harvest & Cashalton Lavender Weekend

Ok, so this is not a potato, but my first outdoor cucumber - a hairy, knobbly one, but a cucumber all the same!

Ah, now that looks more like it - these are my 1st Earlies (Charlottes) which I freshly dug out of the ground on Saturday morning. I forgot they were there until I found the little marker by the marker in front of the Kestrel 2nd Earlies!!

It was for once a beautiful sunny day & boy was it hot whilst digging, so much so that I had to stop half way through for a break and a nice cuppa.

These are the Kestrels. I thought it best to let them dry a little in the warm sun before putting them into the hessian sack bought especially for the job from the Trading Hut.

Now to the Lavender Weekend. I was on duty at the event from 10am to 12.30pm. I was there to get new people to sign up as members & to allow them to shop in the Trading Hut (see http://www.srags.org.uk/)

I did quite well, signing up 6 members.

Whilst there, a red admiral butterfly landed on my foot and stayed there for quite some time.

The view from where I was, looking up towards the allotments with the Trading Hut in the distance (below the flats)



Some of the stalls selling lavender plants and products




And here is the local beekeepers stall, selling honey, honeycombe & much more



And finally - I managed to get a picture of the very same

Red Admiral Butterfly

This time without my foot!

Bicycle Harvest & Other photos

Today's Bicycle Harvest - A large courgette, A Jemmer Courgetter (yell0w) and a little pot of peas!

A lady bug on my Greenhouse Cucumber

A weird Lady bug on the hops leaf

The Aubergine in the Greenhouse

what am I going to do with all these mini cucumbers?!?

My pot of peas which will go in tonights dinner

And last by not least - my very first green pepper!

(with more to follow as you can see)

Harvesting in more ways than one!

Our neighbours, Carshalton Lavender are hosting their Harvest Weekend this 25th & 26th July, so come along between 10am and 4pm.

Extra attractions:

NEW Lavender Oil Distillation
Lavender arts & crafts
Local artists at work
Aromatherapy/massage
Lavender beauty products
Barbecue
Lavender cookies
Speciality breads
Beekeepers
Information display
Lavender plants for sale

PYO lavender
Small bunches, £1; large bunches, £2; buckets, from £6

Please bring scissors if you have them, a bag for your lavender and protection from the sun, if it’s sunny

By rail:
Frequent trains from London Victoria, West Croydon and Sutton to
Carshalton Beeches – 10 minute walk
By bus:
154 West Croydon – Morden: alight in Stanley Park Road
127 Purley – Tooting Broadway: alight in Woodcote Rd at the Junction of Stanley Park Road
157 Crystal Palace – Morden: alight in Stafford Road outside Sainsbury’s
Satuday only S4 - Roundshaw – St Helier: alight in Gaynesford Road
Please come by public transport or cycle if you can. Parking is very limited.



www.carshaltonlavender.org

My own harvest, this morning, was of marrows - they have grown into huge monsters overnight! I am going to make Fritters with one to go with tonights dinner (see www.srags.org.uk for the recipe) Stuff one tomorrow night Maltese Style and probably give the 3rd one to a neighbour!

Mid July on 144 & 121....

The weather here in Surrey was ultra dodgy this weekend, and 121 desperately needed a good weeding - brambles had sprouted up all over the place and were getting bigger by the minute, so drastic action was needed.

I "borrowed" my husbands dandelion weeder and got the buggers out by their roots. I was hard work but someone had to do it - ME!!

My Toms on 121 are enjoying a brief spell of sunshine.

Staying on plot 121, here are the sweetcorn that Joel helped me to plant a few weeks ago. They are all very healthy looking plants and I can't wait to munch into them with butter dripping down my chin - Mmmmm!

And still on 121 - this is my very very 1st Butternut Squash! I am so proud and there will be more to come because I planted about 8 plants and on average I think you get 10 fruits (or shoudl that be veg??) to a plant so I will be in Butternut Squash heaven soon.

This is the harvest I brought home, a Marrow which I will probably stuff as usual Maltese Style as its such a scrumptious meal, two Summber Ball courgettes, two "normall" courgettes, one of which we roasted and one I gave to a neighbour in a swap for some eggs, a snack cucumber which is in the fridge, french beans, half in the fridge and half for an egg swap and a Chilli!(it's there somewhere)

Pictured in the greenhouse are the summer ball courgettes, snack cucumber & french beans - my Happy Vegetables

And this was before the french beans were picked!

More news is that Arthur, the delivery boy, has unfortunately not been all that well this week, bless his cottton socks, so he is on orders to take it easy, but he still found time to make sure that the old greenhouse heater that I was given was in full working order - he even showed me how to adjust the wicks, light it and get it all going properly, so come the winter I have a snuggly greenhouse!

I was also honoured to be invited to the Trading Hut for Saturday morning coffee, even though I haven't been on shop duties for a while now, but a few are coming up in August.

I have also been busy collating recipes from our SRAGS members, some of which have been posted on the website - mainly courgette recipes, just in time for the courgette glut that is soon to come - go take a look, they are a great way to use variety for one of the same veg! You won't get bored eating courgettes!!

And don't forget to treat yourself and pop to my guest blog on this great website Fennel & Fern

I have been PUBLISHED !!

My Twitter friends who run this great website / blog have published my top ten tips

"If I knew then what I knew now"

To have a read go to Fennel & Ferns Blog

I am chuffed to bits!