All Quiet

We seem to be entering a quieter period in the garden, just waiting for things to grow, and harvesting the bigger things. The spinach had more or less bolted, so son and I harvested the remainder, leaving one spear to flower so we can collect the seeds for next year, and I made a tasty spinach soup, now frozen in portions for later. Recipe below.

Hubby got stuck in and emptied the water butts, so we could level them off and put flags underneath them, was a bit of a messy job but well worth it, just look at how tidy it looks now.


After that I potted up the remaining runner bean into the french beans pot, only 2 french beans survived out of 5 beans sown, never mind, we should get a few beans out two plants. I popped the bamboo stakes in and tied them in.

The runner beans are growing well, and are wrapping around the bamboo supports, yay!

The courgettes have been quietly getting on with the business of growing, their leaves are getting lovely and big and they have flower buds all over. We need to get another growbag and get the remaining two courgette plants settled in.


The wee basil plants are looking very happy in their pots, lots of new leaves, haven't harvested any yet, not big enough, maybe in a few weeks.

And the redcurrants are changing colour, and look gorgeous... and are netted, so the birds 'shouldn't' be able to get them... will wait and see if it works.


Final shot, the baby apples on our tree, we'll lose a lot with the natral drop, I just need to keep on top of it all and tidy up the natural wasteage, instead of letting it rot on the ground! All good fodder for the compost bin.

Talking of the compost bin, the lettuces had all bolted, so they are now all in the compost bin. Nothing is going to waste, if we don't manage to eat them, then the goodness goes back into the garden.

Final thing, hubby picked me up some lovely big pots for the cucumbers chillis and peppers, so that's my next job. I'll need to tidy up the greenhouse, it's only small but is becoming a bit of a dumping ground, for garden chairs, and empty pots.

Spinach Soup recipe
1 large onion, roughly chopped
4 floury potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 or 4 garlic cloves, peeled
Good glug of olive oil
Lots of spinach leaves, washed and roughly chopped
2 or 3 stock cubes - vegetable, chicken, or a mix
Approx 2-3 pints of boiling water
Dried mixed herbs
Teaspoon medium curry powder
Scant quarter teaspoon dried chilli flakes
Ground black pepper to taste

In a large stock pot or saucepan, gently fry off the onion garlic and potato in the olive oil
Add the herbs and spices
Add the water
Add the stock cubes
Stir well and allow to cook until the potato is collapsing
Add the spinach and allow to cook until collapsed
Allow to cool slightly, check the seasoning and adjust if necessary
Liquidise with a hand blender for a smooth soup.

Enjoy!