Overgrowth

Spent a very brief period on the plot yesterday afternoon, as I was off sick with a stomach bug but desperately needed to get some fresh air. Couldn't believe the amount of growth on some of the plants, whilst others seemed to be coming on very slowly. The artichokes are now over six feet tall (and wide!), and have quite a few globes maturing on them. Only one of the six courgette plants I originally planted seems to have survived the slugs intact, with two others looking as if they are on their last legs. The survivor is one of the yellow ones, and we had our first little courgette from it yesterday! The leeks have grown amazingly in a few weeks - from tiny wisps to almost spring onion dimensions. The sweetcorn, however, doesn't seem to be doing much at all. Very sluggish, but I suppose it might take off soon. The squash plants and the pumpkin I was given by a nieghbour are doing OK, and I was amazed to see that one of the original "Jack Be Little" plants that was decimated by slugs has made a bit of a comeback. We may get some weeny little pumpkins yet!

My first proper harvest this year (quite late, but then it's understandable) was broad beans. The plants are huge, and I harvested over a kilo (shelled weight!) of the larger beans, and last night froze them for later consumption. There was quite a bit of blackfly on the plants, but it doesn't seem to be slowing down bean production too much, and I was really pleased to see a huge number of ladybird larvae on and around the plants too. I can put up with blackfly if they are feeding ladybirds!

The weeds, however, are back with a vengeance. I'm afraid I had to resort to Glyphosate on one particularly bad patch of bindweed, but these days I simply don't have the time for frequent repeated weeding by hand. Bits of the plot also need a good going over with the strimmer, but I wasn't feeling up to it yesterday, so will have a go at it this weekend if I get the chance.