Farncombe Show

Heather swept the board at the Farncombe Show yesterday with her vase of flowers taking Best In Show and the combined points for each of her exhibits winning the Points Trophy.

Our vegetables did not fare so well, though.

We did not manage to find any potatoes worth showing as they were either badly misshapen or affected by scab.

There were not enough courgettes to get three the same and we thought that our carrots were not of sufficient standard.

Two exhibits of onions were entered, but they failed to win any prizes.

Fortunately, our beetroot saved the day with these nice three roots taking the top prize.

August

What a difference a drop of rain makes !

Crops that had been struggling in the dry conditions are now thriving again. Showing in the left foreground above is the 'Three Sisters' bed where the squash, beans and sweetcorn are coming along nicely.

Beyond this are the leeks, which have been attacked by some pest (either Onion Fly or Onion Moth) and were looking rather sorry for themselves. However, the recent damp weather seems to have helped them recover.

Top right are the potatoes, Golden Wonder, which have also been affected by the weather... frostbite in April and sunburn in June !

In front on the right are a row of cherry tomatoes that Heather had as plants but was reluctant to throw away and our late carrots, Autumn King.

Here are some of the veggies we have been harvesting :

A little bit of bother with the raspberries !

We have had a little bit of bother with our raspberries !

Some of the canes we brought to the allotment came from our garden and some had been given to us, so we have no idea how old they were. They gave a really good crop earlier in the Summer, but then showed signs of virus. We decided to 'bite the bullet' and cleared them all along with most of the soil around them.

I have been refilling the trench with compost, manure and soil taken from the other end of the patch and will replant with new canes of the variety Tulameen from D T Browns.