I do experience extreme optimism at times, it can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it pays off – some of the best things I’ve done in life were the result of taking an optimistic risk. This time it was a bit of a crash-and-burn scenario.
Things like the squash and brassicas will be okay because they won’t be harvested until well into the autumn. If I can get those seedlings to a size where I can plant them before I go, those will be fine and depending on reasonable weather over the summer and help from my plot neighbours with watering, they should be able to more or less do the rest themselves.
Elaine – To the roots of it
Yes, this was me a few months earlier. Of all the seeds I sowed and nurtured and entertained lofty dreams of their greatness, these were the results.
 | | Cucumbers: Crystal Lemon – 1 rogue plant nestled in the weeds at the side of the plot |
| Peppers: Corno di Toro Rosso – one plant on kitchen windowsill Cayenne California Wonder Padron * at the time of writing there are some peppers struggling in the cold frame, no labels, just hoping | Tomatoes: plum Roma – garden Indigo apple – 2 in garden Minibel – I salvaged one tomato from the plot bush before it was blighted Money Maker – 1 in the garden * The plot tomatoes did survive my absence but succumbed to blight in August | Carrots: rainbow mix |
| Courgette: Yellow golden – * I saw one yellow fruit but it was eaten by beasties before I picked it | | Sweet Basil – this survived on the kitchen windowsill |
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| Squash: Mashed potato (winter squash) Sweet dumpling Spaghetti not getting a single squash was really gutting | Potatoes: Anya – to be confirmed | Beetroot – no sign |
| Purple Kale – a triumph, tall vigorous and abundant | White Cauliflower – chewed but still standing | Sweetcorn – they are still trying to do something |
| Lettuce – bolted | Parsnips – 2 rapidly thrown into the ground in the garden before I left are still alive | Shallots – 1 shallot stands proud on the plot |
Apart from me being away for so long, we had an abysmal summer weather-wise. May remained cold apparently then we had a relentless heatwave in June. I was told there was no rain for six weeks. Then July turned rainy, and when I returned home it was the start of the wettest August on record. and there were six rainy weeks. Everything that wasn’t killed off was stunted, hence me having tomatoes ripening in August.
How can I reconcile these two opposing passions?
To the roots of it 