Having pottered around for the last three years and bumbling around; this would be the debut Horticultural Hobbit blog. So this is very much about getting the show on the road, what with all the accrued knowledge and what is to come.

I transfered today, this years cohort of chillies into larger plants. So that is everything that I have grown from seed, now in it’s summer position and place. And then I stood there, and thought about what I sew or plant next. I was reassured, that I should wait. See what takes off, and what doesn’t, before I got ahead of myself.

Fair point, it is meant to be summer after all. Things should be cooking, and we should at the end of it, get some lovely, home grown goodies. That does not however, stop me from having a look at the gardening book and see what I could when the current crop has ceased. A couple of post its in the relevant pages, and I know where to look in a month or twos time.

The current state of play then.

Courgettes, have been rather productive. At the moment, we have two nicely shaped and sized courgettes a week. We started off with a handful of courgettes, that were a lot like Okra. Small, wiry, but niblet sized. As it got a litle warmer, and the leaves sprouted, we have got some better sized ones. Winning, at the moment, as far as these go.

Carrots, them paris market thingies. Last year, the crop was altogether laughable. Randomly planted, and then observed on an ad hoc basis; the carrots were like little stumpy crayons. There are lots of leaves this year, and there are a few carrots. This years crop, do look a little small again. Next time, will just go with a nantes type thing, and see what happens. There is still some time, however, for the carrots to cook through. There may still be a decent or not bunch yet. It’s the prospect of that pesky carrot fly that causes nightmares.

There are lots and lots of Aphids. Don’t know where they have come from, what they plan to do with the veggies. But they be everywhere. Having seen only one or two ladybirds, I really don’t want the little green blighters to be hanging around very much,

Butternut squash has all these little black ants all over it. They are creepiing and crawling around a mass of leaves, littered with male flowers. There are two female flowers at this point, with the rather bulbous butternut squash bud behind them. I would rather like the flowers to open, and hope that there is some pollination. That worries me a little, since I’ve seen all of one bumble bee. Have learned this week, that some varieties benefit from assisted polination. Keep glancing at it, hoping that the bees do the leg work for me. There is definitely some truth in there not being many bees around.

Now it is a case of wait and see, or good things come to those that wait perhaps. It’s all very exciting, planting things. One must however, take one’s time and let nature take it’s course. There may be a small victory dance if the butternut squash does actually pollinate. Then there is the aubergine. The one flower, is a little spikey,and closed as tight as a scotsman’s wallet. Doesn’t appear to be opening anytime soon.

Yours in Anticipation

Horticultural Hobbit