A Late Burst of Activity and Other Garden News

Remember the other week.......................just 1 odd shaped aubergine from 4 plants.Well, one of the other plants has suddenly produced 4 aubergines growing nicely

I've got a lot more peppers thank goodness, 4 on this plant and at least 9 more on the other 3 plants.

We have been eating the cherry tomatoes but I'm waiting for enough of the big plum ones to make a few jars of Red Hot Relish. The chili peppers are ready for it - and huge and I bought red onions in readiness as well. Hopefully there will be about 2½lb of tomatoes ripe enough by the weekend.

 From the garden outside we are eating runner beans almost every day as they have suddenly got going again but the courgettes have now ground to a halt, and my second sowing of French climbing beans didn't do well at all. We have plenty of beetroot and hopefully there will be some to store in sand for the winter.

There are 7 big squash and 1 small one on the 3 squash plants which we planted in tyres on the edge of the driveway. They lurk under the leaves, I don't think I put enough soil and compost in the tyres this year, so will make sure I fill them better next year.

The strawberry plants have been transferred from pots into the new strawberry bed, runners pegged into the spaces. There's room for 5 more plants. As for the other new bed..........I think I shall send for some decent raspberry canes to fill it rather than try and move the cheap Poundland/Wilkinsons canes from where I planted them, they've not put on as  much new growth as they ought to have done........cheaper isn't always better.

I've had my instructions for grass cutting with the new ride-on mower. Its a lot smaller than the one that was here which was just too big for me to cope with. Now I can buzz round almost everywhere easily and it's very similar to drive to the one we had at the smallholding.

Hello and welcome to some new followers - great excitement as I'm nearly at 200! The odd thing is that people are still starting to follow the old blog - but I'm not there any more!

Back Tomorrow
Sue

Purple Plums,Yellow Jam and Orange Marmalade

As well as the cherry plum tree we found growing in the hedge boundary at the bottom of the garden we also have a couple of old smallish damson type plum trees on the other boundary. One had several fruit on it, and some had already been eaten by birds, so a week ago while I held the ladder  Col climbed up and picked all the fruit he could reach.

It was just a couple of lb and made 2 jars of lovely coloured jam, which set well, rather TOO well. There was a little bit that wouldn't fit in the jars and Col had it in a sandwich - he said it was rather solid - whoops!
Better than too runny I guess.

A couple of weeks ago I made two batches of Marrow and Ginger Jam using two courgettes that had turned into marrows overnight! This used up over half a jar of crystallized stem  ginger  in syrup that had travelled from the smallholding to Ipswich and from Ipswich to here. Marrow and ginger jam is the other extreme and doesn't set well so needs using up quickly.

Yesterday I used the last of the jar of stem ginger to make Orange and Ginger Marmalade - using a tin of the ready prepared oranges. It's delicious and has completely changed the canned Mamade into something much more interesting and something else for our sisters hampers.

Thanks for all the comments.For the moment  I've set comments so that I see them first before publishing as there were multiple silly junk ones popping up everyday.

Back Shortly
Sue

Birds in Boxes

(and a book)
There were a few nesting boxes fixed on the workshop when we moved in but I don't think anything used them this year.

Empty nest box on workshop

 But Very Exciting........................We have Barn Owls!


This box

Very high up

  was fixed there by the previous owners for owls but then someone told them it was too high and Mrs F said only Kestrels had nested in it, although she did say that a Barn Owl roosted in the wood shed sometimes.
We've seen Barn Owls a couple of times swooping round the field in the evening and then Col saw two perched atop the bonfire heap. Walking down our meadow one evening last week we actually saw them coming out of the box. So we've taken to creeping down the meadow at dusk and watching them coming and going, well going mainly as however quietly we creep they still hear us coming! No picture I'm afraid - they are far too quick for that.

Col has now sorted out  three more boxes that were laying in the workshop needing repair and we put them up in different places round about.
This could be a bat box

 And this one below is Coronation Street for sparrows or something?

This one below just needed a new roof, and is suitable for Robins, we've got a baby Robin visiting the bird feeders so they are already nesting somewhere around

 But Barn Owls are special.

And the book?
New Boy by Tracy Chevalier - a re-telling of Shakespeares Othello.
A very short book - I read it in a few hours - but it's very powerful. Osei is from Ghana and arrives at a Washington elementary school when his diplomat Father is posted there. Everyone else in the school is white and over one day jealousy, bullying, betrayal and racism changes the lives of four 11year olds for ever........and of course Shakespeare's Othello is a tragedy.

Thanks for comments on Saturday's library book photo.

Back Tomorrow
Sue