Weeding and Watering

Weeding and Watering

Monday was a weeding stint with a little watering and I’m ashamed to report they’d got out of control by the beans and the weeds had managed to hide the peas.

Two barrow loads to the compost bin and I picked my pea harvest. That filled a pocket!

Hoeing off weeds is dead easy except when they get entwined between the crop in a row. Then it’s a hand job – unless anyone knows a way I don’t! Letting the weeds grow is a big mistake because you can’t pull them from between the plants without damaging them.

Val came down with me and picked a load of French and Runner beans, she returned with the harvest and I stayed on to keep weeding.

Tuesday I didn’t get down to the plot, but spent the evening with pans of boiling and chilled water blanching the beans. I think we have probably got enough in our freezer already but it seems wrong to stop the plants in full flow.

We’re going to make some runner bean chutney next that I saw on the forums. My old pal, Granny Dumplin has sent in some great squash recipes as well. I’d have never thought of pineapple and squash.

Today we popped down together and Val harvested more beans, which I blanched straight away when we got home. I took a cut off the comfrey plants on plot 29 and they went into the super compost bin along with a bit of horse manure and some of the compost from the big bin that was really dry. I gave it a good spray to wet it down.

Talking of spray, there were a couple of good peals of thunder and it started to rain as we left but as I write this at 8.00pm, there’s not been enough to notice in the rain gauge although the sky is still black and threatening.