Polytunnel 2017.

Tomato seedlings starting life on the kitchen windowsill, February 24th.

Outside the big tunnel, May 22nd.

Compost bed being prepared outside the big tunnel for squash and pumpkin plants, May 22nd.
We added to the compost bed for another few weeks and the squashes were eventually planted mid- June which was simply too late for such a hot bed, so they did poorly, but we harvested some.

The idea with a fresh hot compost bed like this is to get ahead of the season, with the heat of the compost protecting the young plants from any late frosts.

 Outside the big tunnel...

 

... June16th.

The big tunnel, July 11th.

A dinner basket, July 26th.

Daub on the top of the small tunnel door.

Basking in the sun,  September 17th.

Mexican bush sage, Salvia leucantha, purple bell vine, Rhodochiton atrosanguineus, and Hedychium, grapes, tomatoes, yams... yes, it's a bit of a jungle but we like it! October 1st.

The back of the small tunnel, November 8th.

This years aubergines cropped heavily and early but they didn't have good flavour at all! Back to a previous variety next year.  July 11th.

Plectranthus Silver Shield in the small tunnel,  a plant grown just for the appearance of it's luminescent leaves. November 8th.

Vegetable garden 2017.

There was plenty of growth and good crops this year, not so many photographs though!

The bee feast, May 16th. The sound of humming and buzzing in the May vegetable garden is deeply soothing.

 The overwintering broccoli and kale are finishing their cycle with flowers and the overwintering groundcover of Limanthes, forget-me-nots and phacelia are flowering in the vegetable patch.

 By the end of May these are replaced by the current years crops which spend their first few vulnerable weeks in May growing in modules where they are protected from frosts and slugs and where they don't need weeding!

Amongst the sea of flowers in May there are some beds planted with the early direct sown crops, potatoes, peas, garlic and onion....

Daub, relaxing in the Limanthes that was drying out to collect seed, this is where the lovely flowers of May go to! June 22nd.

Every year I grow and overwinter Roscoff cauliflower, it is ready for picking in the spring. We freeze several bags of cauliflower florets for curries throughout the year. Alfie still Loves chopping vegetables!

It seems this is the only photo I have of the summer vegetable garden!
This is the sweetcorn with potatoes in the foreground.

Fantastic crop of sweetcorn this year.

Alfie.

Alfie and Angus...

....Lifting the potatoes.

Early October.

Limanthes cover crop following on from potatoes, Early November.

Leeks for the winter,  November.

 
Overwintering purple sprouting broccoli, Cauliflowers, Kale, turnips and ground cover.

Early November. The near bed, originally planted with herbs, had become overgrown and is now prepared for a fresh start, all the others have winter cover crops establishing. (The white speck in the background is Angus's moth trap!)

Early November, Alfie planting the garlic....

...with his very own much loved cultivator (2-pronged pick and mattock) and trowel, kind gifts from Pamela (my Aunt living in France).

Fruit 2017

 Conference Pears, October 7th.

 Conference pear, September.

Beurre Hardy Pear in blossom on the woodshed wall, April.

 Beurre Hardy Pear on the woodshed wall, September.

Some of the Beurre Hardy Pears, September 20th.

Brown Turkey Fig, July 11th.

 

On July 21st I took a few minutes to go around the garden and make quick snapshots of some of the fruit growing that day. We grow several varieties each of blueberries, grapes, figs, plums, kiwis... and dozens of varieties of apples although some have lost their labels.  These photos are just to give a brief impression of some the most loved plants here...

Grapes.

Nectarines.

Pears.

Robin perching on the Apricot tree.

Apricots.

Alpine strawberries.

Figs.

Raspberries.

Grapes.

Kiwis.

Blueberries.

Peaches.

Pears.

Apples.

Apples.