Vegetable Kingdom: 15th August, 2011

It was with some trepidation that I went on holiday 2 weeks ago. Many of the veg were ready to harvest and a warm dry spell could have been disastrous. I was fairly confident that everything would be OK as I had organised the in-laws to check on the plants in containers and water if necessary; also I had set up the automatic watering system in the greenhouse for the tomatoes, aubergines, chillies and peppers. The main reason for my complacency was that I was going on holiday and usually that means it's going to rain. Well true to my form it did rain but I was not unhappy about it because for once the family and I went abroad to Tenerife where we had a wonderful vacation and it did not rain at all.

On our return I was concerned that we may have missed the peak of the plums ripening, but that was unfounded and we are enjoying a glut, so much so that I made some jam.

There is so much fruit on the tree that one of the branches has snapped. Perhaps I should have thinned the fruit?

Another glut is the French beans which are a very tasty yellow variety. The yellow colour also makes them very easy to spot when picking.

In the greenhouse the tomatoes were also so heavy that the supports broke but it hasn't done any damage.

The aubergines are looking great but the fruit is still small so I'll have to be patient.

There are plenty of runner beans.

Hopefully the parsnips are going to be as good as the carrots, there's good top leaf growth.

The onions have all collapsed and are ready to pull. I haven't made the mistake of bending them over this year as this can cause neck rot, so I hope that their natural bending won't do the same.