Popeye is sorted.

The spinach has now showed itself so I know what is a weed and what isn't.



The cabbages that were doing nothing for ages also have gone nuts this week with all the nice weather we're eventually having.


And the seeds I sowed are also starting to come up (I think).


The cabbages are on the right, but the things on the left are allegedly salsify. However, walking back across the meadow there were a lot of plants with remarkably similar leaves to these, so I think the jury is still out on that one.

There are still a few courgettes swelling up which should be ready shortly to add to my second batch of chutney (the tomatoes for which are currently ripening on the windowsill).

Dying for a leek.....

....but luckily I have plenty.

The leeks are coming on a treat now and should be ready shortly.



The fennel is also doing well although the bulbs are taking their sweet old time swelling up. I've kept chopping the tops off to stop them going to seed which they seem overly keen on doing.



The tomatoes all went down with blight (a problem for a lot of people on the allotment this year) so I rescued all the ones I could today to turn into chutney. The bad ones along with the foliage filled a dustbin bag and have gone in the bin rather than the compost heap so they don't contaminate anything else.



The cabbages and cauliflowers are starting to form hearts at long last, although the caterpillars are munching into the outer leaves of the later.



Finally, the spinach bed appears to have something growing in it, but I'm not 100% sure which bits are the spinach and which are the weeds. I've removed anything that certainly isn't spinach, and will leave the rest to grow and see what is in a straight line.

The Chutney harvest

Well one thing has cropped well this year.... chutney!



As you can see from the picture, some of these grew to 1lb in weight, while others only reached 1/2 lb ;-)

In true WI style I did these wearing a smock and hairnet while singing "Jerusalem" before bottling them into jars with Gingham print lids :p

For the recipe see here where Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall explains all. The recipe is fairly flexible, and after trying to skin some of the tomatoes I ended up just cutting the rest into chunks with the skins on because a) I thought they would add texture to the finished chutney and b) I couldn't be arsed skinning the rest. In a months time these should have matured enough to be eaten with copious quantities of pork pies, Cornish pasties, and other pastry comestibles.

The tomatoes I've left on the plot don't appear to be going any redder and the consensus on the allotments is that nobody elses have worked out either. This means a second round on the chutney machine next weekend to sort out the rest of them so any takers for chutney, shout up now.