Fruits of Our Labour

My blog has been a little neglected lately as a lot of my time has been taken up with the needs of the kitchen garden.

It's amazing how things have grown so quickly over the past few weeks. The tomatoes have come on in leaps and bounds, helped along by the long, warm sunny days. It doesn't seem that long ago that they were little plants full of potential. Their growth rate has been incredible – I found myself imagining that I could hear them creaking as they climbed up past the window and the little fruits literally popping into existence overnight! As you can see from the picture above, I have one tomato already beginning to ripen.

The hoverflies have been busy aiding pollination. I don't think I've ever seen so many of these little insects all at once. I find it quite relaxing watching them flit about between the flowers as they feed on nectar.

There are so many tomatoes now, that I'm already making plans to make ketchup and chutney, as well as eating them in salads of course.

The carrots and beetroots are developing well too. The tops of the swelling roots are now visible at the compost's surface. I'll definitely be growing them in containers next year, as this has successfully deterred the carrot flies which can destroy your crop.