From July onwards we are busy harvesting produce from the garden. The soft fruit has been very good this year, the later variety of red currant (sorry do not know which variety as they were in the garden when we moved) is providing a lot of fruit this year and the “strings” are very long. White currants have also been excellent and so sweet but are coming to an end now.
Summer raspberries and Logan berries provided plenty of fruit, over now but autumn raspberries are ready to take over. I like the autumn raspberries best and their care is much easier.
Summer raspberries fruit on old wood so at this time of year the new growth which will fruit next year has already grown. You have to cut out the old stems which fruited this year, and then tie the new canes onto the wire supports. The autumn raspberries are much easier, they fruit on the current years growth so maintenance just involves cutting the old canes down to the ground in the spring just before new growth appears, then new canes will grow up and fruit that year.
Success with peaches this year as a result of a cover to protect buds from winter rains with results in Peach Leaf Curl which defoliates the tree and weakens it. Also I went round with a paint brush to assist pollination when the blossom was out. The result, 9 large sweet white peaches, a good haul since the “tree” only has 2 branches.
Other more unusual crops harvested the past few weeks are purple graffiti cauliflower, inca berries, Achocha: ladies slipper and fat baby, artichoke, florence fennel, calabrese, baby spinach, figs and Edameme.
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