Fresh from the plot
This month, summer is in full swing on Rekha’s plot with harvests aplenty and a tasty spinach recipe to make
What draws me to the plot? Right now, it’s the early morning bird chorus and warm, sunny days, filled with the aromatic scent of sweet-pea flowers. Everything’s in bloom and putting on a marvellous show, from vegetables to soft fruit and cut flowers such as cornflowers and zinnias.
What a transformation – in just a few months, it’s gone from bare soil to a hive of activity, with worms burrowing in the warm soil, bees buzzing on blossom, and hoverflies and ladybirds munching aphids on runner bean and dahlia flowers.
This month, I’m harvesting the last of my second-early Charlotte potatoes, as well as hardneck garlic, which is ready to cure. I’ve also just started cropping the summer raspberries, which are bursting with delicious juice.
One important section I keep on top of is my onion bed – the annual weeds are growing just as fast as the onions, so weeding the soft, warm soil between rows is essential. In one of my favourite parts of the plot – the greenhouse – I’ve noticed more flowers appearing on the aubergine, chilli and pepper plants, with their young fruits swelling up with every weekly organic feed. Oh July, I love you – thank you for bringing the most colourful of harvests!