Anyone would think it’s all been doom and gloom on the plot recently. It hasn’t. There have been events a-go-go and if I lost all my strawberries and raspberries to my intruders’ munchie-attacks, at least they’ve clearly been too stoned/busy enabling others to get stoned to take any interest in taking anything that needs actual work before eating.

I should probably warn you that many of the pictures in this post were taken after a pal of mine saw my harvest and reminded me I hadn’t used the edible googly eyes she gave me for Christmas 2014…

The potatoes have mainly been good this year….

The Charlottes are, as ever, golden, creamy and multi-purpose. It was a decent crop – certainly more that needed chez moi, so I’m foisting them on friends and neighbours.

I was disappointed with the International Kidney (aka Jersey Royals). They’re always light-croppers, so I wasn’t expecting giant yields but they were covered in scab and the slugs were having a great time with them.

I blame the serious levels of rain this year for the slugs, but the scab I’m putting down to the manure – the only stuff available was well rotted, but had been burnt by the farmer; I’m suspecting it burned the crop.

Tomatoes are beginning to arrive, there’s a good handful of blueberries every time I go up to the plot and I’m enjoying my first-ever courgette glut (never managed one before, so v. pleased). I even accidentally harvested the first pumpkin of the season when it snapped under its own weight while I tried to support it (note to self: don’t leave it so late next time). Still, when I knocked the base it sounded hollow, so it’s pretty much ready anyway.

It was a good blackcurrant harvest this year. I got at least 3kgs but hadn’t remembered that – shock – we’d drunk all the blackcurrant liqueur last year.  Rather than cassis, I make my own, mouth-puckering concoction that goes great in desserts, but it’s quite heavy on blackcurrants. There are never enough blackcurrants.

The cucumbers are doing well, even if they do have to suffer the indignity of googly eyes.

Sadly I missed the fabulous gladioli when I had to go away for a few days – the rain got them, but I’m eking out the last two in a vase for as long as I can. They were a fantastic colour, so I’ll save the corms and try again next year.

There is much to come. The tomatoes are just getting into their stride; the beans are slow, but coming. The leeks are planted now; the brassicas are being merrily consumed by pests after heavy rain made my rubbish netting collapse and the entire pigeon/butterfly community  were in like Flynn. It’s going to be a good year for pumpkins and the apples and pears look fantastic too.

That’s if I can somehow get rid of my intruders before they munch the lot.

Sigh. The biggest harvest of all this year is less appetising: