Unseasonal

As well as the apple blossom, I have flowers on the strawberry plants and quite a few raspberries are ripening.  The raspberries have been odd - the autumn-fruiting varieties manifested in July, and the Malling Jewel, which should be summer-fruiting, are having a last hurrah now.  Perhaps this is something that happens in the first year of planting.  I weeded the raspberry bed today and put in stakes and wires to help hold them up.  My plans to prune them went awry, as I'd forgotten the different requirements of autumn and summer fruiting varieties.  I'll take the book with me next time.

During the week I put in - perhaps optimistically - some more baby plants: rocket and winter purslane, so that winter salads will not consist entirely of endive.  They are looking rather sad at the moment, but there has been no rain for days.  The broccoli plants look much better, thankfully.  The white fly is diminishing but not vanquished, despite many applications of the garlic and chilli spray.  Everything got a good drink today to help it through the cold weather forecast for next week.

I've harvested my squash - I got one squash per plant, possibly not great value for money, although they are very pretty to look at.  The plants  have successfully kept the weeds off that bit of bed.  The last of the beetroot and various odd things must come up soon so I can plant garlic and broad beans.

The endive, radicchio and chard are all thriving, and the mizuna is also doing well.  The nasturtium plants are still sprawling everywhere and covered with flowers - today they were also covered with bees.  I'm starting to think I need to turn the compost - not a job to anticipate with relish - but it looks very little like the lovely friable compost they churn out on Gardener's World.