… because although it’s a bit overcast here in Northern Ireland, it’s still pretty damn hot, being in the low 20s and very humid.

At least it’s not as hot as in parts of Britain, where it’s supposed to edge into the low 30s this week… And I have to admit I did enjoy the warm sunny weather on the weekend. There’s a lot to be said for being able to sit out in the back garden on Saturday evening till 10pm, with the sky still bright, the cats in playful mood as they chase the bee-on-a-string, and with a glass of wine (or two) to hand. Yesterday was pretty nice too, if a bit windy, and Clover and I spent a comfortable half hour lying on the travel rug on the grass before Colin mowed it for the first time in a month and chopped down all my buttercups and clover.

The warm weather has sent my veg patch beserk too. I planted too much and too close together, I admit, which hasn’t helped with the overcrowding. But the spinach is about a foot tall, and I really need to harvest it properly and freeze some; likewise with the parsley and chives. The celery stalks aren’t very thick yet, but they are tasty, and I could probably take up some of that too to freeze for soup. The leeks and onions and rhubarb and my lone potato are doing well too; the only things that haven’t are the radishes, which the slugs ate, and the lettuces which are hidden under the spinach somewhere.
I’m planning to dig the bed bigger before next year though, and I definitely won’t be planting spinach again. (Colin wants more potatoes, but I’ll see first how this year’s does.)

The potato I planted in the veg bed is actually the brother of Spudthulu - it came from the same bag. Spudthulu itself is doing very well, as the photo shows - I kept it in the cupboard until quite recently, which is why it’s purple rather than green and leafy, but it’s time for it now to start producing some leaves… And I’ve just realised that it’s now nearly 4 months old (in its incarnation as a bonsai potato, rather than just an ordinary one).