Guilty Pleasures

It's just too tempting...

Every supermarket you go into, they're stacked up almost immediately inside the door.

Your conscience says, "Walk on by.  You've come in for Fair Trade bananas, milk and the usual yellow label bargain hunting expedition.  Don't fall for the marketing ploy!"

"Everyone else is buying them," says the little demon on your other shoulder. 

"It isn't something you need.  You'd be letting yourself down."

"You know you want to!"

"But it's totally against your principles.  You'll die of shame if you run into someone you know at the checkout."

"They're on a multibuy special offer.  You know you can't resist a bargain!"

"You won't enjoy them.  You'll be anticipating something really tasty and you'll be bitterly disappointed.  Shop-bought new potatoes are never as tasty as your own home grown ones..." 

You did know this moral dilemma was about potatoes, didn't you?

Our trusty Sarpo Miras from last year actually lasted until just a couple of weeks ago when we roasted and ate the last few.  If the first earlies had developed properly, we shouldn't even have been contemplating buying taters. 

But there's only so long I can get by getting my carbs from pasta and rice; by mid June I crave new potatoes.  Usually, I can dig my own from the back garden and have them on the plate within half an hour.  Delicious!

Much as it pains me to admit it, I have had a complete disaster with first early potatoes this year.  I've never had a total 'fail' like this before.  I don't know whether the weird weather is to blame, or buying 'bargain shop' seed potatoes rather than sourcing them from a reliable supplier, but none are anything like ready to dig and in fact they appear to be giving it up as a bad job and just fading away.  You can't entirely blame them.

In short, we had dud spuds.

'Highland Burgundy Red' and 'Ratte' (this year's trial variety) second early seeds spuds

I'd be lying if I said that this year has been anything other than disappointing generally on the fruit and veg front so far.  The weird weather has been taking its toll on everything except the slugs.  It appears that no plums have set.  Carrots, swedes and parsnips have been sown twice and either not germinated or vanished completely on two occasions now.  There were five spindly spears of asparagus, fewer than last year when I had hoped we'd actually have a usable crop this year.

Who ya gonna call?  Blightbusters!  'Sarpo Mira', 'Sarpo Axona' and 'Blue Danube'

Fortunately, down on the allotment, the second earlies and main crop are still looking good (all from reputable suppliers) although the weather conditions suggest it'll be time to mix the Bordeaux Mixture soon and that even the 'blight busters' will be put through their paces this year.  The onions and garlic look fine too.  The broad beans are a bit 'could do better', but at least they've formed pods.  The peas are a lost cause.

Jon at the allotment - 2nd early and main crop spuds, plus onions and garlic all doing well.

Meanwhile, back in the garden, blackbirds are decimating the redcurrants before they are even ripe. Ironically I think this is because last year they finally worked out that whitecurrants weren't unripe redcurrants after all; they had previously assumed they were and left them alone. Now it seems they think the unripe redcurrants are ripe whitecurrants! 

That's blackbirds for you; they sing beautifully but they aren't all that bright really.

I made the mistake of planting out some courgettes on one of the dry days last week, thinking they would get off to a good start with the forecast of some warm, wet weather.  They were clinging to life rather precariously yesterday, before the horrendously heavy rain this afternoon.  I don't know if I can't bear to look...

Still, at least no-one's worrying about a drought any more!