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Gooseberry Heaven
Hi again,well yes of course they are gooseberries.Be honest how many of you have gooseberries now.Well remember they are a berry and very healthy.They grow on a bush and get bigger each year.Also when they get big,you can take cuttings,to make newly growing bushes.these gooseberries are not quite ready,but they will be in about 2-3 weeks.I am looking forward to it.Keep an eye on the site because many of the fruit and vegetables will be used.
Comice pears
This tree was put in this year so it is new to the allotment.It has about 15 pears on it.I just need to watch out the leaves dont get diseased.With plenty of water the fruit should be good.
Blackcurrants ready to eat
These blackcurrants are ready.they have swelled up and are really juicy.You can understand why lots of sweets and juices are flavoured with blackcurrants.They are really rich in antioxidents,and they are very healthy for you.Many people make smoothies,shakes,crumble,pies,fool etc There are many sweets you can make with these.
A rich picking
It is very time consuming but there is something theraputic about picking fruit.Here we have blackcurrants,redcurrants and strawberries.
Under ripe plums
Again this plum tree has not been on the allotment long.It is a victoria plum tree.These tree normally produce an abundance of fruit.It is a young tree and the fruit is green and no where near ready to eat.When they are ready they go plum red a red wine colour.These will be really juicy plums.When you eat you ripened plums,watch out for the big stones in the middle.
Conference Pears
This tree is on its second year here.Last year it did not produce much,but as you can see this year there is loads of fruit on it.Conference pears are often smaller.I love them and when they ripen up small one are more juicy.There is nothing better in the fruity world than a juicy pear.So remember folks select yours well.
Plump gooseberries
These gooseberries look a lot like grapes dont you think.when they are ready they go a sort of yellowy colour.Before they get to this they are much greener and very hard,the way they look now they are perfect for fruit salad,crumbles and pies.Have fun picking them but watch out for the pricks as they have thorns.
Rasberries ready to eat
There are several bushes like this on the allotment.These rasberries are good and ripe.They are very delicate but one of my favourites for flavour.Last year they started going a bit mad and taking over,so i really cut them back this year.they grow best on new growth.
Ripe redcurrants
these redcurrants are ready to eat.you can see they have gone a deep red in colour.They have plumped up quite a bit also.When you lift the branch up there is generally an abundance of fruit hiding.Also when it all comes,you tend to only have a few weeks to pick them all before they start to overripen and fall off.So when they are like this get picking.
A Ripe Rasberry
Well as you can see,one is juicy and ready to eat,while the others have to ripen.they need lots of rain and sunshine to get like the red juicy one.
A Young Apple Tree
This is a young tree.It has only been in for two years.As we have had plenty of sunshine and rain,there are about twenty apples on the tree.If we dont get any gale force winds they might all make it.they are ready to eat when they are about the size of a tennis ball.So all you wimbledon fans wait for the juice.
Juicy Strawberries
Well,here you have it,i finally got some strawberries.This is the first of the crop, a descent bucket full.They are nice and red and juicy,When i get home, i will give them an hour before they get munched.When i go on again at the weekend,i am hoping there will be a lot more,so i can spread the love.I will give you more news on the strawberries soon.
Young grapes
Well further up i told you about my poltunnel.I cant believe my luck this year as i have 5 bunches of grapes coming through.I am well made up, not enough for you wine makers but enough for me to look at in the fruit bowl.They are the green variety of grape but lets hope they will be a tasty,juicy sweet variety.Anyway keep coming on here and you just might be watching me chop fruit salad with my own grapes.Oh yeah baby.
Blackcurrants
Ok yes you have guessed it.These are blackcurrants.These too look ready but are not yet.They need to swell up a bit more and will be ready.Berries are very time consuming to pick as they are so small.Some have told me there is a type of comb to get them off the bushes with.This may seem a good idea but i would not like all the leaves and creepy crawlies.The blackcurrants are full of asorbic acid and riboflavin.Also rich in antioxidents. In about two weeks they will be ready and you will see them put to use.
Redcurrants
I have several redcurrant bushes.As you can see they are nearly ripe.They are not ready just yet as they would be really tarty in flavour.They go a little bigger and swell a little more.I will show you when i have picked some.Remember if you eat too many of these they are very acidic.But most edible berries are full of antioxidents which are good for your skin and general health.
Strawberry Plant
Well,what do you think,i am quite pleased.When the plants look good like this, it is great.Also remember, every time you get the flowers ,as long as you water the plants, you get the fruit. I am looking forward to seeing some nice juicy strawberries.I will keep you updated, when they come.I think this will be in the next couple of weeks i hope.
Strawberry Plants
I decided to split the strawberries last year.I dug the ground out and removed the weeds and roots.Then i raked it out flat,black damp proof sheeting was put down and weighted. I then put crosses in the plastic sheet where i wanted to plant my strawberries.Ok i lost a few, but the ones i i did are coming up strong.This year they will produce a few strawberries but no great amount.By late june they will put runners out and this will make good rows of strawberries with much fewer weeds because of the black plastic.Watch them develop.
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