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Old 08-10-2004, 11:45 AM
Sue da Nimm
 
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Default What a wierd Growing Season!

I am really struggling to understand the effects of the weather on crops.

For some reason we are still picking runner beans and the plants are lush
and showing little sign of stopping.
There are still plenty of new flowers, although not too many bees in
evidence so they are unlikely to end up on the dinner plate or in the
freezers..Normally they'd be on the compost heap and the sticks in storage,
but this year we've still got at least another couple of weeks of picking to
do.
The strawberries have put on a second crop of fruit which have made a decent
size but aren't going to ripen off.
The butternut squash crop has simply been absurd. We always plant these on
old compost heaps, and currently the surrounding willows and fence are full
of ripe fruit waiting to be picked and stored. We've probably had around 20
from each plant, and many have been "whoppers" because I left them longer
than normal.
We're still picking tomatoes which are ripening quite nicely in the
greenhouses.
The last of the sweetcorn were munched yesterday.
The raspberry canes are going bananas and, despite cutting back, are still
pushing through the fruit cage roof. (7 foot)

This is not a typical year at all - the brilliant sunny spring and saturated
summer seem to have suited the garden well.
Certainly the most productive year (by far) that we've ever had.