More wet weather. Last month we had about two and a half times the average for that time of year and this month we've exceeded the monthly average in the first week. I'm not sure what it's done to the garden. The soft fruit seem to be a little later than last year, I guess because they are missing the warmer weather and the sun. There is now plenty of soft fruit in the garden. Slugs, snails and woodlice have got most of the strawberries, but the raspberries have done really well. There are coming faster than we can pick, especially with the rain keeping us out of the garden some of the time.
Redcurrants, raspberries and tayberries (03 July 2012)
Redcurrants have done well this year too. The first bushes planted are starting to be quite productive. The Junifer redcurrant was the first to ripen and gave a good yield, enough to freeze some for later in the year. I also harvested a few blackcurrants from the Ebony variety I planted last October in the front garden. These were ready by the end of June and were very sweet.
Junifer redcurrants on the bush (26 June 2012)
Some of the climbing fruit is ripening now. The tayberries are ready to pick and the loganberries are ripening too. Even the huge Karaka blackberries are turning black and ready to eat. These are supposed to have an eight to nine week season starting in early July, which makes them great for back garden grazing.
Loganberry climbing fence (26 June 2012)
Even the gooseberries cordons have finally produced some fruit this year on the first three that were planted. The Invicta variety produced much more than the Hinnomaki Red or Yellow varieties. I had to pick them yesterday as it was so wet that the snails were starting to eat them.
Rocambole surrounding Annie Elizabeth apple (26 June 2012)
The soft necked garlic growing in a raised bed is about ready to harvest and those and the Babington leeks are looking like the slugs and snails are giving them a hard time now. The soft-necked garlic that I've left to form clumps around the garden and use for the scapes have died back now. The hard-necked rocambole is doing well still and has lots of flowering shoots coming up. The few bulbs that I planted a few years ago around the Annie Elizabeth apple have multiplied and now there is a large belt around the tree. I also planted some of the small bulbils that it produced last year in the front garden and these have grown into new plants. Hopefully they will all produce more bulbils this year.
Scarlet tiger moth on unripe raspberries close to some comfrey leaves (26 June 2012)
The wet weather hasn't been much fun for the moths and butterflies. The scarlet tiger moths are back, but mostly seem to be sheltering from the rain. There have also been some unusual insect visitors to the garden. A few nights ago there were some large flying beetles in the garden flying around the top of the large pear tree. Some of them had come into the house and got stuck by the window. I think they were may bugs or cockchafers (Melolontha melolontha). I haven't seen them since.
It has finally stopped raining, I'd better get outside and pick some more raspberries.
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