today's harvest

I am ashamed to admit this, but I feel I must...when I struggled to wake up this morning and saw that the sky was overcast I prayed that the morning weather report would forecast rain for the rest of the day. I had planned on riding my bike to the allotment, but after a restless night's sleep I wasn't in any mood. Really I was just searching for any excuse that would satisfy my own mind...

Downstairs, with a cup of tea, the weather forecast was not what I wanted to hear...dry in the South East...oh man!

Really I wasn't be entirely selfish. Yes I wanted rain to justify being lazy today, but I ALSO wanted rain to water my plants (and my weeds) seeing as we haven't had a drop of rain in two weeks. Seriously...don't roll your eyes, I wasn't just thinking about myself! Poor poor plants, right?

Well, on my bike I got eventually and...yes...I was happy for the exercise and fresh air and to get out of the house and blah blah blah. Once I arrived at the allotment and trucked over to my little plot I was happy to have made it. I even decided to pop on the Ipod and yank out the few weeds that just haven't got the message yet!

ooooo swiss chard looks good, ooooo beetroots are coming along, oooooo radishes.....wait a minute! What in tarnation??? My poor poor poor radishes! Some tiny rodent/bird has been having a feast! There were four...count 'em....four perfect, round, bright red radishes, ready for the picking and what's happened?? They have been nibbled to smithereens WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. Now, if it were July I really wouldn't give a hoot seeing as Radishes take, like, four weeks to grow...no biggie. EXCEPT it is nearing October and I was just so looking forward to a small bunch of my first radishes to have in a salad, or in a sandwich, or to be tres francais...avec le beurre!!! yum yum yum....sadly ce n'est pas possible WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

And so, taking no chances with my beetroot, I yanked up a good handful of plants ready for the picking (no delaying those ones) and also cut a heap of swiss chard leaves to serve as our side for tonight's dinner. The swiss chard plants are producing like maniacs and I can't keep up with the bountiful harvest...yum yum yum.

Check out today's pickings:

Oh, there are also a couple of baby romaine lettuces in there....