Lammas greetings - .

So, the end of July and tomorrow is Lammas Day . The garden is in full production now and I am bringing in loads of assorted vegetables and fruits for us to enjoy.

Unfortunately the Rivers Early plum tree split under the sheer weight of plums ( again) it has done this before and we really can't think how to prevent it - the branches are not really suitable to prop up - I think a severe prune is needed.

My pumpkins are doing very well - this is Jack o lantern - should get some huge pumpkins off these plants - I have five of these and five Butternut Squash plants and all are setting fruit very well.

I am picking lots of chard and spinach and today I gathered onions, the first leeks, turnips, beetroot and courgettes - but the salads, caulis and calebrese all seem to be bolting. I guess it has just been too hot for them, even though I watered them every night. I am ppicking the brassica leaves so we will still get to eat something off them :-)

And of course I am picking tomatoes every day, and now the aubergine and pepper plants have ripe fruits to pick. Today we also harvested the last of the broad beans. Which means we are eating lots of lovely fresh produce at every meal.

Off to bake a loaf of lammas bread and walk in the wood in the dusk :)

Lammas greetings

 The loaf was still in the oven (!) - but here are some flowers and fruits picked today. I hope all my readers have a fruitful and boutiful harvest in the upcoming months.

Lammas/Lughnasadh

The Lammas Festival at the beginning of August is one of the four Celtic Cross Quarter Festivals. Lammas looks back to a time when people were much more intertwined and connected to the land and their lives were governed by the cycle of the seasons and the growing of food to keep them alive.

This is the time of the year where we gather in the harvest, of wheat or what ever else we have grown and to give thanks for the ( hopefully) bountiful harvest which the earth has blessed us with.

This is what I gathered from my polytunnel early this morning. I have harvested much much more during today but didin't take any pictures......sorry!

I also made some corn and lavender favours last night, which I will keep over winter until Imboc ( in early February) I will then burn the favours on the fire and scatter the ashes on the soil where I am going to start the new seasons plantings. So the Wheel of the Year turns around.......

Whatever you harvest today and in the weeks to come I hope you have a fruitful, fulfilled and happy  time.

A blessed Lammas day to you all.

John Barleycorn must die

A Milestone!

Coo have just realised I managed to post every day during July!

Not intended but hopefully I will continue to post more often now my life has settled back into a more manageable routine, with no more college, teaching practice etc...

Have spent today having a family/home day, we went out to lunch at a local pub, am hosting a friends get together in the near future so, in the interests of testing out possible Sunday lunch venues for any who come to the meet up and want one, we were forced to go to a local pub and try their lunches. Its a hard job, but someone has to do it I can report it was very nice and has def. been added to the list of places to go.

Then I pottered around doing house work (washing, ironing, cleaning) and washing and chores, some arty stuff with Compostgirl, a bit of crochet and knitting and some harvesting of crops.

Have spent today harvesting Lavender and Wheat (because it is Lammas /Lughnasadh, today) also Beans, tomatoes, shallots, beans, cucumber, peppers, courgettes, spinach, spuds, beans. have you got the idea we have lots of beans?

House smalls delightfully of fresh lavender now and have also made my Lammas corn dolly, a bit green still but its my tradition to do one on this day, and then another with the last proper harvest I do.

So...F1 watched, supper eaten ( home made pate on home made toasted bread with home grown home made soup...yum!) wine now being drunk. Hic!

Compostman watching some time travel film thing on TV with the nice Irish chap from the IT Crowd in it...looks interesting but it goes on too late for me, so I am updating on here, before going to bed.