On Saturday, we bought a new BBQ (old one has finally died! and we gave in for the convenience of gas for the time being). While we didn't have much of our own to cook, we did use our own garlic in the marinade on the ribs and our own cabbage in the coleslaw. And I persuaded OH to try some of the salad leaves alongside (niche mixed) - he thought they were kinda boring, but I guess beside the meat they might have been. I've been enjoying them for lunches all week though.

OH went up to the plot yesterday morning and dug over almost all of the remaining space. He also came home with half yesterday's harvest - 2 cauliflowers, a cabbage and a bundle of rhubarb.

Yesterday afternoon - after lunch the plan changed from ME going up to us ALL going up (the toddler hadn't been in a while and wanted to come too). So we went back up and I planted 15 super roma tom plants, and 6 others (2 sub arctic, 1 rio grande, 1 gardener's delight, and 2 surprises!!) into the ground OH had dug over (lovely soil there!!), with a trap of marigolds spread around and between the toms. I also planted 2 summer squashes (sunburst) where the caulis and cabbage harvest had left 2 gaps (space getting tight) and some peas I had germinated at home onto the end of the tomato patch. The cabbages, brocolli, sprouts and leeks (for summer baby harvest) we had planted a couple of weeks ago are flourishing, as are all the onions and the potatoes. We will need to start harvesting the autumn sown onions on the next visit I reckon (running out of last year's harvest at home). The broad beans and overwintered peas have their first pods showing, but won't be ready for eating for another couple of weeks.

The second half of the harvest was then undertaken - a huge haul of PSB, 2 heads of White sprouting brocolli, 3 small heads of overwintered lettuce and a handfull of parsley. Then we hurried home before getting too burnt (hadn't bothered with suncream cos it was so cloudy and cold, sun splitting stones once we were on plot). It was also the first meeting this year with next plot neighbour which was nice.

Home for dinner (chicken stuffed with cream cheese and parma ham wrapped around, roasted spuds and huge portions of steamed PSB), with plans to use the rest of the harvest during the week (cauli with pork chops tomorrow, cabbage with bacon and parsley sauce on wed, probably a stir fry on thurs with lots of PSB) and the lettuce in my lunches at work.

While I sorted dinner, OH and the toddler cleaned up the ornamental part of teh back garden - planting out a tray of stock, night scented stock and a blue flower (name escapes me always, but cottage garden-y) around the place, weeding and tidying edge of brick circle around clothes line, and generally getting mucky!!

After dinner and the toddler's bedtime, I went out into the garden and planted: 3 San Marzano, 3 Rio Grande, 3 Harlequin, 2 Sub Arctic and 1 more Gardener's Delight into the garden, as well as a module of either corn salad or land cress (lost label, and never grew either before, but tis one or t'other). Watered the rest of the plants and brought in a pot of basil to start using in the kitchen. Had a nice bowl of our own rhubarb with some custard, then had a well deserved hot shower to clean up and relax.

The end result of all that is that my stock of plants on the patio and minigreenhouse has diminished hugely (much to OH's relief), so am only left with:
10 summer brocolli
10 summer cabbages (both need to find space for homes)
10 Brussels sprouts and 20 purple sprouting brocolli - space kept for these, but they need another couple weeks growing first
3 LARGE pots of leeks - they are going into the space currently occupied by the spuds
4 coffee cups of climbing french beans - need to sow more but also harvest brassicas for planting space
2 tumbling tom tomatoes - might do another hanging basket for those
1 yellow courgette - possibly for the garden but OH snaffled the space I thought I had for it!!
30 beetroot bolthardy - will squeeze these in on the plot when a little bigger
15 cos lettuces - need another few weeks before planting out too, will plant other mixed lettuce in other half of tray during this week
module of iceberg lettuce - maybe 10 plants, need to find space somewhere
2 large pots of salad leaves - 1 being eaten, the other hopefully ready in about 2-3 weeks
6 pots of basil
6 pepper "big Banana" -for the patio and needing potting on.
4 pumpkins - 2 Dill's Atlantic Giant haven't yet germinated, 2 Spooktacular have seed leaves out
2 butternut squash - 1 has seed leaves just visible, nothing in other pot yet
1 pot of spring onions
Parsnips in loo rolls - doing nothing yet

Ooops, I thought it wasn't much til I wrote it all down