This morning was supposed to be easy – a quick run to get decking and essential shed supplies. But I had forgotten about the FATBERG! Stuck in crawling traffic for over an hour, with a crash on the A3 to stop me going the other way. So allotment time was cut short today. Joy.

Lunchtime salad of white cuke, golden purslane, tomatoes, yellow beans, nearly all from the plot and accompanied by some vastly overpriced bread as a treat from the local snooty French bakery. I also got a lovely haul of blackberries from the hedgerow. I’ve finally remembered how to tell when the berries are properly ripe – you’d think I hadn’t spent most summers as a child doing this!

In other news: Feeding the courgettes has worked wonders – I am now completely over-run. One of the pesky things has decided it can grow in 2 directions at once and has been sneakily growing marrows under cover of leaves. I’m going away for the weekend and have decided to take 9 with me as ‘presents’.

The 6 purple climbing French beans have made it to the top of the arch and are flowering madly. Definitely something to do again, it’s really easy to pick them and the pink flowers look very pretty. None of the beans make it home, they are so tasty!

Measurements have also been scientifically(ish) taken – I think I have room for 6 x 1.2m wide beds coming up the sunny side of the plot, with paths 55cm wide inbetween. This should just about accommodate my tiddly ’70s barrow. The central path will be about 1m wide and should be ok for wider loads.

I have a few squashes now too – no butternuts unfortunately, so I doubt there is time for them to mature if they do pop up, but at least 3 Kabocha and possibly an Autumn Crown. The brassicas look a little sickly in the new bed, and I am hoping it’s just shock from transplanting. I’ve broken up the top crust of soil as it had set hard and was cracking.

Which reminds me, I must get a long-handled cultivator, my back is protesting.

Completely unrelated to growing stuff, I had some brilliant news today. My grant application has been approved and the small charity I run will keep bobbing along for a while longer. Hurrah!!