First Courgette

Meet our first courgette! Picked this very morning. Ok, so it's a little wonky and wouldn't make it past an EU market inspector but hey - it's the first proper produce from Matt's Patch (lettuce doesn't really count). So, in anticipation of a glut of courgettes I've been looking up recipes. Obviously there's fritters, but I'm more interested in Courgette Cake (a bit like carrot cake but, you've guessed it, with courgette instread). Another recipe I've found was on a Waitrose card for Minted Courgette Soup.

First courgette - hopefully one of many

I also thought I'd show the progress of the broad beans - they're coming along nicely. I've found a recipe for these too that I want to try - from the Guardian's gardening blog. I haven't planted our French beans out yet, so broad beans are all we've got to look at at the moment.

Beans are getting fatter - won't be long now ...

What I have done is to give the 4 cucumber plants a bigger home. This is two of them in a trough. As for the other two (not pictured), one is a bit of a runt so may not make it through the stress of moving house! Let's hope they do better than the last lot, otherwise I'll just give up with cucumbers.

Cucumbers have been moved to bigger homes

Our tomatoes seem to be quite a way behind other people's. Never the less, they have started producing flowers which I am duly tapping when I pass by to help with pollination. I'm also pinching out the side shoots that grow between the main stem and the side leaves. This leaves a nice smell of tomatoes on your hands!

A little late but we have tomato flowers

Emily and Megan can't wait for more sunshine to help ripen the strawberries. They're so very close to being ready it's painful. Even with the mesh over them, something has still managed to get in and half-eat a couple. Why do they do that? If you don't like strawberries LEAVE THEM ALONE! GRRRR!

mmmmm! Strawberries. Gorgeous!