The extreme heat of the last month has dissipated at last, and the weather has returned to our normal cool, wet days. With daily sunshine at some point, of course. But we now have 15° rather than 30° and I for one am heartily relieved.
The plants in the polycrub have suffered the most. We tried to keep them all watered, but at those temperatures most bolted in the heat.
The lettuces are bolting, as are the coriander, parsley, rocket and dill. The nasturtiums are everywhere. The beetroot have gone mad seemingly overnight. The kale and broccoli are all flowering like crazy outside too.
I’ve re-sown where I can and hopefully we’ll have a much more steady sumner of growth from this point forwards.
We’ve cropped our first few pots of potatoes. The yield in the pots has been small, but I think that’s because I put too many potatoes in each pot. There are plenty to come from the outdoor croft beds.
Casablanca, pilot and red rooster varieties have done well. Fir Apple needs another four weeks to reach a reasonable size.
The spring onions have gone a bit mad and I needed their pots so I’ve harvested a few pots of them on the small side.
I chop and freeze many of them in ice cube containers along with the herbs like chives, coriander and parsley so that I can add them to curries and casseroles when they’re difficult to get hold of.
All in all, apart from the fact that most things are about a month too soon, crops are good.
Ravencroft Skye 
It is hard to tell from the photo – do you add water to the herbs and onions when you freeze them? And then how do you thaw and use them afterwards? I have never frozen onions or herbs like that and am interested in trying.
We do buzz up our kale with orange juice in the blender and freeze it in cubes to then use in smoothies. But that is as far as I have taken freezing greens.
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I add water – a little bit – to the chopped herbs to hold them together whilst they freeze. Then I pop them straight into soups, stews and stir fries from frozen. No need to thaw. I do this with chopped ginger and garlic too. It works well
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I will have to plant my onions in the fall; waited too late this year. And my dill has bolted but the tomatoes are beginning to come in. I want to learn to grow my own garlic!
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You’ll love it! I grew garlic the first two years that we were here. I ran out of space this year so didn’t plant a crop yet. They largely look after themselves 👍
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Which begs the question, how does one even begin to grow garlic????
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It’s super simple. Separate the cloves from a head of garlic and plant them in the soil. They shoot up like onions and the bulb develops underground. It’s very satisfying 😊
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Will give it a try!
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Best to plant either in late autumn or early spring 👍
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Thanks!
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It has been a really weird Spring and early Summer. Well done for getting so much from your polycrub.
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It’s a great idea to freeze herbs in icecube trays. Soetimes I frreze them in butter (vegan) or oil too. That way when I drop them into a pan, I have the oil and herbs all in one hit… and the cubes stick together better in the freezer.
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Great idea! Must try that 👏👏👏
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