Tomato Race And Vegetable Musings

The first photo is of my Tomato Ailsa Craig, It is in a race with the Tomato Money Maker in the garden trying to grow the first red Tomato of 2008.
I think Chilli plants and Tomato plants are my weakness, I will look for new varieties for next year.I am already planning the 2009 harvest crops..

From the allotment today the first two Onions (Red Baron, and Stuttgart),some Strawberrys, Rhubarb, and ten Courgettes. The biggest one on the left filled the seed tray. I guess all the rain has helped keep the plants well watered.The experimental Courgettes with no pop bottles or black covering have not done as well.The baby courgettes showed signs of gnawing! Teeth marks had stripped two of the courgettes. Do Mice like Courgettes?

The colourful Runner Bean Polestar is flowering on the two most advanced plants. The other fourteen are in various stages of growth. I weeded the Runner Bean bed and did some repairs on the A frame which had been damaged by the wind and rain. It was so peaceful up there. Only the birds singing and the wind blowing.

The first Borage flower. These plants have grown huge and were shadowing the Peas and the four Dwarf Bean plants. They have masses of flower buds, and one plant had pink flowers. I wander what I can do with this glut of flowers? They are doing a good job of weed supression under their thick, coarse textured leaves. I grew them to help pollinate the Peas and French Beans. They have grown much better than the other two!

The Cabbages are forming hearts now in the centre of the plant.The Garlics leaves are turning yellow and brown. The Carrots are growing beautifully, as are the Onions that are nearly fully grown. A line of Parsnips, and two lines of Mustard Greens have germinated in the rainy weather. No sign yet of my Perpeptual Spinach.
My Gem Squash have two baby Gems growing on them, and the Leeks are still small. The weeds were not as rampant as before. I will try to get up on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
I need to find my notebook ready to plan next years Vegetable beds. The Shed base is marked out but needs leveling before I can get some stone slabs down. Once they are down I will buy a six foot by four foot shed.The Plot will almost be complete then, and I will have somewhere to store my tools, hose, and watering can. I want a sloped roof so I can put water butts beneath to catch the ample amount of rain.
I have two nearly full compost bins which need more time to break down.The resulting compost will go back into the raised beds, to add organic matter, and goodness to the soil.
Its amazing the transformation of the allotment from wilderness to productive allotment with raised beds, marked out paths, frames, and compost bins. I read a bit, looked at other peoples experiences growing vegetables and soft fruit, and have experimented.I will use this year as my starting point of knowledge. I had none previously to look back at.
I hope its interesting swinging the blog posts between the Garden and all its flowers, and the Allotment with all the food crops growing.