Rain !

At last, we have had enough rain for the lettuce to start growing again ! We were really missing it and the few leaves we did pick were rather disappointing as they wilted very quickly. Now we have had 2 days of quite wet conditions they have really perked up and have become lovely and crisp again.

The other thing we noticed after the rain fall is that lots of crops seem to be further on than we were expecting. We have been picking up apples off the ground and they seem ready to eat, judging by the tasting we have done so far. So, I made an apple crumble with the windfalls yesterday and added the usual amount of sugar for early apples and it was a bit too sweet, so I think some of the apples must really be ready. Now we are in a race to start eating them before the local wildlife takes the lot !

We're also noticed that there are a lot of blackberries ready and I'm in two minds whether to go and pick them or not, as we still have quite a few packets in the freezer from last year and the berries don't look that plump. However, with a big article in the newspaper yesterday about how supermarket prices may rise by 12% after next March I'm wondering if I should pick at least some just in case fruit prices rise a lot ? Hmm, perhaps blackberry picking could be described as a leisure activity and I could weave it into a family picnic next weekend ?

Right, off to see if the sweetcorn has started to produce anything as for the first time ever it is well over 6ft tall !