Nothing surprising about that maybe – but this is the first
significant rain we have had since the beginning of June.
Following the torrential and unremitting rain we had in the
spring, when I couldn’t plant the potatoes because there was standing water 6
inches down in the soil, we have had a very hot, almost totally dry summer. All
the rain-water butts are empty so we’ve had to use the hose to water the veg
and the fruit bushes and trees almost daily, heaven knows what the water bill
will be. There are great cracks an inch wide and going down to middle earth in
the veg plots.
So I got up early this morning to do the watering before the
heat comes and was overjoyed to feel spots of rain on my face. I think it had
rained overnight – the forecast promised that but I’ve stopped believing them –
because the grass was just a little damp and the garden chairs had small
puddles on the seats.
Sipping my morning coffee and with a background of rumbling
thunder I pottered around the garden, watered and tidied up the tomatoes in the
greenhouse (and picked a few) and decided to harvest the remaining
gooseberries.
We have 4 gooseberry bushes. (see our Soft Fruit list.) 3 were here when we came 12
years ago, but are under the shadow of two large apple trees, plum trees and
the walnut trees. One of these bushes produces a reasonable crop every year,
but does suffer from the brown mouldy stuff. That’s maybe because it needs more
air and light. A few years ago I took some cuttings and we planted the one which
survived and flourished in a new row set between the blackcurrants, along with
a couple of jostaberries which some friends gave us. This new gooseberry is
doing really well and it’s that one I harvested this morning. I have taken half
a dozen cuttings this year, so hopefully will have a couple of new bushes in a
year or so.
After a slow start the jostaberries produced a few berries
last year. This year one bush has died, but the other has provided enough for
an apple, loganberry and jostaberry crumble and some to go in the freezer.
Jostaberries are like large blackcurrants without the intense flavour, are a
little sweeter and don’t have so many pips.
On returning to the house with my harvest, the heavens
opened and for a while rain poured down. But an hour later, the sun is
shining and promising another hot, hot day.
