at last...

The tomatoes are starting to ripen, even without the benefit of sunshine which has been in very short supply for the last couple of months.

Of course, some long sunny days would really help them along but beggars can't be choosers!

I also have some fruit appearing on the pepper plants but, like just about everything else, they are well behind where they should be at this time of year. Plenty of flowers and, even though I'm hand pollinating, they seem reluctant to set fruit. It seems as if things have just ground to a halt and that has a knock-on effect because stuff that should have gone out on to the plot to fill gaps is just languishing in pots. This afternoon I put another dozen cabbages into four-inch pots so they will at least be able to develop a good rootball before going out, thus lessening the likelihood of damage by pests and disease. We've only had two cabbages from the garden so far this year which is really disappointing.

A few of the potatoes have got early blight which, although nowhere near as serious as late blight, has forced me to lift some of the plants and dispose of the tops.

The concentric rings on the affected areas are a characteristic of this fungal disease. On those plants which are only mildly affected I've removed the damaged leaves in order that the tubers will continue to bulk out. That's my hope anyway!