cauliflower calamity

I was looking forward to fresh cauliflower cheese tonight but when I got the first cauli out from under the debris netting it had 'blown'. It was still usable but we had to augment it with a few florets from the freezer.

blown cauli

 The others nearby seem fine with small but very compact heads. I gave them a good soaking and must hope they don't go the same way.  In the same piece of ground the cabbages are really beefing up.

The head on this one tipped the scales at over three pounds, far too much for a meal so most of it went in the freezer.

The blackcurrant crop is amazing this year. I have two varieties: Wellington and Ben Sarek and I took the first crop off one of the Wellington bushes today. Two pounds of fruit from about four or five branches. Last year this bush gave me eleven pounds but I should easily beat that this year.

Taking the advice of Stephen Shirley I gave all the soft fruit a good helping of wood ash in spring and they also had a thick mulch of compost. There's no doubt that feeding them pays dividends.

today's picking of blackcurrants

I need to start looking out for recipes using fruit in different ways. Jams, wine and crumbles are about the limit of my fruity skills.