What's with this weather?

Seems like we just don't get summers like we used to. I swear during my childhood we had two months of lovely sunny weather, July and August, ok well I've just realised we're still in June so maybe I shouldn't be too hasty in writing off our summer before it's had a proper chance to start! But even our allotment neighbour has said to us this is the 'worst year' he's known for growing veggies (he's been doing it 20 odd years). I thought we had the worst of the winds, but the last few days have brought lots of wind again.

Things are going ok at lotty. Stuff we've harvested so far, albeit in small proportions....

-rhubarb
-radish (only about 10% was edible though, not sure why, maybe left it too late)
-lettuce
-basil
-spring onions (ok only 2 very small ones!)
-cauliflowers (the smallest ones you've ever seen)

To be honest, we've taken home hardly anything, but it makes me feel better to think we've had a small amount!!

Baz keeps laughing at me for the amount of tomato plants we've got in the polytunnel. He keeps asking me where I'm proposing putting them, and I keep saying, oh I'll re-pot them. ''Yeh, but we don't have any more big pots, Steph''. ''Oh, well, I'll buy some''. ''Yeh but there's a blanket ban on buying things for the allotment'' (as we're totally skint and trying to save for a holiday we can't afford). ''ARGH, leave me and the tomato plants alone, goddamit!!''.

Here are the caulis:

Aren't they cute? I steamed them and mixed in some nutmeg, cinnamon, marge and soya milk and it was delish.

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Sunday, 1st July-

JULY?????????? What the hec?!

Spent most of today digging over one of the beds, and sowing lots of seed into it, namely:

- rainbow chard
- carrots (chantenay)
- swede
- rocket

Here is one of the 'Sam cucumbers'.....

Oh my god, how cute is that?!

Baz spent some time in the polytunnel today planting some more of the tomato plants into the ground. We dug up the first potatoes. Sadly, the ones we dug up outside had a puny amount of spuds, but luckily the two we had in pots in the polytunnel gave us quite a few. Baz is making them into roasties as I write....I can't wait!!

Came across four ants' nests today, kind of gross, I just moved the one from the bed I was digging over to an area which is kind of wild, though obviously loads of ants were still in the bed. Baz found two in both the pots with potatoes in, and the other one was in our compost. Kind of felt bad for them, they must have spent so long building their nests, only for a big clumsy human to come along and totally destroy it. At least I didn't kill them, I wonder if any of the ones left in the bed manage to find the new home I gave them. I always remember being on holiday with my family in the Caribbean (yes I know, I am really lucky to have had a holiday here!) and we were watching this line of ants carrying food that had been dropped on the ground, and I remember thinking, wow, it's amazing the way they all work together as a team.

Here's me sowing the seeds...

Still sowing....

And here are the spuds!