Bearing fruit

The bad news is that it’s been raining quite a bit during the past week, including a mini-break taken to Tofino with Irmani. As a result, much planned hiking was put on hold and had to be replaced with cocktail consumption. Unfortunate, I know, but it had to be done. Irmani may not have discovered much in the way of regionally unique flora and fauna, but she did discover Bloody Caesars – and has taken to them like a duck to water.



Fortunately, it wasn’t pouring with rain on the afternoon we booked our bear watching trip. Hurrah!

The good news is that all that rain seems to have been quite beneficial for the garden.



Look at the lettuce! Oh, all right, all right: The lettuce seeds failed completely to transform themselves into actual lettuce, so I broke down and bought some plants. But they were tiny, pathetic looking things before we went away and now I really can look forward to producing my own salad this summer. (The rocket, I’m sorry to say, did not do as instructed and sprout in small pots for transplanting. I have, therefore, tossed all the remaining seeds into the soil and must now simply hope for the best.)



Trip to the garden store before Irmani and I left for Tofino. The cherry tomatoes (already flowering) have now been planted and – in a triumph of hope over experience – so have more red peppers. The first year of the Gabriola garden project produced one solitary (though nonetheless tasty) red pepper. The second year, all four plants I bought died before producing any fruit. But this, of course, is the year. The soil has been enriched with compost, manure and lime. Nothing can go wrong. (Oh, ha, ha – see lettuce and rocket update.)



Check out the Brassica bed! Although they still have a long way to go, the Savoy cabbages already look like Savoy cabbages. I’m definitely getting some food out of this lot.



Moving right along, it took them a while to sprout, but it now seems as if I will actually get some peas this year. Last year the garden managed to produce one (yes, one) pod in total.

And then there is the berry segment of the programme…



If the birds don’t get them first, there will be lots of blueberries.



Still can’t believe last year’s strawberry plants are fruiting so well. In Walthamstow, Ben and I had to buy new strawberry plants every year.

Not bad, not bad at all.