Thursday 21 June 2012

A Tale Of Two Raspberries

Today is the longest day and it's raining - again! Needless to say we've had a rum old time with the weather so far and nowhere is it more obvious than on the allotment.
As you know we have heavy clay soil which holds the water like it's going out of fashion and twice within the space of a few weeks we've been wading across our patch and have learned a few harsh lessons about dealing with claggy soil.
For example, we planted our raspberries in a trench to one side of the plot but didn't turn it into a raised be so the water has just pooled there and our older  plants (donated by my client at the House of Raspberries - left-hand pic) have died under the onslaught.  Our newer (and younger) plants however are surviving for now (as are the strawberries) and look quite green - although there's no sign of any fruit but as they're itty-bitty baby ones we've got our fingers crossed.
The plants at House of Raspberries on the other hand couldn't be more different (left photo).  Sat in a nice bed of warm, loamy soil they're flourishing and the first batch were harvested earlier this week.  Needless to say I have raspberry envy. Hummfff! Thankfully we had the foresight (or some such nonsense) to divide the plants - old and new - between the allotment and home and those at home are looking mighty fine.  However, they're due to ripen just as we leave for a our clamping jolly.  More Hummfff!
LxXx




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