Quicunque

Despite the fact we've had cool temperatures and strong winds for the last couple of weeks, after an early unseasonably warm and sunny spell before that, the fruit and veg I'm growing in pots in my back yard (for lack of space elsewhere) aren't looking too badly at all.

My borlotti beans were attacked by Mutant Killer Slugs From Hell who nibbled the tops off, but fortunately the beans haven't thrown in the towel and are doggedly growing again (this time protected by Jerry's Slug Pub^TM filled with cheap beer - at least the buggers should die happy).

The strawberries and new herbs (common and melon sage, thyme, marjoram and flat-leaf parsley) are looking cheerful and determined, but my tomato plant is looking undecided about its chances of success. It doesn't like the constant temperature changes from day to day, and it really doesn't like being buffeted by the wind. I'm hoping it will perk up when and if the weather warms up a bit.

The potatoes are romping away in their little green gro-sacks, but the early harvest varieties are half the size of their late harvest brethren. Hmmm. Now I'm beginning to wonder if I mixed the tubers up when I planted 'em? Seed potatoes all look the same to me. I don't suppose it matters!

The fruit bushes - two self-pollinating blueberries, a gooseberry and a goji berry/wolfberry - are also settling in well, but since they are still quite small and young, I'm not expecting much in the way of a yield from them this year. Next year, I'd like to add a redcurrant or whitecurrant bush - I didn't think they could be grown in containers but I've since heard they can do very well.

I'm beginning to feel like one of those wartime Dig for Victory adverts....

My cats have developed a passion for the padded paper sack my seed potatoes arrived in. The spuds had chitted nicely in the cold shed and I just planted them into potato growing bags (not an easy task with the plaster cast'd arm encased in a bin bag for protection); when I turned round, there were three cats in the emptied potato sack, just whiskers and gleaming eyes visible. Potato sacks make excellent places in which to pounce on your siblings, apparently.

My single tomato plant is growning happily on the living room window ledge at the moment, since it's too young and tender to withstand the gusty winds and bouts of hail and sleet we're enjoying today. I only have one plant because I don't like tomatoes myself, and the yield of one plant is sufficient for the partner's needs without producing a glut.

I have some borlotti bean plants on order which I'm expecting to arrive any day. This will be exciting as I've never grown beans before, but I'm told they're easy (hah! I was told that about sweet peppers and my plant grew one measly thimble-sized pepper) I chose borlottis because the speckled pods and beans are so pretty. Food should be as aesthetic as tasty, in my opinion.

On a completely different note, I've now watched the first four episodes of season 2 of Carnivàle, and the angst has set in about reaching the (premature) end. What a unique and stunning series! It's been a very long time since I have felt so drawn in and mesmerised by the lives of TV-fiction characters *sighs*