What a difference some rain makes! It’s been a tough season. Some of the locals say it’s one of the worst they’ve seen (which I find a bit surprising because we’ve been here 25 years and seen it pretty bad). This summer, I’ve been wondering what on earth I’ve done wrong….. I haven’t produced more than a handful of zucchinis, though a dear friend tells me she’s produced loads. While capsicums and aubergines haven’t exactly been abundant, I’ve had beans (beautiful & bountiful), but she hasn’t had any. We both had fabulous corn. I had amazing lettuces before the last intense bout of heat….but neither of us have good pumpkins! Though there’s still time…
So on this fine morning, after the rain, I’d just like to say, ‘take heart’. You won’t always get it right. The season won’t always be kind and it probably isn’t your fault. It often seems no-one really mentions the bad stuff, so I thought you might like to know that it all goes ‘pear-shaped’ for me sometimes too. Yesterday morning I collected a plastic bag full of rotten figs that had burst at the seams in the rain and exploded into unattractive mush, attracting a veritable battalion of ants. Not fun. On top of these, I piled all the sad, split tomatoes: (tomatoes hate irregular water patterns, and there’s no going back). It was an ugly plastic bag, tied tight & tossed into the bin.
But I still have hope….GREAT hope. The fig trees are now clear of rubbish fruit, and this weekend I’ll remove the ugly burnt, then sodden tomato leaves, tie up the healthy branches, give them a gentle tonic and watch for new, luxuriant growth! It won’t take long and a glorious autumn bounty will set in.
Oh….and the zucchinis – I was concerned I still hadn’t produced a ‘one that got away’. But this morning, there it was! It wasn’t me after all – they just needed a good dose of RAIN! There’s nothing like it…