I know it looks pretty enough out there in my garden here in Lewes in England but I am not happy about  it. It has been a difficult year for gardening in these parts. I set out, back there in the last days of winter 2010, to see if I could grow fruit and vegetables here even though I only had a tiny patch available for the project. Here in Lewes, we mostly live very comfortably in small but perfectly formed houses with little back gardens….there are some great allotments but I decided that I wanted to see just what I could do out there at the back of the house. The trouble was we had a cold Spring, disappointing enough, but then not enough sun in the Summer just ending.

Looking out this weekend, I feel disappointed that my array of chili peppers all lined up in rows there haven’t fully formed yet just as a new season of cold air has decided to descend here.

I nearly brought them in yesterday so that they can ripen in the protective environment of my kitchen but decided, at the last moment, to give the a bit longer out there with the last of their flowers getting the chance of some bee pollination so that I can get my full crop of chilis.

You can see the problem by looking at my still ripening tomatoes. I should have had a glut of them by now….

…. and the chili peppers have been just as slow…..

I will take them in soon and hope that they will like the kitchen environment where I sowed their seeds at the beginning of the year. I am not giving up though with my home produce experiment. I have had a respectable crop of peas and runner beans…..

…some delicious gooseberries…..

…strawberries…….

and both spring and autumn raspberries…..

as well as my first very own crop of new potatoes grown in a container in my yard.

I think when you see the size of the space available, you agree that it is worth the effort.

Almost everything started here in my small heated propagator under the skylight in the ceiling of my kitchen.

It was amazingly satisfying seeing them shooting into life…..

and nerdily enjoyable potting them up and labeling them in my small indoor greenhouse.

It was great when I started to put stuff outside in the spring but it was then that the cold weather slowed everything up.

Well, everything except my runner beans which had decided to be vigorous right from the start in their designer pot in a very sunny spot.

the chili peppers were much more weary though and took a long time to get going.

It was still a real pleasure to tune in with the seasons and to watch Nature’s progress from plain earth….

…to abundant growth. The cold north wind that arrived today may, I hope, feel sorry for my little project and give me some warm days in early October to bring in the end of my harvest. I will tell you how I get on.

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