Mum cut the grass for me today and I went down with her to pin back the gourd vines, many of which were sitting on the grass. I discovered a Siamese gourd growing well. That should be fun to photograph. A bunch of these new seeds are at least starting out white. Hopefully that won’t make them difficult to photograph.

There are a few Jack be littles evident now. The vines are quite bushy. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to train them up the netting. The warted gourds have really taken to the idea of climbing, but the JBL vines are tiny by comparison.

I’d noticed some black fly detritus in the front bed, but when I went to inspect it, the first thing I found was a couple of ladybird larvae. There was also a ladybird visible, so I’m leaving it to them to clear up for me.

The flax looks pretty among the vegetables. There are also a few growing among the verbena. Not much has germinated in general from what I’ve scattered in the boundaries though.

There’s a beetroot almost ready for harvest and the first little runner bean has appeared. I need to sow some beetroot and carrot in the bitter melon bed.

I weeded the bitter melons in the morning, making room for me to sow some veg. After work I went back and did some more satisfying weeding. I got the runner beans and climbing vines all cleared up.

I disturbed a little toad nestled under a piece of edging, but he didn’t hop far and sat next to a pumpkin while I finished off the bed.

The veg line in front of the runner beans is doing well – even better now weeded – and the volunteer tomatoes are still going strong. They’re a few months behind in terms of size, so it’ll be interesting to see if we get any fruit from them. Maybe later in the season they can come home in a pot for protection if necessary.