To grow fruit and veg or not...?

We've just completed our second summer in Catalunya and we're getting used to the differences between our vast, terraced, sun-beaten plot here and the small north-facing back garden we had in London.

In spite of the chill, rain and gloom in London, we managed to grow a lot of produce outside our little ground floor flat - tomatoes, courgettes, chillis, basil, rocket, beans, cucumbers - even mini-melons. It took a lot of commitment, a drip watering system and a greenhouse, but we loved doing it - and eating the results (pics below).

I also became an expert in cooking and preserving damsons; we had three trees in the garden and one overhanging it (they were there before we moved in and we couldn't bear to destroy them). Each year we rushed to pick the kilos and kilos of hazy purple fruit before the wasps moved in to suck them dry. We had damson chutney (I've just started my last jar from 2010, and it's dark and rich and delicious), jam (not as successful), flavoured vodka (just damson, and a Christmas-themed one with raisins, cinnamon, allspice and ginger), crumble, sorbet, etc, etc.

When we moved here, we dreamed about how easy it would be to grow all the Mediterranean fruit and veg that taste so much better sun-warmed and plucked straight off the plant. But if you take a rational approach, there's a balancing act to be struck. We can get cheap, fresh and delicious fruit and veg from the groceries in the village, as well as from the little old ladies who, for a few summer months, open their garage doors and sell figs, tomatoes and peppers grown on their own plots. At the same time, we don't have mains water, which means that there's a significant cost to be borne in keeping everything hydrated during the dry summer (and sometimes, spring, autumn and winter) months. 

So last summer, as we'd just moved in, we didn't grow much - just a few tomato plants that the previous owner kindly left, some chillis and some basil in a pot. We had a lovely harvest of figs from the tree on the drive too. You can read about last year's harvest here.

Early this year, though, my (I won't call them green) fingers were itching to get started on some planting. I'm the most impatient gardener - I get frustrated if the seeds haven't germinated within 24 hours - but still I love it. I spend most working days indoors, on a hard chair typing away at my computer and it's wonderful at 7 o'clock to turn off the machine, stretch, pour a glass of cold white wine and go outside to soak up some warm sun and potter around with some seedlings and some soil.

More soon on our mixed successes with this year's fruit and veg.

Late summer in England

I spent the last two weeks of August in the UK, and it was cold. I packed for this trip in the middle of the day, when it was 35 degrees and sunny, and I really couldn't imagine feeling cool, let alone very cold indeed.

So it was a bit of a shock to arrive in England and find that it really wasn't warm enough to be wearing just skirts, T-shirts and sandals. In particular, it wasn't warm enough to be wearing such flimsy attire when I went camping with friends for the August bank holiday weekend. One night in my tent I slept in and under the following: trousers, socks, vest top, t-shirt, hoodie (hood up), silk sleeping bag liner (stretched over cold nose), sleeping bag, fleece blanket (doubled), anorak, bath towel and – getting desperate now – slightly damp hand towel over feet. I was still cold.

Nevertheless, the rain managed to hold itself back for most of the weekend, the hailstones that hit Suffolk didn't hit us and we even managed to pack up the tents when it was dry, which made life much easier. And we had a lovely time.

I spent some of the fortnight relishing a few of the things that are good about England: smoked bacon, soft (albeit slightly damp) grass, multiculturalism (yes, even after the riots), deciduous trees, fish and chips and mushy peas, bitter, the first conkers, overpriced East End trinket shops...

I also stepped out of a few eco-habits. When it's tipping it down outside, there's really not much point in saving the few drops of water that you've rinsed out the teapot with to put on the tomatoes. And when it's chilly in the morning it's a real wrench to turn off the lovely warm shower while you wash and shiver.

While it's turning to autumn in England, it's still summer in Spain - hurray! It's great to be back!