Hidden bounty and the semen plant.

Only a couple of days after I bought my chard storm winds came to try and wreak havoc on my garden. In particular peril was my star plants, namely my biggest strawberry and lettuce which I'd perched atop a gas meter box outside, to which they tumbled three foot to the ground. Neither seems to have been damaged by their fall however, and they're still sitting there drinking up the decidedly torrential rain we've been getting of late.

Upon repairing my garden and putting all back where it was, I made a couple of odd discoveries. Amongst them was the delight that my smaller strawberries had been conspiring in secret to feed me. Whilst my largest plant made a big show and dance of having more flowers than Interflora, the little plants too had been busy, and behind the leaves of two other plants I found two tiny unripe strawberries. That was a good day.

Whilst we're on the subject of gardening surprises, I'll never fail to love the regenerative capabilities mint has, not only will it grow in anything you stick it in, but if you've been away or just forgetful, and have neglected it's watering, then it will begin to wilt, and just as it looks like all is lost with it, a trickle of water and twenty minutes later it's cheerily sunbathing again, as if nothing ever happened. As it is, I like to think of mint as quite a forgiving plant.

My lettuce are coming along very well now, and I decided to make a comparison with the bolted and unbolted lettuce I have, to see if there is any difference. Bolting is when a plant suddenly shoots up and as such it can leave the plant with a very bitter taste, like that sort of chemical taste you get sometimes with shop bought lettuce. However, on making the taste test, I found that although the bolted lettuce did have traces of that unpleasant taste, it was nowhere as bad as some of the lettuces I've had, and so I'm calling it a viable crop.

Whilst I was on the scene I decided to see what the Chard tastes like raw. Big mistake. The only comparison I can make to its raw taste is that of semen. Or chicken soup. You had to be there. Anyway, after having flash backs of my sex life, I've decided stewed maybe the way to go with this one.