It’s always an anxious time when you have to leave the allotment for a lengthy absence, but Julia and Simon, at the Shepherds Hill allotment in Crouch End, have found the perfect solution.
Friends have come along to help harvest and share the spoils on this idyllic site (one might think one was in the country here and not in the heart of a heaving metropolis),
and will continue to harvest the fruit and veg (in exchange for a little watering) while Julia and Simon are on their hols.
Along with the strawberries and raspberries, Ruby Chard and this sensuous, velvety Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) are ripe for picking.
And these remarkably unblemished, autumn sown broad beans are also ready for the plate. Happy harvesting Anders, Monika and Ingvild!
Out of my shed 
in our case the pickers were both unexpected and uninvited – the mysterious gooseberry theft – all berries stripped – despite netting – two years in a row.
does anyone else have the same problem? and a solution for next year?
Rozelle, Pigeons could be the culprits. They took all the fruit off a client’s ‘Hinnonmaki Red’ gooseberry bush, then left them all on the ground as they were still green and hadn’t ripened yet. In this case, neither pigeon or client got a taste this year. Think next option is to build a cage of sorts, so that birds (or possibly animals) can’t get anywhere near your delicious fruit. V.best Naomi
I’ve watched a starling on my balcony peck branches off herbs and other edibles, just to drop it on the floor! The cherries on my tree are mysteriously dropping to the floor – I thought it might be the blustery wind, now I’m more likely to blame the abundant pigeons that we have here on the flats! (They’re Morello cherries and, despite being a beautiful ripe red, are very sour!)
What a great idea – but I’m really, really jealous of the prolific crop! If I’d invited my friends round to my veg plot to do that they could have taken a mangetout each. And maybe a broad bean (podded). Hmm.