Double white veg success

And what, you may well ask, has been happening on the allotment while we've been away?

Thanks to our allotment stand-in, the plot was watered and tended in our absence, and everything grew handsomely in the June sunshine. The tomatoes are thriving, the squash pushing out new leaves and the radishes ... well, see for yourself, on the left. I think these were simply called "long white", a swap or gift from someone I suspect, and yes, they do what it says on the packet. For their size they're very tender, too.

The pic on the right is the second white vegetable of the moment - a white beetroot whose seeds I think I sourced from the lovely folks at the Real Seed Company. I'm fascinated to find out how they taste: apparently the leaves are good to eat too, and they certainly look a lot more edible than the greenery on some beetroots I've grown.

Our only black crop of the season, meanwhile, has been an utter failure - a black turnip called (I think) Black Sugarsweet from the Heritage Seed Library that bolted and failed to swell whatsoever. I have no idea what I did wrong, but this black turnip is my bete noir, it seems, if you'll excuse the pun.