https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1t_P7Jbl7Q shows the huge protest in the Netherlands because farmers are being told to halve their livestock to reduce nitrogren emmissions. 🙄 I think something similar happened last year in the Republic of Ireland because they were facing similar restrictions. Reduction of livestock appears to be happening all across the western world in one way or another, whether by decree or "illness". It's my understanding that blue tongue kills sheep but not cows - it just makes them a bit poorly and they recover. With my tin foil hat on, I wondered if genetically modified midges had been released as a way to spread blue tongue......

It's not necessarily the heat, unless it's about 90 degrees where you live. It could be too much sun. Apparently tomatoes don't ripen well in direct sunlight. I have determinate, unpruned plants growing outside and the tomatoes that ripen quickest are the ones in full shade (right in the middle, which I have to fight to get into because the plants are huge). Also I have found that picking them just as they start to change colour helps. I put them all in a little box, bring them indoors and leave them in a shaded area of my kitchen. 24 hours later they've turned red. I put five plants outside quite early and they are currently giving me about 2lbs a day. I've never put them on a sunny windowsill to ripen, which I've often seen suggested. This seems to be working for me, but happy to be contradicted. I found a short article here, which may help. https://cvp.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=91

@Alison Foreshew Coincidentally, there's a video that's just been released talking of this very thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lgkce4EGEA

@Allys Farmer It's all getting a bit silly. 😂 I admit that I have no idea what I'm doing with these because I've never grown them before. I was handing some cucumbers to my neighbour over the fence the other day (they've gone mental as well) and he commented on the size of these. "What type of squash are they?" he asked. "Striped ones" I replied. That's all I know. 🤪 Then there's the pumpkin that I planted in an old compost bin 4 feet away from my greenhouse. I can't get around the back of the greenhouse now because that's turned into a triffid as well and I can't see the end of the plant. I'm not complaining - I find it quite funny really....

@M Christy This is really helpful, thank you! I think I have determined that these may be "Sweet Mama squash" which are F1's. Boo. Some of them look like a Sweet Mama, but a couple are much paler. I will let them grow on and see what happens. As you say, if nothing else, they will make good compost fodder. 😁

I looked at SW Water website to see what their current resevoir levels are and it's well above the 2022 levels (apparently a "very dry year") for this time of year. I generally ignore all this fear porn these days. It was entertaining to read some of the FB posts under the councils hose pipe ban announcement. It appears that a lot of people have hosepipes that identify as watering cans. It did make me smile.

@Tina Ward How did it get so bad? Well, in my view, everything became too convenient - and I will raise my hands and confess that I was part of that problem and became lazy. Since spending more time growing and buying direct from farms I have rediscovered what real food tastes like. I've also become more aware that big corporations are taking over the food supply and before we know it, everything will be frankenfood (looks like food, tastes vaguely like food, but actually isn't food). The cheese I bought came from here: https://westcombedairy.com/store/westcombe-cheddar

@M Christy I've been taking my tomatoes off the bush as they start to go orange. I keep them on the worktop in the kitchen and they turn red in about 24 hours. Less work for the plant....