25 Jun - General Update

Well, it's a few days since the high tide mark of mid-Summer. The weather has been warm and close with the odd rain shower but generally it's been dry and I've been keeping an eye on my carrots and cauliflowers as they can be ruined due to a lack of water.

The Rocket early potatoes are proving to be excellent this year. To this point I've only dug up half a row and I've still got the other half, plus a full row of 30 plants and another row of 26 second earlies. The Rocket potatoes have been large and golden, they were quite large after 10 weeks so, if you want a fast growing early potato then Rocket are a good bet. (Pic - second early potato Maris Peer flower).

The lettuce, despite a bit of a slow start, is really growing well now. I've been taking whole Lollo Rossa plants and just leaves from the green Mazur lettuce. The French breakfast radish has done well though my spring onions, like most years, have been poor.

There's a massive glut of strawberries on the plot at the moment. I've planted at least three different varieties in an attempt to prolong and spread out the fruiting period but the strawberries insist on ripening altogether. My raspberries are looking much better this year too, they hardly fruited at all last season due to being moved around but this summer they are full of flowers and small forming fruits, they should be OK.

The broad beans seem to have grown another foot and there are pods forming on the lower parts of the plants where the first flowers bloomed. The Sturon onions are beginning to swell at their bases though the garlic near-by are looking tatty; still no rust like last year - fingers crossed there may be a decent garlic bulb or two there. 

The peas are in full flower and the beans are beginning to make their way up the canes, slowly but steadily. The Winter squashes have all put on new green leaves, many have buds on too. They are still relatively small compared to this time last season but I'm hopeful they will put a spurt on. The brassicas are also looking good though I will have to spray against white fly which has made an appearance this week. The kohl rabi stems are swelling nicely and I'm sure there will be a good crop of these novel plants.

The carrots and parsnips look to be OK too and the carrots damaged by slugs at the start of their life have made a comeback. I'm just desperately hoping the Sweet Candle and Gladiator will be as large as they were last year - massive! The beetroot was a bit patchy but I transplanted the clumps into a line with more space to grow and, while still small, the plants look to have established well. Both the kale and swede are still small but are growing well. The courgette plants are covered in buds, I'm intrigued to see how the golden variety Atena performs. The outdoor cucumbers already have a fruit on them though the sweetcorn is very patchy with a number of plants looking as if they didn't transplant well at all.

That's it for now, it's just a case of weeding, watering and waiting!

07 June - Sweet Corn, Cucumbers & Squashes.

This week we've had some unseasonally high winds that have whipped across the site. Luckily I had taken some time to support my broad beans with canes so they weren't damaged, much to my surprise, as they are easily snapped. There were leaves everywhere and the runner and French beans lost their tenuous hold on their bamboo canes though I'm sure they will re-attach. (Pic - broad beans supported by canes).

After the winds, the forecast predicted some sunny and warm weather so I decided that it was time to get planting out again. The first crop to go in was the sweet corn. I've around 30 plants, most seem sturdy enough but, they looked good last year too though they remained relatively stunted and poor. I'm hoping for better results this time around. Two cucumbers have also gone in too; I usually stick these into a cold frame but I've decided to see if they do OK on open ground - Marketmore are supposed to be an outdoor variety anyway. (Pic - Lettuce, two cucumber plants and the sweet corn).

I had originally planned to plant my leeks next to the brassicas but, as I had a nice space between the sweet corn and beans, I thought I'd move the frame and protection and plant them there. I did the usual thing, trimmed the top of the leaves and the roots a little, created a hole with a dibber and watered the leeks in. The metal frame around the leeks was then covered in enviromesh to protect from leek moth which appears later in the year.

Now for the Summer and Winter squashes. I planted four courgette, variety golden Atena, near the bean poles then in the bed next door I laid out 9 Hunter F1 butternut, a single hybrid from saved seed, 10 Turk's Turban and two pumpkin, Big Max. It's definitely been a bit colder this season as the squashes are much smaller than they were this time last year. Even when kept in the greenhouse, I didn't have to pot most them on as they didn't grow so well though the pumpkins were put into larger pots as they were poking out of the bottom as usual. (Pic - squashes planted out with plastic funnels to aid in watering & feeding).

I thought I'd have a poke around the early potatoes today as being as it was Sunday and I fancied some for lunch. Sure enough, they are looking pretty good so, I dug up a few. Rocket really live up to their name and they can be taken from ten weeks after planting. I'll start working through the rows now, my 60 plants will take a few weeks to get through and, by then, my second early potatoes, Maris Peer, should be of a decent size. (Pic - First early potatoes 'Rocket', planted 21st March and dug on the 7th June).

That's it, bye for now ...

31 May - Runner Beans, Brassicas & Plot Alterations

Just after my last post (20th May) I planted out the Brussels sprouts and the cauliflower. I'm not sure how the cauli's will do as they are supposed to be a bit fickle. The plants themselves are getting large and look the best of all the brassicas but we'll have to see how they do. I'm really hoping to get some decent heads - fingers crossed. (Pic - sprouts and cauli's are planted under nets).

Having put my bean poles up I planted out the runner and French beans on 22nd May. They were going a bit yellow in their root trainers despite some liquid feeding so I thought it best that they go in the ground.

I stuck them in with a few trowels of rough compost and sprinkled some slug protection around them. I'm not a big fan of slug pellets but I've tried other things and they do the best job. Without protection I've had whole crops decimated overnight - it's just a waste of time trying to grow anything without some way to control the slugs.

The following day after the beans went in I took the covers off the final bed. This patch is where the Winter squashes will be planted in a fortnight. The ground was in good condition, still showing the ridges where I tilled it in the Autumn. Covers removed, it didn't take long to give them a quick till over. Things will settle over the next few days.

Talking of the tiller, I've made some small infrastructure alternations on the plot too. Since having the little petrol tiller I have found that the paths and edging that divide my plot into beds have become more of a hindrance than a help. Also, the paths have been there for a number of years now and the weed suppressing plastic has broken leaving large gaps allowing weeds to flourish. So, on the original end of the plot, I've taken two paths up creating one large square bounded by a single path dividing it from the fruit bed. (Pic - dividing path being cleared of rubbish and weeds).

I've laid some scaffolding planks where the paths used to be so I can plant out the last of the crops. These planks can stay there or, be moved around as required. It will be easy get them out of the way when it's time to till the areas in the Autumn. (Pic - the paths are replaced by planks).

That's it for now - until the next update ...