The rain, while still ever present, has abated enough to give longer sunny intervals allowing a bit of tidying up and general weeding to be done on the plot. Today I've managed to weed around the sweet pea plants which I've got tied into a small wigwam of canes. There even appears to be a few flowers developing too! I've also weeded around the squashes and main crop potatoes.
I've managed to plant out the Tundra F1 Winter cabbage plants that I've had going yellow in pots (Above pic - Tundra F1). Hopefully they will start to grow on now over the next few months. Unfortunately I noticed the tell-tale signs of a couple of stunted Summer cabbages and at least one Brussels Spout plant, it's cabbage root fly. I haven't had this for a few years and got complacent, I should have protected them with plastic discs. I pulled a few up and the root development is very poor with tiny white lava drilling what's left of the roots. Not all the plants are effected so I'm hoping for some cabbages and sprouts.
Yesterday I finally weeded around the Sturon onions which are swelling noticeably now. I've given them a light feed with Growmore - it's important not to go overboard with the fertiliser at this time of year as I have found that while the onions look good, they don't keep well if over-fed now. They only have around six more weeks to go before they start keeling over and need pulling up and drying out.
The saved seed from last year's Jack O'Lantern pumpkin has now turned into a giant courgette. Squashes are notoriously promiscuous so the pumpkin seems to have had a liaison with a courgette though the only ones I actually grew myself last year were yellow! (Pic below - cross between a pumpkin and a courgette). I'm just going to let them grow and see what they turn into!
The rest of the vegetables seem to be getting on with things OK. The runner and french beans are beginning to flower now so there should be a few beans to pick very soon and the peas are putting out lovely pale flowers too.
The Rocket early potatoes are massive this year! Both myself and another chap on the plot have had some gigantic Rocket potatoes - way too big for earlies really but most welcome all the same. I've finally dug up a complete row now, only two rows to go! Spuds until late August at least though the tops will soon start to die back, they are developing a yellow tinge even now. Their growth cycle is almost done.
The other Winter squashes, Butternut, Turks Turban and Crown Prince are putting on loads of growth too with a few squashes beginning to appear on the vines. It's too early to tell whether it will be a good year for squash yet but I do know that more sun is urgently required if it's going to be an average harvest. The broad beans have developed all of a sudden and the Bunyard's Exhibition pods are sprouting everywhere.
With some longer sunny intervals I've even managed to pick some fruit, filling a few tubs of strawberries and raspberries. I definitely need to pick a lot more as the soft fruit season comes and goes all too quickly. Still, I've a few Autumn raspberries to look forward to and the promise of a tree full of plums! That's it for now, I'll leave you with a picture of a couple of raspberries.
No comments:
Post a Comment