Tray Bien???

Another good harvest today, salute the kernal 2015.

Todays Harvest (29/7/15)

There's Always Tomorrow!!

Parched

Some rainwater at long last pouring from the clouds, at least I think that's what it is, with weeks without any its difficult to remember what a good downpour of rainfall looks like. Although over the past couple of months we have experienced a couple of thunder storms and a little drizzly, muggy weather the allotments have been parched, up until last night when the rain started. My recent visits to the plots have been intermittent for a while now, mainly due to the fact that my house sale is still progressing and the priority has been, jumping through the various hoops associated with organizing completion of the sale. Watering the plots has been a pain lately with some varieties of veggies not liking the hot dry weather conditions at all. To compound problems it looks like the water fittings around our allotments will have to be updated, special underground tanks fitted and hose pipes and water meters banned in future. So far this year I have managed to use water from the drainage ditch at the southern end of my plots to water my plants. That source dried up about a fortnight ago. In fact over the past 2 years the only "mains water" I have used has been approximately 30, 2 liter watering cans full. If these long dry Springs and Summers continue, which I think they will, in this part of the country, I am seriously thinking of dispensing with growing certain crops. The main ones adversely affected by the dry conditions so far being, turnips, swedes, some oriental greens and certain brassicas. Germination of some seeds has also been hit and miss with temperatures being above their germination limits.

The Last of The Water (and mulch) Duckweed from the Drainage Ditch (17/July/15)

 Despite the dry conditions most of my crops have fared well with few problems along the way. Weeding has not been a problem, with many of the usual annual weeds not making an appearance, or the ground being too dry for them to fully develop this year. My sweetcorn has done exceptionally well so far, with up to 5 cobs per plant, (usually 2 max). I expect some of them to be fully ripened within the next week or so. Tomatoes, both inside my poly tunnel and growing outside are also excellent this year but slow to ripen. The fruit crops have done well, apart from cherries which I thought had been taken by birds last month, but on closer inspection, many were lost due to the June drop. Strawberries were rather disappointing this year, despite being well watered, both during and after cropping. Alpine strawberries on the other hand, have done well and are still fruiting vigorously after each picking. You win some and lose some!!  My apple crop in particular is very good this year. My 4 fruit trees, cherry, apple, pear and plum, were originally planted on the bank of the drainage ditch which is more or less the southern boundary of N1 Plot. Being close to a large hedgerow this area is home to hundreds of different weeds and wild plants as well as the insects and other wildlife they attract. In previous years I have kept the ground under and around the trees cultivated. This year I left it to grow wild. The result seems to be a lack of disease on the foliage etc of my fruit trees, which had been apparent in previous years. Bio-diversity at work no less. Runner beans again have been slow growing with the dry conditions this year and are only just producing a few beans. Looking around other plots on our allotments, very few seem to have lush growth on the plants. Climbing french beans (cobra) have again come up with the goods and several harvests have been done lately along with dwarf beans (purple teepee). 6 rows of peas have been harvested from No 3 bed, both (Hurst greenshaft) and 2 rows of  mangetout peas were prolific and good quality.  Marrows, courgettes and pumpkins currently growing away on N2 Plots' 5 bed don't seem to mind the dry conditions and seem to be producing fruit almost as fast as it can be harvested. Cucumbers within the poly tunnel are both prolific and gigantic. The specimens planted outside, (from potted seeds), have been slower to grow and are only just flowering. Onions again this year have been excellent with the majority of them already harvested. My sprout plants are in good condition in No 4 bed, which is more than can be said for the cavolo nero and the romanesco, with most of the romanesco quickly running to seed. Cabbages have remained in good condition, although a couple of seeded drills in No4 bed failed to germinate. Lettuce (mixed and crispheads) have done well again, even with little watering along with the reliable bolt hardy beetroot. My potato crop taking up the whole of No 2 bed seems in reasonable condition. The plants are not as tall or lush as last seasons specimens and the rain today will certainly freshen them up somewhat. 3 "trial" plants were lifted last week. One plant contained 10 rather large tubers with the other 2 plants containing a dozen tubers each, which I would class as medium sized. As these are main crop desiree spuds, planted early, another fortnights' time should see them being lifted. The quality of the carrots in No1 bed remains to be seen, again the top growth is not as lush as in previous years. My asparagus bed has come on leaps and bounds this year with plenty of strong growth, on the downside, picking off the ever increasing hoards of asparagus beetles has been a full time occupation. What looks like 2 good rows of parsnips are also doing well in bed No1, which I attribute to the mud and silt taken from the drainage ditch, which was spread over this bed last year, in lieu of manure.    

Tomatoes Poly Tunnel (Mid July 15)

Fruit Picking (Late June 2015)

No 4 Bed (7/7/ 2015)

Cucumbers Poly Tunnel (7/7/15)

There's Always Tomorrow!!

Rooko's July Top 10 Tips & Tryouts

1. Temperatures in many parts of U.K. have been in the high 20's to mid 30 degrees C making some gardening tasks physically challenging. Grass cutting being one of them. Lawns and grass paths etc can usually be left to grow for a while longer, which will prevent the grass scorching/drying out and save you some time and energy??

2. If you have house plants on windowsills in hot weather the sunlight can be magnified through glass windows, ensure plants are not being scorched or frequently drying out due to the extra heat.

3. Many types of fruit will be ready, or almost ready for harvesting this month. Consistent watering is required for fruit to bulk out. Water around fruit bushes and trees and avoid splashing water onto the fruit.

4. This year has seen a rise in the number of asparagus beetles attacking my asparagus plants, (hot dry weather conditions). The common asparagus beetle is about 1 cm long with cream, red and blue/black markings. The adults generally appear first in Spring and can produce several generations per year. Large populations can kill off a full crop of asparagus. Insecticides containing pyrethrum are effective against asparagus beetle. Hand picking them off the plants is an alternative if you don't use chemicals, but the beetles are very adept at dropping to the ground when threatened, where they are difficult to see.

5. Inconsistent watering of cucumbers may give them a bitter taste. Keep the soil around cuc plants evenly moist, add some good quality compost around the base of the plants with mulch on top of it, as they begin to fruit.

6. Continue with successional sowing of quick growing veggies such as, lettuce, radish, turnips, spring onions, beetroot, cucumbers etc.

7. Regular hoeing of beds and borders and removal of weeds will help to keep your plants healthy, whilst keeping the soil hoed will help water to soak easily into the soil. Some weeds are useful as host plants keeping certain insects away from vegetables.

8. Thinning out fruit if a heavy crop is expected may be an option this month. Thin out any diseased or damaged fruits first and support branches, stems of plants/trees to prevent them snapping under the weight of their fruit.

9. There are over 200 types of  hoverflies in Britain. They are useful insects to gardeners. Their larvae will consume aphids whilst the adults are good pollinators.   

10.

SOWING/PLANTING IN JULY

1. Sow French Beans, Beetroot, Carrots, Chinese Cabbage Spring Cabbage, Chicory, Kohl-rabi, Lettuce, Peas, Radish.

OTHER JOBS IN JULY

1. Watering is usually a major task during July.
2. Mulching may help to retain water in the soil but be on the lookout for slugs and other pests.
3. Keep weeds at bay with more hoeing.
4. Feed tomatoes and Onions.
5. Check Brassicas for caterpillars/eggs.
6. Water brassicas with a salt & water mix to keep caterpillars off them.