A Different Aspect

If you like your weather blazing hot with no cooling breezes and a cloudless sky from dawn until dusk, well good luck if you are sunbathing on a beach somewhere. With similar weather here, over the past fortnight, gardening tasks on my plots have been more pleasant, either early on a morning or later in the day out of the searing heat of the sun. With quite a few planting, sowing, weeding and re-organizing tasks still to complete on my plots, utilizing mornings and evenings only, has really been out of the question. Air temperatures over the past fortnight have been around the 17C/20C outdoors and into the 30C + ranges inside poly tunnels and greenhouses. With frequent breaks and some welcome shelter from the sun either in my sheds or beneath the hedgerow at the lower end of my plots, various tasks have been carried out using as little effort as possible. Work on the 4 small beds on N2 Plot (converting them into 2 beds) has stopped for the time being, mainly due to the now hard ground, being difficult to dig. In fact the 4 small beds will now be converted into 1 larger bed with the wooden edging being removed from around the original beds and disposed of. Work has started on the area of N1 Plot, where I will eventually erect a fruit cage, with the removal of the grass path which was situated between my currant bushes and the adjacent strawberry bed.

 Most of my main seed sowing has been completed, (except for successional sowing to be done over the coming weeks). Most vegetables, planted out from pots/trays are faring well but smaller seedlings sown directly into the ground are suffering from the persistent heat along with attacks from flea beetles. One example is my asparagus plants which have died back completely 3 or 4 times to date, then re-grown, after persistent watering. I currently have 9 large water butts, along with 2 large water tanks and 1 bath, (a shower would be good) situated around my plots, all of them, apart from 2 barrels, have been depleted of their rainwater recently and the largest of the tanks has been re-filled twice in the past 2 days, utilizing the water from the drainage ditch at the lower end of my plots. Just chuck in a bucket with it's handle tied to a piece of rope and when it's full haul it out. Later this coming week I will be using a submersible pump to do the work for me, and into the future if this hot dry weather continues, which I suspect it will. Lo and behold the parsnip seeds I sowed into one of my raised beds have finally germinated after 3 months. 

 Apart from working down my plots I've been using some of my time, most evenings, scouring the internet for various spare parts and accessories for my recently aquired Merry Tiller Titan rotorvator. Production stopped on these machines about 1990, so its not easy to acquire spares etc for them. Blogging and Google +'ing have taken a back seat lately at this busy gardening time of the year. In fact, although I enjoy reading many gardening blogs I will have to cut back on some of the Google+ activity, as my inbox has been choked up with "3rd party" posts, being shared from members who are not in my circles. Nothing personal but 300+ emails a day is too time consuming to deal with.

A different aspect in some of the photographs (where its cooler).

A Sea of Flowers

Lavender Attracting Pollinators for My Fruit

Cool Under the Hedgerow

Cool Under the Grapevine

Cool Under the Runner Beans

Cool Under the Rhubarb

Cool Under the Frog

Cool Under the Potato Plants

Time to Go Home

Ladybirds?? Cool

Cool  Under There

Best Week So Far

With several warm and sunny days since the beginning of this month, (although the weather befits April), I have been out and about on my plots, sowing, planting, digging and weeding, most of the time that daylight would allow. Converting the 4 small vegetable beds on N2 Plot into 2 larger beds is approximately 50% completed with the digging and path clearing aspect being a little slow due to heavy showers now and again, holding up progress. My fruit bush bed on N1 Plot also needed weeding and the lower half of it required weeding and turning, due to the fact it had lain fallow since I removed the Summer raspberries from it, last year. I estimated that approximately 150 current bushes had self seeded in this area, from the parent bushes. I am currently in the process of lifting and potting up these tiny bushes, no quick task on damp clay. Due to the recent alternating hot, then showery cool weather, many plants have now at last started to develop quickly around the plots. Main crop potato plants look in particularly good condition as do my carrots and sweetcorn. Lettuce is another plant that likes the cooler showery conditions along with cabbages, all of which are progressing well so far. After a couple of heavy rain showers this week my runner beans have finally (almost) reached the top of their bean poles, (most of them anyway). The majority of fruit seems to be developing well, although not as abundant as last year, the individual fruits appear to be larger, in particular my currants. My asparagus plants at the top of N1 Plot are developing very slowly and have been attacked twice so far by asparagus beetle. I removed a dozen of these beetles from around the plants yesterday, after which the bed was hoed and then the whole area sprayed with lemon scented soap spray. (No sign of the beetles today).  One particular problem this year has seen many plants attacked by slugs and snails. These annoying little b*****s have taken a particular liking to some of my french climbing beans, squashes, pumpkins, runner beans and cucumbers, many of which had to be re-sown. Having sown 5 lots of spring onions so far this year only 1 sowing has germinated. This is the first time ever I have had difficulty growing these useful veggies. Parsnips have also been a problem this year too with none germinating from 2 separate sowings. When I constructed the raised beds on N2 Plot last year the intention was to use them as seed beds. The majority of veggies sown into these beds have been devoured by slugs/snail. Due to this I have now decided to use the beds for growing various herbs in. Although I don't normally grow broad beans, this years harvest has been very good and the beans are currently residing in my freezer, with the final picking to be done within the next few days.

Bed 2 N2 Plot Main Crop Potatoes 8/June/14

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to obtain a rotavator extremely cheaply from my local re-cycling center, so my old Howard Bantam has been sold. Having fitted a new spark plug to my latest aquasition and some tinkering with the air filter it was up and running within half an hour. Due to the recent deluges of rain, some more modifications have been carried out to the guttering and rain water down pipes around my shed on N2 Plot and another large plastic water tank was put in place alongside the shed. One of the guttering end stops was replaced with the obligatory plastic milk bottle with a pipe connected to it using duct tape, ensuring that the water from the guttering flowed into the tank. So far this year only rainwater has been used on my plots, with no need to use water from the mains tanks situated around our allotments. My poly tunnel is now, almost devoid of pots and trays containing various seedlings, which have been planted out. Yard long beans, tomatoes (moneymaker), black eyed beans, cucumbers (marketmore) and watermelons (sugar baby) have been planted into the ground areas of the poly tunnel. My next project is to erect a fruit cage around the currant growing bed on N1 Plot and after the strawberries have finished fruiting, they will be transferred into this bed alongside the currant bushes, protected by the cage. Any 3 years or older plants will be replaced with plants from last years runners which at the moment are growing in pots.

N1 Plot L-Shaped Bed Runner beans/Lettuce 8/June/14

N1 Plot L-Shaped Bed Runner beans/Marrows 8/June/14

N1 Plot Lower End of L-Shaped Bed Main crop Potatoes/Rhubarb/Strawberries in Barrels 8/June/14

Fruit Bushes N1 Plot 8/June/14

Grapevine N1 Plot by Shed 8/June/14

Strawberries N1 Plot 8/June/14

French beans Sweetcorn Lettuce Peas Broad beans N2 Plot Main Bed 8/June/14

Roots Bed N1 Plot 8/June/14

Sage Plant Attracting Bees for the Runner beans N1 Plot 8/June/14

Herb Robert by Shed N1 Plot 8/June/14

Grapevine (Muscat Blue) Growing Across Shed Roof N2 Plot 8/June/14

New Water Tank & Pipework N2 Shed 8/June/14

N2 Plot Making 4 Beds Into 2 (8/June/14)

Rooko's June Top 10 Tips & Tryouts

1. The grass areas around my plots seems to be growing rapidly due to the recent wet and warm weather conditions. If you have grass or lawns mow them on a weekly basis adding the clippings to your compost heap. Read the instructions on any weedkillers you may have used on the grass regarding how long the clippings need to be composted for, before using them as mulches or digging them into your garden.

2. Hoe out any annual weeds but make sure perennial weeds are completely removed including their roots.

3. June is usually the perfect time to plant out those veggies and tender plants being kept protected from late frosts and cold weather, but don't forget to sow & plant veggies in succession to avoid any gluts.

4. Lift & divide overgrown flowering bulbs for example daffodils.

5. Newly planted trees and hedging will benefit from being kept weed free.

6. Give strawberries a potassium rich fertilizer weekly whilst they are fruiting.

7. Don't forget to nip out the side shoots from your tomato plants.

8. After "the June drop" if you think fruits are still too thickly clustered together, thin out a few more fruits to give the remaining fruits room to develop.

9. If  you are unlucky enough to have horsetail growing in your garden or plots, try making some use of it. Boil  large amounts of it, let it cool and use the resultant liquid as a spray. (At your own discretion).

10.

SOWING/PLANTING IN JUNE

 1.   Plant out Brassicas, Broccoli, Calabrese, Brussels Sprouts, Summer Cabbage and any beans which are in pots.
2.  Sow the following: French Beans, Runner Beans, Beetroot, Cabbage, Cauliflowers, Chicory, Courgettes, Cucumbers, Endive, Kohl-rabi, Marrows, Squashes, Swedes, Sweetcorn and Turnips.
3.  Successional sowing of certain seeds, should be done throughout the Summer.

OTHER JOBS IN JUNE

1. As June is usually warm and dry do not neglect to water plants, a good soaking of plants is better than frequent amounts of a little water.
2. Keep weeds down, hoeing will aid water to soak in also.
3.  Salad crops should be ready for harvesting, along with other early crops.
4.  Check Lettuce/Brassicas for slugs/snails especially after rain or watering.

Dual Cabbage Ways

Having decided to take a weeks holiday break, I spuddled off to North Wales and spent last week in a holiday cottage near Dolgellau, Gwenedd, in the Snowdonia National Park. Last Thursday I drove to Anglesey, visiting the Plascadnant hidden gardens before travelling on to Beaumaris. I was well impressed by the various gardens within Plascadnant, from the Chelsea flower show winning vegetable garden to the forest and victorian walled garden. Wildlife was in abundance including Red squirrels and Yellow wagtails. After a week of sightseeing I drove back to Somerset on Saturday via Shrewsbury in torrential rain, passing close by to Percy Throwers garden centre, (remember Percy, of Gardeners World fame, 1950's to 1980's and his catchphrase "the answer lies in the soil"). Joining the M5 motorway near Worcester the rain was still heavy and I was wondering what condition my plots would be in, on my return. I'd left Dolgellau at 7 a.m. expecting to get home early enough to put in an afternoons work down my plots. Just north of Gloucester all 3 lanes of the motorway were gridlocked and remained so all the way to Bridgwater in Somerset. The flashing speed warning lights on the motorway were indicating 40 or 50. I don't know if that was the actual speed limit or the amount of cars per hour being allowed to enter Devon and Cornwall. Anyway a typical Bank holiday driving experience arriving home at 1-30 p.m.. Green Party take note on carbon footprints. Emmets try Blackpool.

First Pick of Broad Beans (Aquadulce) (26/5/14)

I managed to get down to my plots by about 3 p.m. as the rain continued. My neighboring plot holder Jason had watered the plants in my poly tunnel whilst I had been away so many thanks to him. I'd expected the grass areas of the plots to have taken a break last weekend especially the banks by the drainage ditch but no such luck so some strimming and mowing is planned for this week. There was a general lack of weeds so no problem there, not surprising though as the temperatures were down and I could actually see my breath in the air by 4 p.m. The cool weather vegetables were looking in good condition with the Potato plants looking especially healthy. With some rain showers again on Sunday morning it was half a day down the plots in the afternoon which was warm and sunny. A couple of my Cucumbers which were planted into one of my raised beds had been devoured by either slugs or snails leaving 7 out of 9 intact. I removed my remaining Leek plants, which were going to seed, from their bed on N1 Plot turning and leveling the soil as I progressed. 2 plants were left in the ground to go to seed. The seeds will be harvested for use later. I headed off to my plots at about 10 a.m. on Monday morning. The overcast sky cleared by about midday giving way to a sunny but muggy afternoon. 2 rows of Marrows (Long green trailing) were planted out into the bed where the Leeks were removed from on Sunday. After this task was completed I decided to remove the wooden edging around the 4 smaller beds on N2 Plot, taking out the central grass paths and combining the 4 beds into 2 larger ones. After the wood chippings and the weed membrane underneath it had been removed I began to dig over the soil beneath. Unfortunately the membrane had been put in place by the previous plot holder, on top of existing weeds, mainly Dandelions again. Digging over the area was a slow process as I removed the deep rooted Dandelions. By about 4-30 p.m. I had completed about 1/5th of the area to be cleared. There's always tomorrow. Well tomorrow (Tuesday) has come and gone with more progress being made combining the small beds on N2 Plot into 2 larger ones, finishing off with some grass mowing by late afternoon.

Turning the 4 Small Beds On N2 Plot Into 2 Larger Beds 27/5/14

Climbing French Beans (Cobra) Ready for Planting Out 27/5/14

Main Crop Potatoes (Desiree) Enjoying the Rainy Weather 27/5/14

Blackberry Bush Flowering N1 Plot L-Shape 27/5/14

Runner Beans & Lettuce N1 Plot 27/5/14

The following photographs were taken in the Hidden Gardens of Plascadnant Anglesey

What Bank Holiday Was That Then

Ever had a couple of months or so, when you can't catch up with anything but everything seems to be catching up with you. The recent erratic weather has at last settled down here and the past few days have been gloriously warm and sunny, allowing me to catch up with sowing and planting directly into the ground, rather than relying on cold frames and my poly tunnel. Up until a few days ago the poly tunnel was brimming with plant pots and seed trays, containing a variety of seedlings in various stages of development. Overall germination of most seeds has been good despite the fluctuating temperatures over the past few months. Most plot holders on our allotments have been delayed this year with ground preparation and in particular rotavating, due to the sticky ground conditions after the wet Winter, remember that!!

Roots Bed N1 Plot Carrots, Beetroot & Turnip So Far

 On N1 Plot (roots bed) several rows of Carrots (Flyaway), Beetroot (Boltardy) and Turnips (Purple top milan) were sown in April, germinating quickly and are off to a good start. Although some of the Carrots have been attacked by flea beetle, there is still a general absence of pests and aphids around, apart from garden snails which are again on the increase. Maybe the Song thrush will make a come back to devour them, I haven't seen or heard one, in these parts for many years now. Several rows of Cabbages have germinated within the past couple of days. Another later than normal sowing on N1 Plots' brassicas bed. Lots of fruit seems to be developing already, on all of my fruit bushes and trees, so hopefully a good fruit harvest is to come, again, this season. Rhubarb has been excellent so far this year, obviously helped by the wet Winter. One failure I have encountered so far this year is that several drills of Spring onions sown in 5 different areas of my plots have failed to germinate. I suppose there's a first time for everything. The 4th vegetable bed on N1 Plot now contains my Asparagus bed and several rows of main crop potatoes (Desiree) which are currently growing well. Having planted the majority of my main crop potatoes into No 2 bed on N2 Plot, some time ago, I had several tubers left over, so 3 more ranks were planted into the L-Shaped bed at the lower end of N1 Plot, along with the previously mentioned ones into bed 4. I spent yesterday planting out my Sweetcorn plants (Lark F1) into the main bed on N2 Plot, from seeds sown earlier and raised in my poly tunnel. Several rows of Peas, (Hurst greenshaft) Broad beans, (Aquadulce) Lettuce, (various mixed) 1 row of Leeks (Bulgarian giant) and seven wigwams for French climbing beans currently make up the remainder of this bed. 7 Climbing french bean plants (Cobra) were planted this afternoon to test out the cooler night time temperatures before the remainder of the plants are added into this bed later. Earlier this week I planted out Runner beans (Enorma and Scarlet Emperor) on N1 Plot along the top of their previously prepared trenches.
Alongside the Runner beans, 11 Marrows have been planted. The lower end of the L-shape will be taken up with squashes and pumpkins in between the potato ranks. Cucumbers, Black eyed beans, melons, tomatoes and several other seedlings still remain in my poly tunnel for protection from the current cooler night time temperatures.

Sweetcorn Peas Broad beans N2 Plot Main bed

 In 2009 when I built the shed at the lower end of N1 Plot, (from pallets), I also built and attached a bird box to the eastern side of it. This year a pair of Great tits has used it to rear their family in, with several chicks in there at the moment. Hopefully I will be able to get some photographs of them soon. 

Another failure to date was my earlier idea to use the raised beds at the lower end of N2 Plot as seed beds. Lettuce and Cabbages, sown into them in late March were devoured by slugs/snails, so a change of plan was to sow parsnips into one of the beds using the remaining beds to re-plant various "thinnings" later in the season. These will be surrounded by slug pellets which I don't use on open ground.

Main crop Potatoes N2 Plot Bed 2

These are Useful and Work Effectively

Marrows Planted Out This Week

Runner beans Planted Out

More Rainwater Containers Installed

Asparagus N1 Plot

Recent E-Petition Follow Up (Save Our Plots)

I recently received the following email with reference to the e-petition taking place to save our plots.

	Dear Rooko, The e-petition 'Tell Eric Pickles that allotments must not be sold off!' signed by you recently reached 18,821 signatures and a response has been made to it. As this e-petition has received more than 10 000 signatures, the relevant Government department have provided the following response: An e-petition has been suggesting that the Department for Communities and Local Government is examining plans to remove council duties to provide allotments. This is completely untrue and has no basis in fact. In 2011, the Government compiled a list of statutory duties that councils must follow, but Ministers made very clear to Parliament there were no plans to change any of the duties on allotments (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110524/text/110524w0008.htm#1105257001663). This remains the case. Local authorities continue to have a specific responsibility for the management and provision of allotments in their area, ensuring those who want to start an allotment can do so. There are no plans to change this, and the e-petition’s claims are simply false. In January 2014, the Department published Allotment Disposal Guidance: Safeguards and alternatives (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/allotment-disposal-guidance-safeguards-and-alternatives), replacing the previous guidance from 2002. The new guidance strengthens allotment protection, as the requirement for waiting lists to be taken into account must now be rigorously applied to all that council’s waiting lists, not just the waiting list for the site to be disposed of. This aims to ensure that poorly maintained sites are not used to justify disposal. The Government has introduced a range of measures to help communities who want land to grow fruit and vegetables. Through new community rights, local residents have increased opportunities to protect existing allotments from development and increase provision of green spaces. For example, in Thame, in Oxfordshire, their new neighbourhood plan will create an additional hectare of allotment land. Allotments have also been listed as assets of community value. As part of our commitment to supporting local community groups, the Department has also published a best practice guide for community groups wanting to find land to grow fruit and vegetables (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/space-for-food-growing-a-guide) and an additional guide on establishing community orchards and other spaces for food growing (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-orchards-a-how-to-guide). This e-petition remains open to signatures and will be considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee should it pass the 100 000 signature threshold. View the response to the e-petition Thanks, HM Government e-petitions http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/

Rooko's May Top 10 Tips & Tryouts

1. Mint plants will deter slugs. Why not grow mint in pots/containers which can be easily moved around your garden/plot to areas where slugs are prevalent. Keeping mint in containers will also stop it spreading far and wide, as it surely will if planted directly into the ground.

2. Seed sowing in May can consist of the following vegetables: (outdoors under covers) Cucumber, French beans, Runner beans, Sweetcorn. (outdoors) but be aware of late frosts: Brussels sprouts, Cabbage (Summer, Autumn, Winter, Red), Carrots, Cauliflower, Kale, Kohl-rabi, Lettuce, Peas Radishes, Rocket, Spring onions, Swede, Turnips. (indoors) Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chillies, French beans, Marrows, Peppers, Pumpkins, Runner beans, Squashes.

3.Many flower and vegetable gardeners grow Lavender. May is the time to trim these plants back. Cut off any old flower growth and trim back about 1 inch (2.5cm) of new growth too.

4. If you have rodents or rabbits causing problems in your garden try growing some Peppermint which should deter them.

5. Next year I will be undertaking the task of improving the texture of 2 vegetable beds which currently consist of heavy clay. If you suffer from untreated areas of heavy clay in your garden/plot, I hope the following tips will be useful. First check the clay for pH and have the results tested. Add 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5cm) of compost, manure or mushroom compost to the surface area and dig or rotorvate it in well. During the growing season add organic matter to the surface again, (mulches). Cover crops can be grown over the Winter period and worked into the clay in the following Spring. This process may have to be repeated over several years before a good soil structure is obtained.
I have heard conflicting advice about adding sand to heavy clay in order to lighten it. I would appreciate any comments from anyone who has experience of using this method.

6. Horsetail (Equisetum Arvense), can be a real pain when it spreads into your garden or plot and is difficult to get rid of. Despite this, it is a herb with many virtues. I thought this link interesting and well worth reading. - Click Here.

 7. Black ant infestations can be dealt with by using sprays made from Tomato or Rhubarb foliage. Remember the use of homemade sprays (U.K.) may be unlawful.

8. Slugs and snails are becoming a nuisance on and around my plots due to the continuing rainy weather. One solution, (I used it last year successfully), is to spread oatmeal around areas frequented by slugs & snails. This method is especially effective on dry areas of ground, for example inside greenhouses/poly tunnels etc. Cheaper than slug pellets too.

9. Tools for Schools
Tools Shed is a garden tool recycling project which collects old tools for refurbishment by local prisons. The spruced up tools are then given free to schools and community groups.

The scheme is operated by the Conservation Foundation and HM Prisons. Click here to find out more.

10. Check your seedlings growth regularly if they are growing in warm conditions, (for example under propagators), before they get "leggy". Moving them into cooler conditions will slow down growth.