Mid Summer Bits and Bobs - 2016.

[oldherbaceous]

Worked really hard on the allotments over the weekend and now have them virtually weed free...it's surprising how hoeing and the hot sun, helps. One thing we will have to watch out for is, where we have had so much rain over the last couple of months, the plants will be quite shallow rooted and will struggle to take up enough water on hot days. So a bit of watering will be needed.

[Pa Snip]

Just been reading a web page about independent assessment of different types of potato and one small section reminded me of
Pawty's question a few weeks back about cutting the stems back on potatoes.

The article relates in particular to Sarpo Axona variety, but I reckon it should be possible (in moderation) on most varieties.


Quote from http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetabl ... -axona.php
Wind damage can be dealt with, apparently, by simply cutting away any fallen foliage. Sarpo Axona potato plants are so vigorous that they simply sprout new foliage and continue growing.

Now having said that I have to say that my Sarpo Axona are currently one of the two shortest varieties on the plot, no taller than one of the first earlies

[dan3008]

Westi, without a photo its impossible to assess the damage, but with an asparagus bed, usually if its getting weak, and its not depleted soil, digging the crowns and splitting them can help.

Other than that, skipping next years harvest will strengthen them no end

[oldherbaceous]

A touch warm out there today.....made my hair rustle like pea straw......and hotter still tomorrow.

[Pa Snip]

Not wrong there OH

At least the onions I lifted on Friday should be drying off well.

Was hoping to get some of the excess Leeks I have into the ground, but far too warm to be out there.

Need to try and ascertain what is going wrong with my pumpkins, First time of growing them and they definitely do not appear to like where there are planted.
Yellowing leaves on both plants, going crispy brown and dying off. May grab a picture later when it cools down a bit

[oldherbaceous]

Forgot to say, i owe Old Codger an apology. Yesterday i was short of a hose connector, so Old Codger said he would find me one.
Forgetting he had told me this, i found one lurking in a box in my shed. So today i fitted it to the hose, but forgetting to tell OC that i had now got one. So what happened, OC walked up with a connector in his hand, after spending half an hour looking for it.....

Sorry Old Codger.

[Westi]

Hi Dan Numbers!

It is too late for them to be split or saved I think. One plant has just 2 fronds, skinny, pale & short, nothing on some of the others, some had fronds but the stems were withered & just dropped at a touch. I'll make a new bed - learnt a lot from this one over the years, so should be more successful, & will still get a harvest even if smaller than normal from the old bed while waiting for the new one to mature. One thing I have considered is that asparagus we buy now is generations away from it's salty origins & I have used seaweed from the beach a few times. Could be that the seaweed was not pristine as it looked or the plants have evolved to not need or like it.

Westi

[robo]

We gave up at 2 o'clock today and came home to hot I think it's a first I was ok in Spain when it was around 35 deg but once it hit 48 it was lie down time

[Westi]

Hit 33 degrees at lottie today - too hot! I found myself getting slower & slower & making journeys back & forth as I forgot to take things with me to the bed I was working on. And had to avoid bending over as made me feel weird. I wet my hat, (& a lot of me) twice & it dried out completely. My Factor 25 did not protect completely despite 3 applications & I am wee bit ruby.

I managed to take up my shallots - pretty good size & nicely dry, planted my winter / spring brassicas which couldn't cope in their sowing pots & drying out too quickly, so considered that life saving. Then just weeded my current brassicas - all my cauliflowers had bolted beyond soup making since yesterday, but did get to salvage some calabrese & have just made some broccoli soup to freeze. And when everyone left early managed to get the hose out and water twice and as no one waiting for the tap everything got a really good puddle. Only 24 degrees tomorrow!

Oh & picked my first plum beauty! Lush!

Westi

[Primrose]

My drying onions today nearly turned into fried onions today so moved them into some shade.
At least growing all my vegs in the garden means I don't have to compete with anybody else for garden hose.
However despite having watered everything early this morning the soil already looks as dry as dust again this evening.
It's going to be another hot sticky night for sleeping i suspect

[peter]

My car claimed 39° when I got into it to go home this evening and 30° when I parked at home around 6pm.

[Elaine]

Well, I must be barmy.....the hottest day of the year and I had to make jam. The trouble was, the blackcurrants wouldn't wait. I harvested a couple of pounds on Sunday night but the rest wasn't quite ripe enough.... yesterday's sun sorted that and I picked the rest Monday night....that's the lot I think, just a few more left to freeze for baking. I like to use the blackcurrants within 24 of picking or they're not at their best, so I had to make the jam today.
Oh my giddy aunt, the temperature in my kitchen went up to 38 degrees at one point. I was absolutely mafted.
All sorted now though, just the jars to label up.

We went down to the allotment to water up but left it until around 8.30pm...we had given everything a good soaking with the hosepipe (shhhhhh) last night but you wouldn't have thought so, looking at the soil!

Sat here now with a nice cool beer. Lovely

[Primrose]

Well done with the jam making. That must have been really hot work. As you say, blackcurrants go off very quickly. I must check my redcurrants today. Yeaterday,s sun may well have given them just the final blast they needed. I find them rather sour even when totally ripe and still have lots in the freezer left from last year. Mi find this is one fruit which always seems to crop embarrassingly prolifically. To be honest, I never really lnow whatnto do with them all as we're not prolific jam eaters. To be honest, one bush instead of two would be more than adequate for us but ripping out a perfectly good cropping bush seems criminal

Incidentally, when do you folks judge your redcurrants as ripe - when they're bright red or when they're turning to a deeper blood red?

[PLUMPUDDING]

Red currants seem to stay ok for quite a while so I use them medium red for jam then darker for wine so they have more sugars.

The white currants make lovely wine too. White Grape makes the best flavour with White Versailles coming a close second. White Versailles has a heavier crop. I've netted them early this year as the birds showed a distinct preference for the White Grape too.

[Monika]

I made my usual 'garden berry' jam on Monday (it was warm enough for me then!) with red and black currants, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and a few blueberries. We grow very little fruit and most of it was bought. Really, I prefer some gooseberries in it too because they lend a bit of tartness, but I think they have all gone already.

Another scorcher again today with just a bit of thunder and a little rain, but maybe it's working up for some good cooling downpours. I flag when the temperature goes over 20C!