Mid Summer Bits and Bobs.

[Monika]

Picked our first calabrese, radishes, overwintered onions and garlic, but still waiting for the much needed heavy downpours.

[Primrose]

Still battling with germination battle for succession sowing of dwarf French beans but glad of the tip to place beans between sheets of wet tissue paper to get first shoot moving. This has weeded out about 50% of dud ones.
Makes it quicker process to get more plants when sowing for a crop later in the year and time is running out.

Managed to get some seed packets reduced to half price in garden centre today including a packet of Ferline tomatoes so pleased about that.

Incidentally not a single pea in my recent experimentally sown row of dried Soup Peas has germinated despite regular watering. A frustrating mystery because I sowed another batch of the same peas in a tray containing an inch of compost on the same date to use as pea shoots in salads and every single one has germinated and is sprouting healthily. I wondered if pea germjnation is a temperature driven thing but one successful germination seems to counter this argument.

[ron]

Take a look at this for germination rates / times at different temperatures http://tomclothier.hort.net/page11.html

[robo]

Returned to the plot today after an absence of just over 3 weeks ,i never new weeds could grow so fast its going to take me 3 weeks to clear them all even though it was relatively weed free before we flew out,none of my climbing beans have shown through but everything else is growing great ive dug up 2 patatoe sets and got enough spuds for at least 3 feeds brought a trug half filled with pease , and the chickens are laying well , happy days

[Pa Snip]

Having had similar problems as others in regard to pea and bean germination this year, I have now found myself with a an abundance of french and runner bean plants.

Arrived at plot just before 9am today intent on making some room to get another 44 runner beans transplanted.
To achieve this I had to dig up the overwintered onions and then use pellet fertiliser on the bed and thoroughly dig it over.

Got diverted along the way and ending up tidying up and clearing out the shed as well.

Finished and locked up at 5:50pm with entire days plan carried out

Nearly 9 hours, not bad considering I'm supposed to be knocking on deaths door,

and I couldn't have felt better all day !!!! Just took precautions against the sun.

It's a wonderful life on the plot as long as you don't give in.

[oldherbaceous]

Sounds as if you had a very satisfying day, Parsnip, good on you.

That's what i'm on today, clearing some early crops that have finiished and get the ground ready for a second crop.

[Primrose]

And long may it continue Pa Snip. Being gainfully and pleasantly engaged in some warm summer sunshine is probably some of the best medicine you could be taking.

I saw on TV the other day an official body was recommending that Gardening should be prescribed on the NHS for helping to keep people fit and avoiding depression. Some of us learnt that a long time ago.

Today's key chore here will be defrosting the tall upright freezer in our garage. It's badly frosted up, 35+ years old and I suspect some of the more ancient contents may well need a clear out before this summer's crops start coming on board. We need to look after it because most of today's modern freezers cannot be located in garages or similar places where temperatures fall below a certain level, which seems a crazy design fault to me.

[Westi]

Went down to the plot expecting it to be all moist from the recent storms only to find that the allotments must have missed it all as it was bone dry. Considering it flooded streets & shops all around Bournemouth & we got very heavy rain at home it was disappointing. An hour out of my day to water but lucky down early & beat everyone to the hose!

Dug up my onions, so many had decided to bolt. I have the grand total of 19 to dry and 50+ to use up but the shallots fared much better & were a nice size. Just got to dig & feed those beds ready for the winter brassicas. Dug up the last row of International Kidney which were huge & managed to get some of the leeks in that spot.

Not a bad days work all in all with all the weeding & getting the poppies out now they have finished flowering, but did need some painkillers for my back.

Westi

[Monika]

We have now had a bit of rain but could do with much more, so we shall have to do some watering again.
There have been some tremendous hail storms, though. Our oldest grandson's car roof is full of dints from the huge hail stones and near here, the roadsides were covered in green leaves where the hail and rain had brought them down. Well, our weather is never boring.

[robo]

Our council have very kindly entered our allotment into Britain in bloom again, they do this with out asking any plot holder whether they want to be involved or not ,this year the judges have asked permission to have lunch in our communal barn ,this was built by a few of us using old scaffold planks and any type of timber we could get our hands on we also managed to get some pressed steel sheets for the roof we use it for our communal drinking and Barbie session last year some of the plotters put table cloths on a couple of old tables with bowls of fruit and a couple of bottles of wine not that we were trying to bribe the judges but it must have impressed them even if we did not win , Thursday is judgement day, most plotters are hard at it this week tidying the place up

[Pa Snip]

good luck with that one then robo

[oldherbaceous]

It's our village fete today and looks as if the weather is going to be just perfect. It's at the big house where i do the garden and this year i'm glad to say it's full of colour. The roses are a little latter coming into bloom, so are looking good and most of the gap filling annuals are just starting to flower, so i'm very pleased for the owners, as they should get some nice comments.

What a difference it makes, when nature is one your side.

A little problem we do have this year is, a huge amount of people are away on holiday. Trying to beat the price increases for the Summer peak has a lot to do with it. So just hoping they get a fair turn out for all their efforts....

[Cider Boys]

I hope it all goes very well oldherbaceous, if it was a bit nearer to me I'd pop along myself as I always enjoy walking around well tended gardens.

Barney

[oldherbaceous]

Morning Barney, thank you for your kind wishes......the fete went well, it was lacking a few of the stalls, because of the lack of helpers but, i think the number of people through the gate was about the same, what was pleasing. I don't know the total amount raised, as the Church Warden is still in bed...

I did think of you Friday evening, Barney, as Cook had an acre of pasture cut and baled, so i was picking the bales up off the field. Never get tired of that wonderful smell of freshly baled hay.....brings many happy memories back from when i used to to a bit of work on the small farms in the village as a lad. Got 102 bales of the acre field so was very pleased....also the contractor only charged £100 for cutting, turning and baling.....a very fair price indeed.

[Elaine]

Done my pottering in the garden, housework done, (erm, well, some of it) first batch of strawberry jam of this year made, husband has gone to the allotment...

Looking forward to the mens singles final now...should be a cracker of a match.