Summer Bits and Bobs.

[Cider Boys]

We had more rain here to-day and I finished spreading my clover seeds, I just hope they get contact with the soil and germinates. I was able to sow a late row of peas between the showers and my vegetable patch is looking far healthier thanks to the rain. Like oldherbaceous I don't water much these days, carrying water is very heavy work, my runner beans are not ready for picking yet but at least they are flowering and my peas are filling out. I think anyone is lucky if they can grow maincrop potatoes without spraying to help keep blight spores off the leaves, it is routine for farmers (even organic ones) to spray against blight usually fortnightly in a wet July.

Kind regards

Barney

[Stravaig]

I've seen magazine adverts for buying tatties in a tub. Is that a good idea or do you think it's daft? I got the impression that you just sent off for them, they arrived in their tub and you harvested them a few weeks later.

Would you need to spray and do all kinds of things to protect your tattie tub? Really, I don't know. I generally only grow herbs.

Thanks.

[Westi]

I found a site that will send warnings of a risk of blight. It is called Hutton Blight Watch now, but it is the Potato Farmers site. Apparently bought out the old blight watch site so now have the IT to do this. I have joined & would have thought I would have got a warning by now but nothing, but I haven't checked what the computer has decided is trash!

[Stravaig]

Lonely. Thanks for your company. Husband went back to Kent this weekend (Friday) and I got left alone up here. He'll probably be back in an hour or so but I get lonely being pretty much house-bound and isolated so I was very glad of you guys. You are da best!
***

I think we're finished with the house dahn souf now. Enough. And we can't move for stuff up here because of so many boxes, I'm getting there. Yeah, we do seem to have a lot of possessions but we've had more than a dozen homes recently. Then we got sent to Warsaw (three differnet 'homes' in four months) and one AirBnB didn't even have beds. Not easy for a disabled person. The Foreign Office has treated us particularly badly and I was obliged to shut up about it. But now apparently, according to them, it's all a matter of perception and misunderstanding. So I can say my perception and understanding. As I said to them, their appalling lack of professionalism was astounding. Anyway, I'm glad of the freedom to say how unprofessional they've been - that's just my perception of course. Their perception is they can do no wrong nor be accountable for anything.

I live in the real world.

Dunno if this post would be better deleted. I mean you'd not want anyone to tell the truth about a nasty govt. dept. would you. Oh goodness me. An opinion.

[Myrkk]

Hi Myrkk! My earlies got bad blight that seemed to hit the whole bed at once so I had to take them. My 2nd earlies have the odd plant affected so been able to nip off bits & it's working at the moment. Main crop are getting the blight guard watering when showers predicted & so far all clear, but going to be challenged as have a lot of showers one day & clear the next coming up.

I didn’t know there was such a thing Westi, will have to go get some. Most of the tatties are ok, I keep pinching off some discoloured bits here and there but maybe a wee soak with that will help.

Sadly the toms in the outdoor greenhouse (wee plastic one), look like they have similar. Can toms get blight? Can you use that blight guard on them?

Finished tidying up the second of the sheds yesterday, hubbie on the roof pulling the ivy off it and not nice neighbour came out and gave him a dirty look. He wanted to smile and say hi but thought better of it. Now looking for solar panel grow lights, but most don’t get a good review as would like to use it as my wee grow house. It has 3 “windows” in the roof and one at the front so think it would help take the strain off my conservatory in which everything is currently growing, toms nearly at the roof, sweet pots snaking around everywhere and the cucamelons just won’t let go once they’ve grabbed something. Not to mention all the house plants.

Went into Harbro yesterday and got some tom grow bags for £3.48, worth a look if you use them.

[Westi]

Tomatoes can & do get blight Myrkk; same family & there is early & late blight to contend with. Late blight is the real nasty one which can decimate a plant in a couple of days & this is the one that usually gets my toms, but luckily as late I generally have had some of the harvest. If you can protect them from rain you will have more luck & keep them away from open doors as the spores can blow in if the rain coming from that direction.

My old neighbour had her toms in pots against her shed & built a cane structure with recycled plastic & bubble wrap for the top & sides stapled to the shed & then cleverly used a cane with the plastic rolled up like a blind at the front that she dropped if rain forecast. I thought it was a brilliant idea, hence remembered.

[Westi]

PS: Myrkk, You can use blight guard on them, but it is only a protective from getting it, so if you get one of those scenarios where it is intermittent showers so the last application was washed off then the plants are vulnerable again. Best bet is to have a waterproof cover of some sort.

[Myrkk]

Thanks Westi. I’ve not got the garden organised for undercover areas yet, have decided to not go for a greenhouse but get a poly tunnel instead. How big is the question as I’m thinking it might be best to put all the plants in there.

If blight comes down in rain does that mean harvesting rainwater can be a problem for nightshade plants?

[Westi]

You will be pleased having a poly tunnel, the best thing I have on the plot, all thanks to a friend of my mother-in-laws who I dropped off harvests to & had a cuppa with, which she obviously enjoyed & unexpectantly left me some money when she died. I did not want to waste that on rubbish little bits so used it to buy the tunnel.

It will be size dependent on what to put in their but keep it for the precious crops that can be a bit fickle. I don't put brassica's in mine, it's primary job is for toms, peppers, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, melons, winter salads & the like. The other benefit is the roof struts; so you can just use plastic wire tied on the struts with pegs in the ground so easy to support the tall guys. I also use mine for sowing beginning of the season as bought one of those single aluminium garage shelves to use as staging in there as quite a bit warmer. I just put the staging outside during the summer. My only tip is to prioritise the ventilation in there so don't skip on vents when you decide what to buy, it can get really hot & humid.

[Colin2016]

Do these have blight?

[tigerburnie]

I always thought was black on the leaves, they look like just tops dying back and ready for picking, you will know when you turn them out/dig them up. However, this does look a bit like yours
https://www.rhs.org.uk/disease/potato-blight

[Westi]

I agree with Burnie & think they are just spent & ready to harvest. Bight tends to have roundish brown spots a bit bigger than the spots on yours & your stems are intact, even though no leaves, whereas blight spores will travel through the stems & you greyish/brown soggy soft bits as well, which will affect the tubers in time.

[Westi]

Obligatory eye test today, pleased to say no progression with the start of cataracts noted on the last visit but I did invest in getting new specs with the 'sunglass' protection along with the antiglare & my normal reading needs. I just can't be doing with 2 pairs of specs in my bag as I can never find them or more honestly just totally forget to swap them.

I'm always amazed with the professionalism of these guys & the equipment they have. I paid £10 extra to have a full 3D eye scan which when I go again in 2 yrs it will automatically compare & id the changes so not relying on the human intervention. All these tests & now as an official pensioner just £265 for 2 specs. One for home & one for the plot.

[oldherbaceous]

Well done, Westi…..

Just had an interesting couple of hours….there was a huge swarm of Honey Bees, in the tree opposite the stable, so rang a Bee keeper, who came out within 15 mins.
The problem we had was, getting at them as they were about 15 foot above ground level….but I came up with, throwing a rope over the branch and pulling it down as low as I could so he would get at the swarm….so after a few failed attempts, we managed to get them into a cardboard box!
He went off very pleased, as he had lost a lot of bees in the Winter months….
I’m very tempted to have a go at keeping bees in a few years time.

[Colin2016]

Thank you both for your thoughts, I harvested another bed like this and spuds were a good size and very tasty, no sign of bad ones, was expecting not to harvest till August/September time though.

Five weeks ago I had eyes tested told cataract need doing given options of where to have it done. Next day Tuesday phone call to book an appointment for assessment end of week. At assessment booked for the procedure to be done week later. Had phone call next day Sunday checking I was ok with no problems.

This was a private company working on behalf NHS with excellent customer care at every stage. My wife had same service resultig her having to no longer needing glasses after wearing them all her life.