Summer bits and bobs.

[Westi]

Well hot today, as not even a sea breeze in the mix. The bus ride down to do some shopping was not pleasant as an old bus with few windows & plastic edging to the seat....twas not glamorous pulling my jeans & T shirt away from my flesh getting off, but I wasn't alone & us victims (including the blokes), had a laugh! Thankfully air com available in the taxi on the way home!

[retropants]

yeuch, yes, it's too hot!! My bedroom was at 29 degrees last night, and we have to close the windows to sleep due to the traffic noise. I just leave one a crack open.

[oldherbaceous]

I’m so, so lucky where I live, really peaceful….the only noise we really get at night is, Tawny Owls and Deer.
Going to have to do some heavy watering over the allotments, as everything is showing signs of severe drought.

[Cider Boys]

Likewise here OH, I do appreciate peacefulness and the sound of silence.

I have lifted some more potatoes this morning and am so pleased with them. I have often been told that I am a bit of a stick in the mud and always grow the same varieties. This year however, my merchant had sold out of my usual potatoes and only had Maris Peer left. I'm very pleased he did. I will be growing these again next year and recommend them, although I expect many of you have already grown them.

It's very hot here now and I will be taking it easy out of the sunshine, hoping for some steady rain.

Keep cool

Barney

[Clive.]

I first became acquainted with Maris Peer back in 1969 they were the first potatoes that I had any involvement planting and growing in a little bit of ground that my grandad let me use. It had been his bonfiring site alongside the track to the smallholding. They would have been a new variety at the time and I think grandad got the seed from the farmer who was then leasing his land.

Here's grandad in 1969...seems like only yesterday.!

..and in fact I did dig some Maris Peer yesterday... but my attire didn't include my best cap..

C.

[Clive.]

...and here's me with my Maris Peer in 1969.... as can be detected I totally hated having to pose for the photo....and no, despite how it looks, I was not 'watering' them........

C.

[Cider Boys]

Excellent information Clive, thank you for sharing the pictures. I notice the flowers are the same as mine were, I would upload a picture of them if I ever work out how to reduce the pixel size to let me post.

Best wishes

Barney

[Westi]

Way to hot & I have been getting caught in doom & gloom scenarios with the neighbours advising me there are days more of no rain & big heat. Certainly my BBC app is saying 13days before any rain anticipated, but at least temp slightly lower. I haven't been down for 2 days so the poor plants will be unhappy. Plan was to go down today but ended up puppy sitting for the neighbour as she got called in to work due to big increase of foolish very light skin folk turning up in A&E with dehydration & severe sunburn. Unfortunately way to hot to consider taking him down to the plot as just a little chap, but he did enjoy annoying the cats who were very patient with him. Was great fun really!

So tomorrow is big water day. I'm hoping I can join the old hose to the new one so I can reach the whole plot without lugging the cans around. I've tried a few times but even though same diameter it just won't soften enough to slide onto the connector. I'm taking down the cooking flame gun to blast it as I think the candle lighters I have just don't generate enough heat; although enough to make me cuss when I get my fingers in the way! Will see how it goes. With puppy & my dog asleep I took the opportunity to look on line for some of those bottle drippers so they will help support the 'precious' plants. Very weirdly I have absolutely no plastic bottles when I usually have loads in the bin, all are glass! I noted some were changed from plastic to glass it but didn't register as a potential problem. Looks like I will have to buy some of those sugar loaded drinks & top up my supply of plastic drippers!

[Clive.]

With ref the Maris Peer...I recall my grandad being quite excited about the flower colour having been used to varieties that were white flowered.

I'm almost sure that the variety was used at one time for canning....and remember one year when the farmer who then owned the back field here suddenly turned up and to our great surprise mowed down some winter barley that was well on and ploughed it all in so they could quickly complete planting their pre arranged quota of Maris Peer that they had been unable to get in on some of their land towards the coast that had suffered with a wet Spring.

C.

[Westi]

I could not get in the zone today so didn't get down but fortunately the temp has dropped & I did give everything a big water on Sat. I think I got a bit dehydrated as got right in the zone Saturday doing more resows; I will beat those ruddy mice & rats! Currently I am direct sowing as the gits have figured out how to chew into the mesh on the runner pots & are stealing the seeds & the baby plants are just left & dying in the tunnel heat. I noted that there are some little ones popping up so unsure whether the hairy ones are just sick of eating beans or have found another source not on my plot! Or more likely just luck!

On Sat I direct sowed again & relocated every sonic repeller around the beds, fingers crossed but got home & remembered I forgot to change the pest on the repeller from fox to mice/rats so will see but quite frankly did not deter the fox too much! Any idea's you guys & girl's can offer that will repel them away from the beds? Everyone on the plot has heard of something from someone else, mostly spices, but quite frankly haven't worked when I tried. I am asking you as you have experience, not just heard/found/saw online. Cheers in advance as usual!

[Westi]

Where has everyone gone, no-one on line at all?? I hope you are all well.

I checked on the runners on Monday having a wee clear of soil where the latest beans were sowed, obvs not all just a couple in each row & every seed was in-situ. Of course these were direct sows & not growing yet so don't know if when the seed splits & roots they will return, so will be moving onto stage 2 of the prevention after another wee check seeds still in.
The repellers will remain until the plants are up but I will be putting loose netting around the structures, well secured tightly at the bottom but loose at the top so they can't climb it. I usually do this with my sweetcorn & it works with rats as they can't climb it as they are too heavy & they pull it down over themselves. I'm not sure mice are in the mix outside, maybe just picking up wee bits left by the rats? The disruption around stolen seeds seems a bit deep & wide for a wee mouse.

[Clive.]

Still about here....

Just flagging a bit, or actually quite a lot, by afternoon...bit like the plants today,. We had 8 or 9mm rain at weekend but the wind has blown it away and some more...

An update on the carrots in the back field....barley, soil erosion prevention, now all but gone just a few yellow bits here and there, carrot tops now quite visible in their 3 rows...that's 12 rows total per big ridge...and the irrigation gear in use.

C.

[AdrienneRobinson]

We were away last week when it was hot and I was bracing myself for some losses, the watering system in the greenhouse isn’t all that great and I thought the tomatoes and cucumbers (they’re in pots) would have suffered. However, much to my huge relief (and surprise), all was fine!
So since then I’ve been catching up with everything - everywhere needed a good watering, I’ve been picking loads of sugar snap peas, blackcurrants galore (still plenty to come),, broad beans have been great but now finished and cleared, romanesco caulis, cabbages, PSB and kale have all grown a lot in the last couple of weeks. Decided to put up another smaller brassica cage where the broad beans were, and sowed some more calabrese to go in there when they’re ready,, and put a spare kale in there.
I also had a guy come to prune my photinia which was massive and shading a lot of my growing area, he did a great job, but trampled all over my rhubarb which I think has probably bitten the dust. But hey ho - I can always replace that and I’ve got loads more light now so I’m happy.

[retropants]

Hi Adrienne, I think your Rhubarb will probably come back next year, so don't give up on it just yet!

I've just been trying to keep everything alive. Water butts are all empty, so back and forth to the tap with the cans, takes an age every night. On the plus side, I think we have hoglets!

[oldherbaceous]

Still no rain….the grass fields are all turning white!
Just got attacked by Wasps, 3 stings on my hand and 1 on my arm…..even I don’t like wasps, today….lol.