Kitchen Garden Forum

Picking Japanese Wineberries morning and evening daily at the moment! They do so well every year and they’re one of my favourite fruits. The climbing French beans are getting near the top of the canes and have some lovely purple flowers coming at the bottom - they’re a heritage variety which I’ve saved seed from for about 3 years I think, they’re quite special to me as they’re called Dinah’s climbing blue and I have a granddaughter called Dinah.

Well we got very little rain, despite the warnings of flooding…..just been planting things over the allotment and the rain has only gone in about an inch….it does smell lovely and fresh though…

2.5mm up until 3pm and then a downpour has made it up to 7mm.

Begonias benefitted from the rain... as I was in the greenhouse tidying, staking and sorting them

There's a sharp belt of rain running up the coast here at the moment but it is East of here..

Plenty enough though arrived to settle in my leeks.

C.

No big rain, no thunder, no lightening, I think it was hijacked by the IOW!

Chance on Monday maybe but not in the morning so I'll go down & check & keeping my fingers crossed the plot got some decent rain as it quite often has different weather than at home. As plot 2 is pretty much sorted I will get some direct sows done in those beds, finish the compost top up of beds not needed until later & get them covered. Then will have to tackle the bit of the front grass I didn't finish cutting when I got all the bites. If I can get it cut down then I will put the little manual mower together & give it a proper lower trim. Of course the other option is the mower will be pants & not cut well if at all, but I did see an advert on one of those OMG I can't watch more football what else is on another channel...it was this mower over & over on every add break!

Ah yes, I sympathise regarding the football Westi, I think my OH watches every match, and I can’t stand it!

Another 2mm was added making yesterday rainfall total up to 9mm.....but having just played the rainfall prediction page it looks now that we are due quite a dose today, in a marked change from the earlier forecast version.

C.

Blooming rain, will it ever stop….

Despite what the forecast said i didn't think it was going to start...rain given for 11am.... it didn't arrive so I got a mower out and was operating for an hour ahead of lunch....during which the rain did arrive and is just clearing now. 5mm in the gauge today....a wet afternoon...

C.

I think I have had enough rain to tick things over on the plot as bumped into the lady 3 plots down while walking the dog. She said it rained a fair bit on the plots but not heavy just drizzle but consistent. Still got a yellow warning out for thunder storms tomorrow but weather says just light rain so I will go down & crack on with the chores, things to do in the tunnel if I need to hide....just watched the local weather & rain is overnight clearing in the morning so perfect if it pans out that way....fingers crossed!

No rain today but the plot was nice & moist which was nice. Took the opportunity & tackled the runner beds as finally they appear quite happy & some are doing runner things like flower, mind I might finally have most of them up but all at different stages of development. Gave them all a weed & a light feed & a Strulch top up & put some green netting around them for a bit of wind protection.

The weeding of these beds put me in the zone so I just continued down the beds on that side weeding & all given a wee feed & now looking neat & smart. I will behave myself when down on Wed & get back to Plot 2 which doesn't need much weeding but want to put some seeds in for the Chinese & start another couple of pea rows.

Then next job is sorting the tunnel as toms need a bit of leaf thinning & I have to sort the melons & sweet potatoes which are getting a bit thuggish. Not complaining too much as found this Melon. More there but this is the biggest to date. I've never had success with melons before but found an article that said they like direct sowing on a mound covered with membrane to retain root warmth, seems to be working!

Well, I'm pleased I planted those runner beans, that I wasn't going to plant...had the first feed off them for tea...Bolognese ala Co-op with some runner beans alongside...after having gone down the garden path on arriving home to look at the little leek plants I espied enough beans ready for a feed. This was the black seeded ones that I hadn't grown for a few years but had seed stock of.

Rain today was mostly at a keep working sort of level except for a sharper burst that made me put my coat on, late morning...and again a, sharp shower around tea time...it's a lovely still sunny evening now.

C.

West - good to hear your runner beans are doing ok! And I’m impressed with that melon I must say.
Lots of rain here in the last few days and for the next few days by the looks of it. It’s certainly making up for all the dry weeks now, at least here in the midlands.
Keep thinking about OH with the disappointing amount of rain - has it started to improve much yet OH?

Morning Adrienne, we still keep missing the heavy rain….we have had some but, the ground is that warm and dry, it hasn’t managed to soak in! We did have a sharp shower this morning, just as I was half way through cutting a large hedge….

We've had some rain at last and it does seem that my runner beans are doing ok in the drought. I have been picking some very tasty beans for a while now and this recent rain should help them.

Barney

I patted myself on the back today as got right in the zone with the chores. Three Chinese beds all sown, extra broad beans put in as extended their bed, frame put up & some peas sown, more broad beans, closed down the big bed, fed & covered it, prepped the bed for the winter lettuce. Went round & collected up all my little weed piles & dragged out the big rubble bag to fill with them & the trimmings I had to do to get down the back path. Wasps still there but seem less aggressive but they moved to the apple trees so had to knock off the fruit they had had a nibble on, before they invited their mates for a Cider Rave!

That leaves just 3 beds on Plot 2 but only baby beds & baby weeds. I am 70% done all round both sides but upping it to 80% as still can't get near the strawberry bed along the path opposite the plum trees, yep wasps not as aggressive but don't fancy trying my luck dodging them on my hands & knees! Just hoping the next phase of jobs which is trimming the hedge row at the back is as smooth but I did hear a tractor in the field behind so fingers crossed it might be trimming it for me.