Early Summer Bits and Bobs.

[oldherbaceous]

Well here we go, so lets hope we lose that North Easterly wind soon!
And I hope we all have a good Summer harvest.

[retropants]

yes, the breeze is still chill. Everything is growing well now though, so fingers crossed

[Westi]

I was right in the zone today, despite the heat & my 'To Do' list only has a three things left to do: 1. Clean out the shed, it's pretty tidy but could do with tweak, but all the muddy shoes over winter have left a considerable amount of dirt in there, 2. A quick hoe of the asparagus & last harvest then I'll leave the fronds to shade the beds to reduce the weeds & 3. A sort of the old empty compost right in the corner behind what is now a very big plum tree.

On the subject of No. 3 I would like advice on what to grow in it. I grew watermelons last year which did great until the rats found them, so they have a new spot. It still has a foot or more of the old compost in the bottom & is pallet x pallet size but edged outside with corrugated iron sheets so holds the heat well. It now also gets shaded from the hedge row after someone complained that the farmer broke a pane of glass, which he did but reimbursed them & his guys even fitted it but such a drama, so now only does the top & his side rather than dropping it over the edge, so that & the plum means mostly shade but dapples of light gets through!

Cheers in advance!

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Westi, I can’t really think of anything special, so not a lot of help really, i’m afraid.

[Westi]

Thanks OH!

I'm thinking since all the extra sows of sweetcorn have come up I have made that bed too small so thinking I would transplant the lettuce bed there & extend the sweetcorn into their bed. They will properly like a bit of shade & it might slow them down from bolting. There are a couple too big to move so they can stay but the majority are small still so they should move successfully. Time will tell I suppose!

[oldherbaceous]

A wonderful idea, Westi, that should work very well….

[oldherbaceous]

A beautiful day out there… if I was to grumble a little, it would be to say, it’s a touch warm in the glasshouse…..
Home grown, potatoes, broad beans and cabbage, for the banquet tonight!

[Westi]

Weather showing light showers next Sunday, hmm watch that disappear!

My soil is so dry it is cracking despite the lovely compost prep I did, so today I set about breaking it up a bit as although I make little mounds around my plants to water into so it gets to the roots, the plants are getting bigger so the roots will be looking for more deeper & wider I would think. I started with the fork but couldn't get it in, so got the shovel out but that was difficult too & barely made an impact. I was soon sweating so it was the Hori Hori knife, way slower but very effective. I got 5 small beds done & the water was just soaked up so was doing the roads of each & returning.

Unfortunately not much mulch left so fingers crossed the guy that mows the complex of flats up the road was busy this weekend mowing & I will get a delivery. Every summer I am grateful I was cheeky enough to ask Eugine what he does with his mowings & he took them to the dump. He now even delivers to me & leaves it on the drive as I'm on his way home! And they are posh flats with pristine lawns & beautiful flower beds so no weeds & he said no chemicals ever!

[robo]

I seem to spend most of my time on my plot watering everything is bone dry I like the hot sunny days but I wish it would rain at night

[retropants]

I seem to have created an accidental pet at work! I feed the birds on the little garden outside our foyer. My office is located next to the foyer, so I get to enjoy the birdies tweetling and rummaging, and this year, the little bluetits fledging from the new birdbox we installed. I mainly feed the friendly Robin, and there is a wood pigeon couple too. The accidental pet takes the form of a feisty magpie. He/she is now tapping, quite vigorously, on the foyer and office windows asking for food. They walk along...tap tap tap.....move a bit.....tap tap tap, it's quite amazing. This morning, the tapping was directly next to me on my windowsil, next he'll have a workpass and a chair and will be doing magpie business at the desk next to me !! I refuse to be trained by a bird however, so I am still only putting out food first thing, and first come, first served! I'm not going to respond to the tapping, or I'd be there 'til dark.

[Westi]

I have also been adopted & he is getting bolder & bolder. This morning was right at the back door & I took a pic without him flying off. He is extremely chatty & does not stop until I put out the pet bowls with the few bits they're left out in the back garden for him to clean up - very efficient with his cleaning duties as well!

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[oldherbaceous]

You wait until he tells all of his mates, Westi….

[Westi]

I sometimes don't know why I bother listening to or looking up the weather. The local paper said we will be on a yellow heat warning the weekend with temps of 29C, the phone weather says light rain & 21C? Doh! Methinks we need to confiscate the coin they are tossing to create the weather! However I will try really hard to believe the phone weather on Monday - thunder, lightening & heavy showers!

We need some proper rain desperately down here as well as other parts of the country, plants are surviving, but not exactly thriving & should be way bigger!

[Geoff]

We need some proper rain desperately down here

Tell me about it - almost a month without rain.

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[Westi]

As anticipated the weather report has changed but still showing some light rain showers but that won't make an impact & will evaporate quickly.

One of my plans to beat the heat this year has not been that successful, but is it the cause or the late spring, lack of rain? I prepped & fed the whole beds lightly but to focus on the plants needs, I really dug deep & fed the individual planting holes in their own little moats for watering. Took the shallots today which were smaller than expected but no more growing left in them, but created myself a real hard task breaking into the soil around the rest of the bed they were in. I really love my Japanese gardening knife as at least it could crack the top layer. They were not mulched as focused what clippings I had on other crops more expensive to buy if fails.

Probs need to mulch more but then I'd be moaning about the slugs & snails!