28th & 30th July

Yet another hot and sticky day, it is most unpleasant. Even a lady at work who is a sun worshipper thinks it is too much. What state would I find my courgettes in? Well there were some huge pickings. I collected 14. Four of the largest weighed 7 pounds – they were swiftly donated to both next door neighbours who were amazed and delighted. There were about 3 or 4 courgettes still growing that I could have picked as they were of a decent size but I just had to leave them there to stay fresh as there would hardly be any room for them in the fridge. I also picked 2 cucumbers – 1 from each of the two larger plants. Together they make the equivalent of one supermarket cucumber which at today’s price was 69p. My assistant was delighted to see a cucumber at last from his plants. I gave him a good encouragement by telling him that he was the one who grew the plants, starting out as just little seeds some months ago. I would love it if he catches the gardening bug!

 

Whilst in Tesco’s (for milk – not veg!) I noticed that the price of garlic was 35p per bulb. Mine weren’t all of a uniform size, but looking through them I reckon I have the equivalent of 17 shop size bulbs, which is a saving of £5.95. Even more pleasing news to my wallet!

 

What I really haven’t mentioned for a while is the state of the garden. Out of 6 sunflowers that germinated, 3 have helped to feed the slug community, 2 are progressing very well, and one was struck by a football and its head fell off. However, a side shoot is emerging from the stem so it will probably flower. The fuchsias are doing well, both the bedding ones and those in the hanging baskets. The self-seeded crops in the front garden are definitely pumpkins. I’m not sure whether there are 3 or 4 as they have grown so well. The garden is a mass of huge saucer leaves and jungly tendrils that manage to turn a few heads of people walking past. They have certainly grown much larger than those at the allotment. There are also 2 tomato plants there as well.

 

The hanging baskets are a major bonus for this year, providing an immense ball of colour suspended in the air. The petunias in particular are a runaway success, they just keep on blooming, but then I am deadheading them regularly to keep up their strength. The role of the flower is to attract bees to pollinate them. Once a flower fades, the plant puts energy into setting the seed now that it has been fertilised. By deadheading, you stop this energy direction and the plant then starts to set more flowers so that it will be pollinated again and try and set seed this time – it’s all to do with the blueprint to reproduce. The bedding petunias look great. They have filled out now and provide a good carpet of varied colour. There are blues, purples, pinks, reds and even a red and white one, a really fortuitous addition all thanks to Dad ordering a bumper box of them.

 

My herb area is coming along. Three fennel plants give a lovely, light feathery display. The French tarragon is established and I did a taste test between that and the Russian tarragon and it’s true what they say - there really is no comparison. I cannot really describe the Russian one but the French is a definite aniseed flavour, and strong too, you wouldn’t want to use too much of that in a recipe. Basil, the king of herbs is great once more; I absolutely love the taste of it. The sage plants in pots are growing well and when the forecasted wet weather for the weekend and beyond is out of the way, I may plant out a few, keeping back the rest as backup for any slug attack. In the same situation is the potted oregano, although the one oregano plant in the ground already has survived thus far. Chives, rosemary and thyme are all standard, and the mint is progressing well too in its container. I have a few chard plants in the border which are at various stages of achievement but I am yet to taste any. The phlox plant has more than doubled its effect from last year, but that was its first. Despite planting a few score seeds of nicotiana I have but 4 plants that have made it to flowering. Mind you, they are very nice flowers with a lovely and delicate scent. We have had about half a dozen strawberries but this year is really a time for getting established.

While I write all this, I hear a few heavy drops of rain on the roof of our conservatory. Soon it is a refreshing downpour, aaaahhhhhhhhh.

30th July

I picked 12 more courgettes from the allotment but also put in some work. I weeded nearly all of the leek section but I had to go really carefully at the end with the seedlings. After a little bit of weeding there, I decided that as I was not going to finish the task today, I would leave some weed cover to camouflage the leeks from the rabbits who have found their way in through a few holes in the fence. I discovered 29 leeks. Not quite the 160 that I was hoping for (if all had germinated). I would have hoped on at least 100. Next year I’ll have to start them off in a raised seed bed or in little pots or modules indoors.

It looks like I will have to harvest the onions soon.

Back home I potted up 15 curly kale seedlings (I always want to call them crunchy kale for some unknown reason). I did my usual round of watering the tomatoes so that the compost doesn’t dry out. This will prevent 2 problems – blossom end rot caused by too little water, and split fruit caused by a dry spell followed by good watering.

Next post: 30th July