5th -8th June

5^th June

I bought 2 rolls of 8m x 1.5m weed suppressing membrane and after work I pinned out one along section 8 and planted my 16 sweet peppers, staked them and tied them in followed by the customary watering. I then laid out more membrane in section 6 in the small brassica section and planted out 10 cauliflowers. There are more to go out but I’ll need a little more membrane first.  Then more watering and the sprinkling of slug pellets.

The Kitchen Garden at Kew Gardens

At home I planted out my last lavender that was still in a small pot. The fathead variety went into the rockery. I potted up the nicotianas, 7 into a large container and 3 into hanging baskets, then I finished planting up the pots for the play house window box with a mixture of laurentias and cinerarias.

It has been much cooler today and my rise in energy is a result. The weather forecasters have been warning of rain at the midweek point, but nothing yet.

6^th June

A lazy day at home where I planted out about 40 salvias and in doing so found 2 slugs in the tray. They must have found their way in when I had the tray out in the border to get some sunshine a few weeks ago, and the slugs, spoilt for choice merrily munched on them back in the greenhouse. I also found space for a few rocket plants in the borders. All the rocket has been allowed to grow lanky in the back of the greenhouse so it does not look appetising or bulky enough to ease an appetite. It just flops over and lies in the sun. I trust in a recovery. What are looking strong are the sweet peas as they rocket skywards – most heartening.

I took the 5 year old to the allotment with a long list of plans, but left it too late in the afternoon. We laid down membrane on section 7 and I cut crosses for courgettes. Two yellow ones went in, with space for one more that has only recently germinated at home, and 3 green ones, one of which I managed to slice out of the pot with the metal end of the tape measure I had used to mark out the right distances so that one went back into the pot with hopes and prayers. We laid more membrane in section 9 and planted out 6 butternut squash with space for more, again, coming on at home. I planted a cucumber plant at each end of sections 7 and 8 and put in a stake for each. The 5 year old did some watering for me but that was all we had time for what with various needs of aforementioned young chap and thus had no time left for planting out the pumpkins, the crown prince squashes or the remaining cauliflowers, or for weeding the leek section and laying out membrane on it, or for preparing some more carrot furrows and sowing carrots or for lining the compost bin with some plastic sheeting I have there. It’s just as well I didn’t take the shears to cut the grass as that would have been another activity I wouldn’t have done. Never mind, it was an amount of work done that was equivalent to a stop off after work so it is all beneficial.

 7^th June

I was woken in the early hours by thunder and the sound of heavy rain and I was slightly concerned about the newly planted courgettes, cucumbers and squashes but grateful for the removal of serious watering tasks and for the fact that it was just as well I hadn’t sown more carrot seeds yesterday. I rolled over and slept well once more knowing my water butt was probably full again already.

Monday 8^th June

Not a great deal of work done, just a resowing of another pot of basil and a shallow tub of rocket, planting out a few laurentias into spaces in the hanging baskets and potting up 7 decent sized basil seedlings into their larger summer pots.