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Weekend 3 June

Most of this week was actually in May but never mind.

On the plot

• We’re picking our first strawberries – they are huge and just one bite reminds of why we grow them rather than buying from the supermarket! The alpine strawberries that we were harvesting up until bonfire night are also producing lots of fruit.
• Planted runner beans – Lady Di (red flowers), White Lady (white flowers) and Sunset (pink flowers). Why shouldn't vegetables give an attractive display?
• Planted French beans - Delinel and more lettuce - red and green salad bowl.
• The broad beans are flowering well and have a really attractive perfume.
• The wood pigeons are devastating any uncovered brassicas.
• The shrub roses that we planted last year are in flower.
• Planted more annuals for cut flowers and some new dahlias to add to our range of colours and fill one or two gaps where tubers were lost. Most dahlias are now growing well having pushed their way through the straw that protected them over winter. Click here for our winter storage method.
• We also planted out pots of gladioli, we are trying a new method this year. The bulbs were planted in pots over several months so we have pots of gladioli which are further on than last year and hopefully at various stages.
• Picked the first bunch of sweet Williams

In the garden

• Pruned back the bamboos HARD. We always knew that we should but it seems so extreme just to leave a few canes to develop.
• Uncovered the bananas, they have developed some massive trunks, sorry I should say stems as bananas are really herbaceous perennials and not trees!!
• Planted out some bearded irises
• Lots of young birds about now.
• We don’t grow many bedding plants but have planted out some busy lizzies and mesembryanthemums.
• We seem to have had another visit from the heron! Early in the week I pulled back the curtains to reveal a goldfish lying on the lawn. Miraculously when picked up it flicked its tail and so was gently popped back in the pond. It seemed to have survived its ordeal but died later in the week. We thought all the other fish had been taken as we didn’t see even one of them for several days. They didn’t even come for food! At the end of the week they started to emerge from the weed and are now feeding again. So fish memories only last for a few seconds do they? In that case ours must be of above average intelligence! Our pond is raised about 20 cm from ground level and so is surrounded by a small wall. It is also deep about one and a half metres deep! I once read that this meant we would not be troubled by heron's as they like to wade straight into shallow water. So have heron's changed their habits. We now need to think of how to try to prevent the fish from becoming a heron's breakfast. At the moment we have a makeshift fence of bamboo canes and wire.

In the green house

• Potted up cuttings of rosemary and some lavender plug plants.
• Potted up some chrysanthemum cuttings

• There seem to be lots of foals in the fields.
• Tadpoles have developed back legs - they now move into the carnivorous stage. Won't be long now before they are froglets.

Weekend 10 June
On the plot

• We picked lots of delicious strawberries this weekend. The varieties are Mae and Marshmello. Marshmallo has the edge on flavour – it is really well flavoured. We also had a few alpine strawberries from last year’s plants. I think that I should really have trimmed the plants at the start of the season as they have lots of old growth.
• Planted out sweet corn – Marshall’s Early Sweet (we are still eating last year’s harvest – we had so much last year that we couldn’t eat it all fresh and froze lots and lots!)
• Planted out beetroot which had been started in the greenhouse in cells. This method has worked well in previous years. We did try it once with carrots but that didn’t work at all.
• We inadvertently harvested our first potatoes of the year. The bed where we grew potatoes last year was ready to be cleared and planted and as usual potatoes that were overlooked had grown. What was less usual was that we harvested enough potatoes from the weeds for several meals – and they tasted really nice too. Maybe we should try planting a few potatoes to overwinter and see what happens next year just in case we get another mild winter.
• Some of our peas have developed pods.
• Planted out courgettes – Zucchini (green fruit), Gold Rush (yellow fruit) and Clarita (pale green stripy fruit)
• The sweet Williams are flowering well now and providing cut flowers for home.
• Rescued a tiny newt from the path of the rotavator and transferred it to a place of safety after it had repaid the favour by letting us film it! We often seem to find newts hiding in our soil.
• Netted the red currants much to the disgust of the blackbirds who should be grateful as we have left one bush to their mercy. And I took special care to tidy the ends so that the birds hopefully will not be tangled in the netting. Looks as though we will be harvested red currants very soon.
• The rose climbing up the side of our compost ‘fence’ is looking spectacular and the shrub roses planted last year are flowering well. Fortunately it the varieties have turned out as we had hoped.
• The foxgloves are still flowering well and have been great value for money – the bees are really making the most of them.
• The comfrey which is now flowering well is also proving popular with bumble bees.
• When I removed the enviromesh from the carrots – which by the way are growing strongly – in order to do a bit of weeding, I noticed a small ladybird cocoon from which a new ladybird will shortly emerge.
• Planted some perennial plants centranthus and agastache to grow them on. They are supposed to be really attractive to butterflies and bees.
• The worst event of the weekend was standing in a patch of nettles – no socks – it really stung!!
• The cabbage white butterflies are on the look-out for somewhere to lay their eggs – many butterflies are no problem on the plot as their caterpillars feed on nettles (I hope they find the patch that I stood in and make it pay!) and other weeds. The Small and Large White butterflies – known to gardeners as Cabbage Whites are the only butterflies to lay eggs on brassicas where their caterpillars cause lots of damage – that is if the wood pigeons have left anything to damage. Fleece of enviromesh protection can help keep the butterflies under control.
• Watched some swallows wheeling about hunting for flies – probably to feed a brood of young.

In the garden

• One of bearded irises – Royal Satin planted last week already has a bud. We have a large clump of untidy irises in the pond which were due to be thrown out but they were reprieved as they were providing hiding places for a colony of frogs. Once the frogs left home however they were to be gone! I think the threat must have spurred them on as they now have decided to flower for the first time.
• Planted out pots of acidanthra and gladioli nanus.
• The fish are back on form begging for food so seem to have got over their heron trauma!
• The birds are really going through the seed – we are having to fill the feeders twice a day.
• The tadpoles have become froglets although some still have their tails, they are leaving the water.
• We don’t grow many bedding plants but have planted out some busy lizzies and mesembryanthemums.
• The hedgehog or hedgehogs is/are regularly visiting to feed on the Spikes Banquet biscuits that we put out for them. One was a little fed up for waiting one night when we were a bit late putting the food out. He showed his disgust by tucking into the bird seed that had spilled out of the feeder tubes.
• Heard young blue tits in our tree impatiently twittering to be fed.
• We picked a few raspberries that have been growing up a fence in the garden since before we had an allotment.
• Planted a medlar –  apparently the fruit has to sort of rot before it can be eaten (sounds a bit disgusting but we won’t be worried about that this year as it only had one prospective fruit!) – it is supposed to be a really attractive tree for autumn colour when the eaves turn red.

In the greenhouse

Next year’s foxgloves have just started to germinate.

Pruned the grape vine which shows promise of lots of grapes again – it usually does well despite the fact that we don’t really give it any attention. At one time I went over it with the long bladed scissors reducing the amount of fruit but it really is a chore and I ended up with tiny grapes everywhere so now it is left to do its own thing!

Out and about

The grasses are now flowering well. There are dozens of varieties all with different types of flowers but I can never manage to identify the different sorts. The names of the different grasses don’t help as they are all unmemorable!

The wild roses are really flowering strongly now.

Visited Tatton Park - click here to view video and photographs.

Click here to visit the Tatton Park web site

Weekend 17 June
On the plot

• Well definitely no watering this week – well not of the artificial watering-can variety.
• Planted out French beans - butternut squash, leeks - Oarsman and some sunflowers. We don’t grow the really tall ones – can’t see the point of having flowers so high that I can’t actually see them so the flowers are at head height – my head height, which isn’t very high up at all! At this height I can watch the bees foraging and also appreciate the patterns in the flower head and seed formation.
• The rain has certainly made the weeds grow and also for the first time in ages made planting leeks much easier. In previous years we have needed to water the soil first before planting, as the ground has been too dry to dibble (is that a real word?) the holes in which to drop the young leek plants – not this year!
• We had lots of beautiful large shiny strawberries that have been ruined by the torrential rain and the fact that the really wet weather has encouraged the slugs to come out. It was really awful pulling off all the spoiled fruit to commit to the compost heap as it smelled delicious. I also cut off strawberry runners and refreshed the straw mulch. Maybe we will get some more berries.
• Picking Sweet William for vases in the house and the sweet peas are just coming into flower, the rain has spoiled many of the roses though especially really full flower heads with lots of petals.

In the garden

• The poor birds are looking really bedraggled. The young fledglings must be regretting coming out of their nests. They have been sheltering under our porch. We felt so sorry for them that we put some food there for them so they could feed in the dry. They did even though they were just outside the patio doors. After helping itself to peanuts from the bird table, a visiting squirrel retreated under the tree fern where it sat eating them in the relative dry!
• The hostas that were relatively unscathed have been nibbled by slugs. I have put bands of copper tape around the plant pots but unfortunately the slugs and snails managed to creep across from neighbouring plants without needing to attempt crossing the copper tape!
• In the green house
• Planted up the strawberry runners taken from the plants on the plot.

Out and About

We went to Gardeners’ World Live this weekend. One show garden had been designed to be suitable for the hotter, drier summers that we are allegedly now experiencing. The whole idea seemed out of line with the weather especially as during the day we had a torrential rainstorm and some of the exhibition areas had to be cordoned due to flooding. Must admit I wouldn’t really want a garden of cactus like plants. This week's rain seemed the better option but then again we don't suffer from flooding.

Weekend 24 June
On the plot

• Picked three large punnets of red currants - according to supermarket prices about £30 worth. The blackbird did find a way into the netted area but there is plenty to share
• Also picked loganberries or tay berries - we inherited the canes and so are not sure which it is - either way we don't really care - it fruits well and the berries are good.
• Also picked a few blackcurrants again we inherited these and so don't know the variety, the bushes are reallyA old and we keep being tempted to replace them but they still fruit fairly well and give very large currants.
• Harvested a few cabbages - one for us and the rest to share.
• Started to harvest potatoes - Cherie, no doubt they still have some growing to do but we have plenty of potatoes so we start harvesting early.
• The peas seem to be really enjoying the rain and are growing well.
• Planted more French beans, Delinel (green), Purple Teepee (you've guessed it - purple beans and flowers) and Golden Teepee (bet you guessed this too - yellow beans).
• Planted more beetroot - this year we bought a mixture called Sunset mixed which provide roots in a variety of colours.
• Planted squash - Sweet Dumpling and cucumber Marketmore.
• Planted tomatoes - Roma (plum shaped), Red Alert, Golden Sunrise, Jack Cider, Tigerella and Legend
• Lots of weeding and strimming.
• Dead headed the roses (that the rain is spoiling) and picked Sweet William (also being spoiled by the rain), sweet peas and achillea for vases in the house. The achillea has been good value - we grew them from seed a few years ago and they continue to flower in a wide range of colours and also are long lasting in a vase.
• Spotted a few tiny froglets hopping between the plants.
• Got very, very, very wet in carrying out lots of the above on Sunday.
• Rescued a really lucky little newt who was spotted just before the rotavator reached it! Click here to read more.

In the garden

• Some plants are thriving in the wet weather but others are struggling being either too wet or being devastated by slugs and snails.
• Cleared the pond of watercress.
• Planted a few annual veronica in some spaces in the border
• Too wet to manage to do much else.
• Still plenty of birds feeding fledglings - one mother sparrow was clearing greenfly off to hellebores and feeding them to two impatient youngsters.

In the greenhouse

• Things are easing off a little in the greenhouse although their are still some plants waiting to be planted out.
• Potted on a couple of houseplants and shrub cuttings

Out and About

The only thing that really stood out this week was the rain, lots and lots and lots of it and driving along flooded roads.

Weekend 1 July
On the plot

The rain and wind this week has caused damage to some of the crops. Two gigantic cardoons have been flattened, the taller pea plants have been broken and the shorter ones are looking windswept as are the onions, garlic and broad beans. We were off to a good start too, but it just shows that you mustn’t count your peas ‘til they are podded. Still at least we are not knee deep in water as are many across the country.

• Picked some garden peas – first of the year – and the first baby turnip.
• Picked lots more red currants and also a whole variety of soft fruit, (including about six blueberries), to add to our fruit salads
• In between downpours of rain managed to plant some marigolds around the tomato plants – not convinced that this has any real effect but it looks attractive.  
• Also planted cabbages – Robin, lettuce - Red and Green Salad Bowl, gherkins, (we haven't grown these before), and remaining pots of gladioli.  
• Sowed seed of winter radish China Rose.  
• The rain is really making the weeds grow and the grass!  
• The slugs have had a party - with the French bean plants set out last week being the main course.  
• There are lots of tiny froglets, (pity they are smaller than the slugs), hopping around who are thriving in the wet weather which is more than can be said for us. It's got to the stage where we have to resign ourselves to getting wet or otherwise nothing will be done

In the garden

• Planted some pots of gladioli Nanus. They are smaller than the large flowered variety so good for borders.
• Collected as many slugs and snails as I could find Yuk!

In the greenhouse

 Cut back the grape vine – yet again. If left to its own devices it would take over - well by the end of the season I suppose it does take over really.

Pricked out foxgloves Excelsior hybrids for next year. This year’s were really good so just had to grow some more for next year.

Out and About

Well it rained, and - erm - it rained and it - well - it rained - oh and it thundered a bit too! Really too busy driving through floods to notice much else this week.