We had some wetness last week, but I wouldn’t say it actually rained. We had very short-lived showers that wet the pavements, but unlike where my sister lives – 10 miles away – there were no puddles. 
At times, it looked as though rain was on its way, but it never really made it. One day at the allotment, for a very short time, we had very fine drizzle which felt more akin to standing in a cloud. We also had a couple of short, sharp showers when we were at the plot on Sunday, but they were over very quickly and the ground soon dried up. There was nothing that had any effect on our parched soil. To make matters worse, we have had drying wind. The watering can is still being kept busy.
Watering is a problem on our site. If two people are trying to fill cans at the same time, either both taps produce only a trickle, or the flow from one tap stops completely. This causes much frustration, to say the least. The council is supposed to be sending someone out to assess the problem, but meanwhile, we struggle on.
To rub salt into the wound, we have just received our allotment bills and the charge for water has almost doubled and is now £35.60 per plot. I did suggest that maybe we should have a discount as our water supply isn’t fit for purpose, but the water charge is set by a company outside of the council, so that request fell on stony ground.
Despite the lack of moisture, we still need to get plants into the ground. Planting takes longer as planting holes need to be filled with water to give the newly planted plants a chance of growing.
We always have tomato plants left over after the greenhouses are planted up. These plants are planted in an old coldframe. The plants are not the best of specimens but usually grow away and produce a crop..
We have planted two lots of runner beans and two lots of climbing French beans up teepees made with the hazel poles that are obtained when we cut down our hazel bushes.
These have been interplanted with courgettes.
We planted some more cabbages, cauliflowers and early sprouting broccoli. We covered the bed with butterfly netting. Some of our enviromesh is becoming holey and it has become very expensive to replace so we are trying netting as an alternative.
We sowed three varieties of sweetcorn and one batch was planted out.
The other two varieties will be planted far enough away to avoid cross-pollination.
A few more strawberries were ready.
We also cut a cabbage that had been planted last autumn and survived the winter.
We had a couple of afternoons at Nostell but the family of swans were on the far side of the lake so we didn’t see the cygnets
Being school holidays, it was very busy so I guess the birds were keeping their brood well away.
On our walks, I had to be satisfied with taking photos of trees and flowers,
The lime trees have flower buds, whereas the sycamores have already produced seeds.
Lacy cow parsley is spilling from verges and hedge bottoms.
Wild elder has lovely plates of tiny white flowers whereas the flowers of the black elder planted on the allotment are pink. We once made elderflower cordial and popped a sprig of pink flowers in with the white ones which produced a pale pink drink.
Finally, a cautionary tale. When we bought our bluebells, several corms or bulbs were included in the package, as a gift. They were unnamed, so I contacted the supplier and was informed that they were camassias.
.
When the plants grew, it was obvious that these were not camassias. A search on the internet identified them as a variety of wood sorrel. There was a warning that the plants are extremely toxic to both humans and pets. All parts of the plant are toxic if ingested and the sap is a skin irritant. Further reading revealed that wild wood sorrel is also toxic. Ruby doesn’t generally eat plants – just sniffs at them, but to be safe, we will be keeping her well away from any type of sorrel. I did contact the supplier, but have had no response. Sellers really should know which plants are toxic and make sure that the people they supply have this information. It also emphasises the need to keep a watchful eye on your dog when out for a walk.
Ruby is in for a busy week this week. Don’t tell her but the groomer is paying her a visit.
That’s all for this week so as always stay safe and stay well.
Once again, I am joining Harvest Monday on Dave’s Our Happy Acres blog.
I hope yesterday’s rain has made up for the dry weather. Although your plot is looking great already and those strawberries! Yum!
Not really any rain here Belinda, we seem to be a rain free zone.
That is a shame about the watering situation. Those strawberries look great though!
Iy;s so frustrating, Dave
We were in the UK last May and enjoyed seeing the Cow Parsley everywhere. We call it Queen Anne’s Lace, a better name I think. Your runner bean poles and plantings are beautiful. Looks like you are off to a good start but do need rain.
We call the cultibated variety Queen Anne’s lace Sue
It took a few false starts but my 300lt water barrel filled up in a few hours it rained so heavy.
Lucky you, Debbie