June 2026
Sowing, Planting,Preparation & Harvesting
Week 23: 30 May – 5 June 2026
Saturday 30 May
A warm day with temperatures reaching 25.2°C.
- Planted up tomato and cucumber plants for Judy.
- Mulched the garage border using material from the compost bin.
- Sue planted out mesembryanthemums in the back border.
- Patio tubs were replanted with summer bedding after the spring bulbs had been moved to pots behind the greenhouse.
Sunday 31 May
A productive day with both morning and afternoon visits to the allotment.
Planting
- 12 Cobra French bean plants.
- 12 Lady Di runner bean plants.
- 12 Tenderstar runner bean plants.
- 2 Defender courgette plants.
Maintenance
- Watered Atomic Red, Flakkee, Romance and Sweet Candle carrots.
- All five plots were strimmed.
- Caledonian Pearl potatoes were earthed up.
Harvests
- Germidour garlic.
- White Casablanca garlic.
- Cambridge Favourite strawberries.
- Elsanta strawberries.
- Honeoye strawberries.
The total strawberry harvest weighed an impressive 1.186kg.
A harvest of over a kilogram of strawberries at the end of May is an excellent result, especially with three varieties cropping together.
Week 24: 06 June – 12 June 2026
Saturday 6th June
- Potted up tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers into their final pots in the home greenhouse.
Sunday 7th June
- Planted a wigwam of mixed beans on Plot 41.
- Watered Plots 41 and 42.
- Sue planted out all dahlia seedlings on Plot 29.
- Harvested 2 punnets of strawberries from Plot 41.
- Continued potting tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers into their final pots in the home greenhouse.
- Planted tomato plants into the raised bed at home.
Monday 8th June
- Planted the final runner bean wigwam using the variety Firestorm.
- Installed hoops ready for leeks and late brassicas.
- Sue weeded onions and carrots on Plot 30.
- Watered and fed the trial potatoes and Ulster Prince potatoes on Plot 29.
- Watered brassicas and onions on Plot 29.
- Watered sweetcorn on Plot 30.
- Fed potatoes on Plots 28 and 29.
- Harvested 5 Senshyu winter onions.
Tuesday 9th June
- Planted out brassicas on Plot 30:
- Kilaton cabbage
- Red Lodero cabbage
- Trafalgar Brussels sprouts
- Di Sicilia Violette purple cauliflower
- Sowed Gladiator and Javelin parsnips in compost-filled drills on Plot 41 using pre-chilled seed.
- Harvested 3 punnets of strawberries.
- Harvested a small punnet of volunteer potatoes from Plot 30.
- Weeded early brassica plants.
Wednesday 10th June
- Sowed additional Gladiator and Javelin parsnips to complete the third row on Plot 41.
Thursday 11th June
- No gardening activities recorded.
Rained for most of the day with a total of 10mm.
Friday 12th June
- No gardening activities recorded.
Week Highlights
- Harvested 5 punnets of strawberries.
- Harvested the first 5 Senshyu winter onions.
- Completed planting all bean wigwams.
- Completed sowing of the third parsnip row.
- Planted out surplus brassicas for autumn and winter cropping.
- Most summer crops are now in place and growing well.
Early brassicas are growing well
Harvesting details for the week
Senshyu onions
13 -19 June
📈 Weather & Soil Overview
It was a week of major contrasts, starting cold and windy, turning into a hot, humid weekend, with zero rain since the previous Thursday.
Temperature Peak: Friday 19th hit a hot .
Soil Condition: Noticeably dry across all plots despite past rainfall, exacerbated by the early-week winds and late-week heat. Rain is now urgently required.
🌾 Allotment Activity Log
Planting & Sowing
Leeks: Planted out Giant Winter (2 rows), Porbella, and Below Zero. (Flattened by Saturday’s wind, need checking).
Lettuce: Sowed 2x 6-cell punnets of Red Salad Bowl and Green Salad Bowl (left on home patio).
Spring Onions: Sowed Ramrod and Katana (Plot 28).
Beetroot: Planted Bona, Crimson King, and Cylindra seedlings into compost-lined drills (Plot 28).
Peas: Sowed Flovert and Sweet Sahara into pre-watered drills after weeding (Plot 42).
Tomatoes: Planted the last “sad-looking” Alicante and Moneymaker into the cold frame.
Maintenance & Weeding
Weeding: Completed on Carrots (Plot 41), Strawberries (Plots 28/29), Sweet Peas, and the Courgette/Squash/Sweetcorn bed (Plot 41).
Mowing/Tidying: Strimmed most allotment areas (edges still need doing). Added extra support to Sweet Peas.
Watering: Squashes (Plots 41 & 42), Greenhouse tomatoes (home & plot, also tied to canes), young allotment plants, and home beds.
🍓 Harvest Report
| Crop | Variety | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Strawberries | Not specified | 8+ punnets total across Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday. |
| Tayberries | Not specified | First few ripe berries picked Tuesday and Friday (sharing with blackbirds!). |
| Onions | Radar (Over-winter) | More pulled on Sunday. |
| Cauliflower | Zaragoza | First of the season cut on Friday—success! |
| Potatoes | Ulster Prince (First early) | Dug first root Friday. Yield a bit disappointing, but enough for the week. |
⚠️ Watchlist & Next Steps
Wind Damage: Check if the leeks have started to stand back up and check the lean on the Plot 30 bean wigwam and the damaged cardoon.
Watering: Keep a close eye on the newly sown peas and beetroot modules on Plot 28, as well as the home lettuce punnets if the heat continues.
20 - 26 June
Here’s an AI summary of the week’s gardening activities.
t sounds like you’ve been caught in a classic midsummer battle against the heat and the local wildlife! 32.8°C is blistering for garden work, so taking a break during the peak heat was definitely the right call.
To help you track everything you accomplished and what needs attention during this dry spell, I’ve broken down your log into a clear summary of your harvests, plantings, and the specific areas that are feeling the heat.
🍓 The Harvest & The Wildlife
The Wins: You successfully harvested a punnet of mixed strawberries, some tayberries, and your very first Cabbice cabbage of the year!
The Losses: The wood pigeons unfortunately raided the jostaberries before they could even ripen.
Defense: On a positive note, you managed to get the blueberry bushes covered just in time to stop the birds from doing the same to them.
🌱 Planting & Maintenance
Sowing: You finished sowing Javelin parsnips (completing the bed on plot 41) and put down two rows of Onward peas on plot 30.
Home Base: The lawn got its mow (though growth is slowing down), the greenhouse got tidied, and you prepped a new section of the back border.
💧 Watering Status & Heat Stress
With a string of 30°C+ days and 1% rain chances, watering has understandably taken up most of your energy. Here is where your irrigation stands:
A Quick Note on those Tomatoes: When temperatures soar past 30°C, tomatoes often wilt not just from a lack of soil moisture, but because the roots simply cannot pump water up to the highest leaves fast enough to match what is evaporating. If the soil is already damp, hold back on adding more water, as waterlogged roots will choke. If you can, throwing some temporary shade cloth or fleece over the greenhouse glass during the afternoon peak can give those growing tips a chance to recover.
Hopefully, you get that much-needed rain soon so you can finally get to planting that new back border section!