The drought continues and hosepipe bans have already been introduced in some parts of the country. I suspect it won’t be long before one reaches us too, and then we’ll be back to lugging watering cans around, making the daily watering routine even more time-consuming and muscle straining.
As if the lack of rain wasn’t enough, the weekend also brought strong drying winds, sucking even more moisture from the ground and attempting to undo all our efforts
Last week I mentioned finding roe deer droppings on the allotment. We were amazed by the discovery. We’d have loved to catch a glimpse of our unexpected visitors, but we didn’t fancy making regular night-time or dawn trips to the plot in the hope of being there at just the right moment.
Instead, we decided to take a chance and set up our trail camera. As we’ve had thefts on the allotment site in the past, we were almost as worried about the camera disappearing as we were excited about what it might capture.
Home and Garden
We are managing to provide enough water to keep our new borders and patio tubs looking good, but elsewhere in the garden some plants are beginning to shrivel. We simply can’t give everything the amount of water it would like.
The lawns have all but disappeared, leaving hard, dry ground where green grass should be.
There are no tomatoes to harvest yet but we are being kept supplied with mini cucumbers.
Wildlife must also be struggling to find water, so I’ve been leaving shallow dishes out around the garden. Our trail camera has captured both a fox and hedgehogs taking advantage of the much-needed drinks.
At the Allotment
Watering remains one of our main tasks. Unfortunately, artificial watering is no substitute for steady rainfall. Rather than producing the lush growth we’d normally expect at this time of year, we’re really just keeping plants alive and growing well enough to provide modest harvests.
Martyn continues to lift potatoes as the tops have now died back. There is little point in leaving them in the ground any longer. Most of the tubers are disappointingly small and the overall yields are well below what we’d normally expect.
Usually, once the potatoes have been lifted, Martyn digs over the beds ready for next season. This year, however, the ground is like concrete and impossible to dig.
Potatoes dislike prolonged periods of high temperatures, particularly when the soil becomes hot during a drought. Instead of putting their energy into producing tubers, the plants concentrate on simply surviving.
The climbing bean flowers are now beginning to set, so perhaps giving them copious amounts of water and regularly spraying the flowers has paid off. The French beans are producing well and the runner beans are just beginning to form.
Despite the difficult conditions, we still gathered a few welcome harvests, including some delicious ripe plums
On Thursday afternoon we positioned the trail camera in what we hoped was a fairly well-hidden spot. When we returned on Friday, our first concern wasn’t whether it had captured anything, but whether it was still there. Thankfully, it was.
We assumed the memory card would probably contain little more than the odd pigeon or perhaps a passing cat so it was with low expectations that we started to view the results.
What a surprise! The camera had captured several clips of a roe deer. Whether it was the same deer making repeated visits or more than one animal, we have no idea.
As if that wasn’t enough, there was also footage of a fox passing by. In one clip, the fox actually appeared to be startled by something. Maybe it had come face to face with the deer.
We couldn’t believe that our first attempt with the trail camera had been so successful. Who would have thought that there’s so much night time activity on an allotment?
I just hope that the deer stick to eating the weeds and not food meant for us.
Out and About
Nostell
We decided on a morning walk at Nostell, partly because temperatures could rise during the afternoon and partly because the school summer holidays had begun, meaning it was likely to become much busier later in the day.
You may remember that a huge bough was ripped from one of the impressive trees. Last week we noticed that, as a result, the damaged tree had now been heavily pruned. It was rather sad to see such a splendid tree reduced so drastically, although I’m hoping the new growth will sprout from what remains over the coming years.
The meadow had already been mown. Usually, the cut grass is left lying for several days to dry before it is baled and taken away for storage. This year, the grass was already so dry that the whole operation seemed to happen in one go, underlining just how little rain we’ve had.
As usual, we wandered down to the lake to check on the swan family. Sadly, one of the cygnets was missing. I would have thought they were old enough to have a good chance of survival by now, so I’m hoping it had simply become separated from the rest of the family and will reappear.
Ruby deserved a reward after enduring a shower and grooming sessions earlier in the week.
She loves chasing a ball, so we decided to let her have a game at the start of our walk rather than at the end. As lunchtime approached and more visitors began arriving, it proved to be a good decision.
Finally
Despite the endless watering, this week will probably be remembered for one special moment. We had hoped the trail camera might capture a glimpse of our elusive night-time visitors, but never really expected it to work first time. It was a real thrill to watch the roe deer wandering around the allotment after dark, and spotting the fox was an unexpected bonus.
The camera has now been brought safely home—it was a risk worth taking once, but not one we’ll be repeating any time soon. For now the camera will watch over the garden.
As always until next time stay safe and stay well.
