As we were treated to some much needed rain, we had a reprieve from watering duties. This freed up time for us to start catching up on some jobs on the allotment that had been put on hold or unavoidably neglected due to the time taken watering.
I planted more calabrese, some sprouts and savoy cabbage. Our brassica bed is filling up nicely. Despite the rain, in anticipation of more hot dry weather, I still filled planting holes with water prior to planting. I also added lime when planting to try and cut down the chance of club root. As we have had club root affecting our brassicas, we also try to stick to club root resistant varieties. A list of the varieties that we grow is posted here.
Martyn planted some mangetout and tall growing peas. These were grown from seeds that we saved from last year. Our YouTube friends Bill and Val sent us some Kent Blue and Ne Plus Ultra peas a couple of years ago.
They also sent seeds from their Pongo French beans which we planted out earlier but to simplify things we also sowed more seeds so we could plant a few more Pongos just to harvest seeds for next year. I planted these in our second parsnip bed in a gap where the pre chitted seeds had failed to grow.
Our first sowing of peas have now produced plenty of pods so we should soon be gathering our first harvest.
Our first sowing of broad beans have also produced plenty of pods.
As we like to harvest beans whilst they are quite small we have picked our first lot.
Harvests are generally on the increase so time needs to be set aside for picking, digging up, pulling, cutting and gathering.
As well as planting and harvesting we weeded beds and strimmed the grass. The crops are growing much better after the rainfall but the grass and weeds have enjoyed the rain too.
One meal in which I used some of our homegrown vegetables was a vegetable pasta dish. Into this went some of our onion, courgette, basil and from the freezer, leeks and peppers. I added some courgette and mushrooms to the recipe and didn’t blitz the sauce as we prefer for our veg not to be hidden.
We managed to fit in our regular walks with Ruby. A local park has rows of lime trees bordering a pathway. These are now full of flower. Despite the flowers being, as is often the case with tree flowers, small and insignificant, they produce very strong perfume.
On our visit to Temple Newsam we enjoyed seeing lots of ducklings.
At Nostell we were pleased to see that all six cygnets are still thriving.
Hopefully, they are now big enough to avoid falling prey to the heron that is a frequent visitor to the lake.
To finish we spotted two new wild flowers in the meadow – knapweed and yarrow. There were pink and white yarrow flowers which are the wild cousins of the achilleas that we grow in our gardens.
That’s all for this week and as always stay safe and well until next time,
Once again, I am linking to Dave’s Harvest Monday on his Our Happy Acres blog.
Loving that heron. Fab harvests, especially the cabbage. Good to have more veg going in the ground.xxx
I’m not sure the fish would agree, Dina
You have nice and tidy cabbage patches, Sue. It’s good that it doesn’t get sick with keel. Your harvest is very good, the peas have grown big. I also planted peas this year, but they have not bloomed yet. We had a cold spring. And now it was dry, but today it is raining.
I like your photos of ducklings and swans, it’s good that they are all alive. Strawberries look juicy and delicious.
I think keel is what we call club root, Nadeda. The brassicas do sometimes get it but we buy resistant varieties and also put lime in the planting hole which helps.
We still haven’t had very much rain to speak of, even though we keep being promised it in the forecast. It’s supposed to be raining today but it’s just a bit dull. Still warm though.
WE seem to be getting a few spits and spots, Jo but no rain that does any good.
On the subject of lavender I unexpectedly found myself helping to plant a patch of 126 plants last Saturday! Back home I was happy to be harvesting mange tout (Oregon Sugar Pod) broad beans (The Sutton)and a surprise outdoor mini cucumber (La Diva) ! With the rain proving more than a flash in the pan I have high hopes of starting to harvest potatoes as soon as July arrives.
THat’s an early cucumber, Ma[
I love lavender. \yours is lovely. What will you do with it? Two years ago I planted a lavender edge and is just coming into its own now. I think I must write about it in a forthcoming entry myself.. Your harvest may have been late in coming, but it’s certainly looking the business now. Sadly, as you say, that the first sign of rain, the weeds start to grow as well as everything else.
I sometimes pick the lavender but usually I just enjoy looking at it growing and feeding the bees, Debbie
I love lavender. \yours is lovely. What will you do with it? Two years ago I planted a lavender edge and is just coming into its own now. I think I must write about it in a forthcoming entry myself.. Your harvest may have been late in coming, but it’s certainly looking the business now. Sadly, as you say, that the first sign of rain, the weeds start to grow as well as everything else.
The lavender is indeed lovely! I’ve not grown broad beans so I can’t imagine how they would taste. And I like to see my veggies too!
It’s always difficult to describe a taste, Dave
Oh your lavender is lovely. I’m using my lavender for lavender shortbread cookies this week. I see you also plant your brassicas close together. I usually put them about 15 inches apart. They shade out weeds and hold soil moisture. Lovely sweet peas and strawberries. Happy you received rain. We have a trip planned to the UK next May. So looking forward to it.
If you find yourself in West Yorkshire, pop in for a vivist Sue