In my previous post, I wrote that our early potatoes had pushed through and that we were hoping that there wouldn’t be a frost. We were unlucky, as Jack Frost paid us a visit before we could earth up the young potato shoots. It no doubt came as a shock to the plants after enjoying summery daytime temperatures.
Our newly emerged potatoes were subjected to a severe battering. Some disappeared completely. We have had potatoes cut back by frost before and they have regrown, but they have never before looked as badly damaged. Things didn’t look good. To add insult to injury, potatoes elsewhere on the site didn’t look as though they had been touched. It would seem that we have our own private frost pocket.
Strangely, potatoes growing alongside some bushes were less severely damaged.
I weeded the potato beds and gave them some water. A few days later, there are signs of new growth, so we are keeping everything crossed.
We are hoping that Mr Frost doesn’t pay us another visit, as we had to plant out our dahlia plants. They were taking up space in our greenhouse that was needed for other things.
The rest of our broad beans were planted. You may think that they are planted too closely, but this always works for us and the plants give one another support.
I filled the space in one of the brassica beds with turnips.
Fruit is beginning to set, so we need to start covering plants and bushes with netting. Failure to do this means that the birds will wipe us out of fruit. The new strawberry bed was first.
We had expected the strawberry flowers would have been frosted, but happily the centres were still yellow.
A full list of things sown and planted in May is posted here
The swathes of yellow created by dandelion flowers in the park have been replaced by feathery seed heads. They are waiting to catch a waft of breeze to send them on their journey to colonise new patches of ground.
Maybe some child will help them by blowing the seed heads like we used to do. Or maybe a small dog dashing by will do the trick.
The hawthorn bushes are covered with blossom.
Other trees are also flowering. Rowan flowers are also white and showy.
On the other hand, the flowers of the oak tree are easily overlooked.
You may also notice oak apple galls on oak tree branches. These growths are formed when gall wasps lay eggs on new leaf buds. As the grubs develop, the plant grows a gall around the grub. Not only does the gall provide protection for the larva, but it is also a food supply. The developing larva feeds on the gall from the inside. The gall may be called an apple and look like an apple but I wouldn’t like to bite into one.
At Temple Newsam the azaleas are producing their annual, fiery display.
Spring is not only a time for beautiful floral displays. It’s the time for baby animals like the kids at Temple Newsam …
… and ducklings at Nostell.
We don’t often spot ducklings here. I hope mother duck looks after them well.
That’s all for this week so as always stay safe and stay well.
You’ve definitely been unlucky with the frost, we haven’t had any here. Fingers crossed that your spuds recover. Oh wow, all those dandelion seed heads. There’s a lot of hawthorn around where we live, it’s so pretty at this time of year with the May blossom.