{"id":36454,"date":"2025-07-05T17:04:41","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T16:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/?p=36454"},"modified":"2025-07-07T12:46:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T11:46:20","slug":"i-need-a-new-rain-dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ossettweather.com\/gardening2022\/susan\/i-need-a-new-rain-dance\/","title":{"rendered":"I need a new rain dance"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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My rain dance either wasn’t strong enough or my execution wasn’t good enough.<\/p>

We had a couple of false starts, but nothing that amounted to much, just light showers that temporarily wet the surface.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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From above, the grass paths at the allotment look more like sandy tracks.<\/p>

There is still no sign of the council investigating our water problem!<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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We finally managed to plant out the leeks. Before this was possible we had to pour several cans of water onto the bare earth. To plant leeks, we usually scoop out a trench and create planting holes along the bottom in which to drop the leeks. As the leeks grow, the trench gradually fills to produce a greater depth of soil and consequently a longer white section to the shaft. This year, we had to settle for just creating the holes.<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

Since the leeks went in we have been subjected to strong, gusty winds,\u00a0 so the leeks have been flattened.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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On a more positive note, you may remember that all our buddleia leaves were shrivelled and twisted. I didn’t expect them to produce flowers; however, the new leaves look healthy enough, and we do have flowers.<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

The bees and butterflies are enjoying browsing the flowers …<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0… also those of the lavender…<\/p>

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… and verbena.<\/p>

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So far, other than the ubiquitous white butterflies that patrol the coverings over the brassicas looking for an entry point, I’ve only spotted commas.<\/p>

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Despite the dryness, we are still managing to harvest something each time we visit the plot.<\/p>

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1 July – courgettes and sweet peas<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The sweet peas still have very short stems.<\/p>

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2 July – broad beans and courgettes<\/figcaption><\/figure>

I’m trying to catch the courgettes whilst they are small. No doubt they will soon outrun me.<\/p>

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5 July – gooseberries, blackcurrants, blueberries and courgettes,<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Picking berries is very time-consuming, especially when I need to creep under netting.<\/p>

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July 6 – courgettes, potatoes, cauliflowers, sweet peas and dahlias<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Like the sweet peas, the dahlias had short stems. The cauliflowers were very small and the potato yield was modest. On the other hand, the courgettes are thriving.<\/p>

Video of potato harvest here<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Last week I\u00a0 used some of our courgettes, parsley, onion and garlic along with frozen green beans and peas in a vegetable paella.\"\"<\/p>

I use some of our cabbage, onion, courgette and garlic in a chicken dish based on this recipe.<\/a><\/p>

\"\"I used chicken pieces rather than turkey mince and stock instead of water. l also added a green and a yellow courgette.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ruby had a shorter walk on Monday. As we were expecting it to be hot, we had a short morning walk in the park.<\/p>

We made up for this later in the week with a long walk at Clumber Park.<\/p>

There, they were also suffering from a lack of rain. Part of the field near where we parked the car was virtually bare earth. \"\"<\/p>

The walled garden gave the impression of an end-of-summer garden<\/p>

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The orchard area looked more like a hay meadow.<\/p>

\"\"We had a chat with one of the gardeners who told us that the only watering they were doing was in the glasshouse and anything newly planted. She went in to say that they may have to consider not planting anything that couldn’t cope with drought conditions. This seemed rather a premature decision based on the conditions this year. Next year could just as easily be a wet year. Several years ago, when we had a similar summer, we went to a garden show where they were advocating growing drought-loving plants. The year after, at the same show, the pathways were flooded. Our climate has always been unpredictable, so we won’t be changing our gardening habits<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a0<\/p>

In the middle of one of the lakes at Clumber Park was a sort of refuge.\"\"<\/p>

If we zoom in, we can see that an egret is sharing the space with a group of black headed gulls.\u00a0 \"\"Black headed gulls are really misnamed as their faces are actually dark brown in spring and summer rather than black. They do look black from a distance though.<\/p>

Lots of weed was floating on the lakes. Presumable lack of rain means that the water is still and weed can take hold more easily.<\/p>

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\u00a0On dry land, a troop of greylag geese was heading to a different area to browse.<\/p>

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I guess they are finding it difficult to find any fresh grass.<\/p>

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Sweet chestnut trees still bear lots of flowers despite dead flowers littering the ground. Their flowers are not as spectacular as the horse chestnuts but on the plus side their nuts are edible. Despite their similar names the two species belong to completely different plant groups.<\/p>

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Update.: The rain dance may be kicking in. Last night we had rain, not a tremendous amount, but it was a start. We had hoped that it would continue all night but that was not to be.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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That’s all for this week, as always, stay safe and stay well.<\/p>

I am joining Dave for Harvest Monday<\/a> over on his Our Happy Acres blog.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My rain dance either wasn’t strong enough or my execution wasn’t good enough. We had a couple of false starts, but nothing that amounted to much, just light showers that temporarily wet the surface. From above, the grass paths at the allotment look more like sandy tracks. There is still no sign of the council 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