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Wednesday 08 May 2013
Crown Prince
Wednesday’s weather took a bit of a dip from the last couple of days. The morning
was misty with bits of light drizzle at times but the afternoon brightened up with
some sunny spells. The mild spell continued but not as warm as is had been for the
last few days.
Last year none of our squash seeds germinated. It wasn’t that only the odd seed germinated
not a single seed made any effort. Things have changed for the better this year and
all six of the Crown Prince seeds sown have germinated.
When sown I thought I’d spaced the 6 seeds out equally in the seed tray but that
doesn’t look like the case now. After last year’s failure it’s good to see them germinate
this year. Squash are good allotment plants as they can be used to fill up any spaces
left on the plot especially if they have enough space to do their own thing.
In the greenhouse there was plenty of pricking out to do. Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower
and lettuce seedlings were all pricked out into modules.
|
Date Sown
|
Date Germination
|
Days
|
Seeds Sown
|
Variety
|
Location
|
Comments
|
|
19-Apr-13
|
25-Apr-13
|
6
|
Broccoli
|
Green Calabrese
|
Greenhouse
|
Sown in 1/4 seed tray. Pricked out 08-05-2013
|
|
19-Apr-13
|
25-Apr-13
|
6
|
Cabbage
|
Kilaton
|
Greenhouse
|
Sown in 1/4 seed tray. Pricked out 08-05-2013
|
|
19-Apr-13
|
25-Apr-13
|
6
|
Cauliflower
|
Clapton F1
|
Greenhouse
|
Sown in 1/4 seed tray. Pricked out 08-05-2013
|
|
19-Apr-13
|
25-Apr-13
|
6
|
Lettuce
|
Tom Thumb
|
Greenhouse
|
Sown in 1/4 seed tray. Pricked out 08-05-2013
|
|
19-Apr-13
|
25-Apr-13
|
6
|
Lettuce
|
Webb's Wonderful
|
Greenhouse
|
Sown in 1/4 seed tray. Pricked out 08-05-2013
|
|
09-Apr-13
|
16-Apr-13
|
7
|
Lettuce
|
Little Gem
|
Greenhouse
|
Sown in 1/4 seed tray. Pricked out 08-05-2013
|
All our sowings in May together with germination times and transplanting dates can
be found here.
Thursday & Friday 09/10 May 2013
Petal Fall
Thursday’s and Friday’s weather wasn’t really anything special for May although we
did register our first rainfall of the month with 3.4mm and 2.0mm falling respectively
on the two days. Not really enough for us gardeners and with a blustery wind blowing
I don’t suspect the dampness penetrated very far down into the soil. The unsettled
weather is forecast to persist so it’s likely we’ll get some more rain over the next
few days.
Our camellias are shedding their flower petals almost as soon as they open. The path
around the plants is covered with pink blossom. We’ve had just enough rain to sort
of glue the petals together so that they aren’t blown about too much in the breezy
conditions. The magnolia is suffering the same fate!
Saturday 11 May 2013
Going Downhill
After such a promising start to May the weather has definitely taken a turn for the
worst. Saturday was the coldest day of the month with a maximum of 13.1°. With a
strong to gale force wind it wasn’t a particularly pleasant day at all. The heavy
rainfall forecast for the afternoon didn’t materialise.
Last year our Crown Prince squash seeds didn’t germinate but this year all six seeds
have germinated successfully and have been moved on from under the indoor grow light
into the greenhouse. At the same time I sowed a variety we hadn’t grown before called
Stripetti. This too was left under the indoor grow light but until today there wasn’t
any signs of germination taking place and I was beginning to think we had another
germination failure on our hands. However this morning a couple of seeds at least
have germinated.
This seedling is trying its best to push through the soil and head for daylight.
Now all four varieties of squashes that we are growing this year have germinated
we will need plenty of space on the plot for them to wander during the hot summer
months to come. Our four varieties are Crown Prince, Stripetti, Vegetable Spaghetti
and Futsu Black
Sunday 12 May 2013
Not Good for Exotics
Another naff sort of a day with drizzly bits and pieces of dampness but no proper
rain. Once again it was cool with the temperature only just making it into double
figures.
At the end of April our sweet potatoes Beauregard arrived from Dobies and were immediately
potted up and left in our cold greenhouse to grow on. They were excellent plants
when they arrived.
They did have a few cool nights to contend with in the greenhouse but one thing for
sure is that they didn’t appreciate the change from the cosseted growing environment
they had been in to my cold greenhouse. The leaves went limp as though frost damaged
and things didn’t look too promising. However, all apart from one plant now look
to have become more accustomed to the conditions and are starting to produce some
new leaves.
I’m as sure as I can be that this one hasn’t survived but it is the the only one.
All the other are starting to make new leaves so I have high hopes that they will
now survive.
As I was coming out of the greenhouse having taken photographs of the sweet potatoes
I noticed this on our apricot tree.
Could it possibly be what I think it is? I couldn’t find any more so if it goes on
to maturity we might have to share. There’s an awful long way to go before that happens
and I could always be mistaken. It wouldn’t be the first time!
Monday 13 May 2013
Why Isn’t It Warmer?
We had over 6 hours of sunshine on Monday but it was still the coldest day of the
month with the temperature managing only 13.1°C. I thought the idea was that the
weather got milder through May not colder. Not only was it cold we also had gale
force winds to accompany the occasion heavy squally showers.
In the greenhouse I managed to transplant some of our squash and courgette seedlings
which are growing quickly now. These will certainly need the weather to improve before
they are planted out on the plot.
Our sweet peas had their tops pinched out to encourage them to grow into bushy plants
instead of producing one long main stem. The before and after pictures are below.
So far this year we haven’t suffered from slug and snail damage in the greenhouse.
A warning yesterday not to let my guard down as under one of the trays of sweet peas
I found this menace in hiding.
After suitable butchering it was put out of the greenhouse for an easy meal for our
resident blackbirds. I had a look under all the other trays and a check in the cold
frame but didn’t find any more slugs or snails. I’m not expecting this pest to be
about in such limited numbers for much longer. Perhaps the last few weeks of dry
weather have reduced their numbers for a while.
Tuesday 14 May 2013
Potato Shoots for a Short While
Another cool day for May with some morning sunshine giving way to more cloud in the
afternoon. Light drizzle set in late in the afternoon which turned into more persistent
rain later in the evening.
We’d decided to do some work on the plot in the afternoon provided it wasn’t tipping
down with rain. As we usually do we have a quick look around the plot as soon as
we arrive to check on progress. A few of our potatoes have broken cover but they
might just be a little early as more frosts are predicted for later in the week.
These are our first earlies Swift on the right and Vales Emerald. Some of our later
varieties Winston, Nicola and Nadine were through as well. Before we left these tender
new shoots were covered with soil giving them a little bit of protection against
any late frosts.
We managed a little harvest before the drizzle forced us to leave early. Rhubarb
and cauliflowers fairly standard for this time of year but I also found a few spring
onions “White Lisbon” and beetroot “Boltardy” that had been covered in straw over
winter. It will be interesting to see if these cook and taste okay.
