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Sunday 08 July 2012
Tomato Flowers
Sunday had a few short sunny spells but it was mostly cloudy with more rain in the afternoon.
At last the greenhouse tomatoes have some flowers giving us some hope that they might eventually produce some tomatoes.
These are Gardener’s Delight growing in the plot greenhouse. Our first ripe tomato last year was picked on the 22nd July. Somehow I have the feeling it will be much later than that this year.
Monday 09 July 2012
Lettuce Survives
Monday was another wet and cloudy day. The morning wasn’t too bad and it tempted me down to the plot to attempt to mow the grass paths which have grown at a phenomenal rate with all the rain.
I managed about half an hour before it began to rain. I’d spent most of my time emptying the grass box rather than mowing as the grass had grown so long. The rain soon started to become heavy and I decided to abandon any hope of finishing the job.
Before I left the plot I harvested a couple of lettuces, our first of the season. Little Gem Dazzle is on the left and a Little Gem on the right of the picture. I’m amazed that they appear undamaged from slugs, snails or torrential rain. I’ve become accustomed to lettuces just rotting away in damp conditions similar to these. Perhaps because they haven’t been accustomed to any luxurious dry warm weather they’ve actually survived all this rain. Whatever the reason I’m not complaining.
Tuesday 10 July 2012
A Dry Day Would be Welcome
Tuesday was another wet and cool day. We didn’t have that much rain just 3.4mm but it was damp all day with light rain on and off and not a hint of sunshine.
Apart from the first day of the month it’s rained every day so far.
As you can see from this picture clipped from my weather station screen at 07:33 on Wednesday morning the storm total is shown as 77.8mm. A spell of 24 hours without rain is required to reset the storm total to zero. So we’ve had the equivalent of almost two months rainfall this month without a dry 24 hour period.
If the forecast is correct it might not rain on Wednesday and Thursday which would be a welcome break in the dreadful weather.
The rainfall has caused some serious flooding around West Yorkshire especially around Hebden Bridge. Click on the news video to see the flash flooding at its worst.
Wednesday 11 July 2012
Almost There
Wednesday almost produced our first rain free day since the beginning of the month. A little bit of mid morning drizzle put a dampener on things to start with but the afternoon was pretty good with no rain and some decent sunny spells.
The plot needs a few dry days for the soil to dry out before it can be cultivated. Any digging done now would be counter productive besides being extremely hard work. Still it didn't rain on us which is rather a novelty at the moment so at least we could do some weeding, grass cutting and harvesting.
Thursday 12 July 2012
Made It - A Rain Free Day
Thursday was our first rain free day for 10 days. It was a pleasant sunny day although surprisingly the temperature never managed 20°C despite the sunshine. It was cool over night too with the temperature falling to 9.5°C.
After a slow start we’re now managing a decent harvest on each visit to the plot. The main casualty of the wet weather has been the strawberries. The last week has seen most of the fruit turn mouldy on the plants or be eaten by the masses of slugs and snails that are about.
Whilst our tayberries have been battered by the rain spoiling the berries our raspberries have stood up to the weather better. The Glen Ample and Glen Magna bushes have a thicket of new canes growing which I think has helped protect the berries.
I also made a start on taming one of our over grown beds that was originally planted with perennial flowers primarily for cut flowers. After several years it has become a bed of large perennial weeds which have swamped the flowers. The only option is to clear the bed and start again.
Stage one strimming is completed. At least now it’s possible to see just what needs doing and we can start removing weeds and digging over the bed. The laurel bush visible at the top of the picture is next in line for the lopping and sawing treatment. It was planted to give some protection against the wind but it’s grown rather too large and will have to be “trimmed” back.
Friday 13 July 2012
Just the One!
Well it rained again on Friday so the dry spell of one day came to an end. It was cool and cloudy all day with not even a hint of any sunshine. A maximum daytime temperature of only 14.6°C made it the coldest of the month. Roll on summer!
We did have an afternoon walk along the canal side at Woodlesford locks beside the Aire and Calder Navigation. The skies were overcast as you can see and no sooner had we finished our walk and got back into the car to head home when the rain began to fall again.
Saturday 14 July 2012
Sowing More Lettuce
Saturday wasn’t too bad as this summer goes. There was a little rain over night and some drizzle late in the afternoon but through the rest of the day we had some pleasant sunny spells.
My last sowing of lettuce just doesn’t want to grow. It was left in the cold frame to germinate on the grounds that lettuce won’t germinate if temperatures are too high which might be the case in the greenhouse.
These were sown on 18th June and had germinated by 26th June. My Webb’s Wonderful and Lolla Rossa were devastated by slugs and snails but some slug pellets have deterred them a little from attacking these Little Gems and Little Gem Dazzle. But three weeks after germinating they just don't seem to be making an effort to grow. Perhaps they’ve just been too wet and waterlogged in all the rain.
I’ve sown some more seeds of each variety and put them under the indoor grow light to geminate. Perhaps giving them a good start will help. Whilst I was in seed sowing mood I did some spring cabbage “Flowers of Spring” which with any luck should be ready for planting out by September time.
Our final winter cabbages were also planted into modules to grow on before planting out. These are a savoy cabbage “Alaska” which we are growing for the first time this year.