A STORMY START TO SATURDAY
The heat of an unusual summer's day was intense, the scorching sun dried up the soil in the garden as the long hot evening passed into night. In the very early hours, a tremendous crash and a bang exploded to wake up the whole household. The lightening flashed and lit up the bedroom after an incredible clap of thunder that seemed to shake the very foundations of the house. Then another lightening bolt delivered a flash that lit up the early hours of the morning, followed by a tremendous crash of thunder. The rain came teeming down pitter-pattering on the pavements and the glass windows. A long few days of a heatwave had finally culminated in a fearsome storm. 'This should do the garden the world of good,' I thought as I opened the curtains to view the lightening and the very welcome rain teeming down, The storm passed over very quickly and the quiet of the early morning returned.
The heat of an unusual summer's day was intense, the scorching sun dried up the soil in the garden as the long hot evening passed into night. In the very early hours, a tremendous crash and a bang exploded to wake up the whole household. The lightening flashed and lit up the bedroom after an incredible clap of thunder that seemed to shake the very foundations of the house. Then another lightening bolt delivered a flash that lit up the early hours of the morning, followed by a tremendous crash of thunder. The rain came teeming down pitter-pattering on the pavements and the glass windows. A long few days of a heatwave had finally culminated in a fearsome storm. 'This should do the garden the world of good,' I thought as I opened the curtains to view the lightening and the very welcome rain teeming down, The storm passed over very quickly and the quiet of the early morning returned.
A couple of hours later found me on the allotment, the rain had soaked the top soil and the plants were looking quite healthy and happy to be soaked. Although the ground looked very wet and soaked there was not real penetration of moisture into the sub soil, just below the surface.
I grew some beautiful leek plants in a pot in our back garden and as these were ready to be transplanted into the allotment, I got to work clearing and hoeing a bed in preparation. The subsoil, just below the surface was very dry and dusty as I had suspected. I made 32 holes in the bed using my personal dibber, which is a long-handled hoe in reality. I think this is the most labour saving way of making holes there is, as the height of the handle saves bending and I can get a nice deep hole by leaning on the handle. Then I placed one leek plant into each hole and in the time-honoured way that has been passed on to me by my friends from allotments past, I filled each hole with water from a watering can. This sends the precious water right down to the roots where it can do the most good, and brings the soil from the inside of the hole down to cover the roots. Then I finished by watering the top of the whole bed with a watering-can.
I dug some more new potatoes and onions with a cabbage, and I picked some beautiful Loganberries to take home to Margaret.
I dug some more new potatoes and onions with a cabbage, and I picked some beautiful Loganberries to take home to Margaret.
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