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July Brings ~ Wild Wind and Heavy Rain ~ 25th and 26th July

30/7/2015

Windswept Asparagus Fern.

Windswept Courgettes with Butternut Squashes

A very windy Saturday with an incredible night, we experienced astonishing non-stop winds battering everything on the house and in the garden. I re-visited the allotment expecting to find much devastation. However to my surprise and relief there was very little wind damage to be seen.

The worst hit area were my asparagus beds, the wind had gusted in this direction and almost blown some of the ferns over. Fortunately I have spent some time staking these ferns, and this precaution saved the fragile plants. I was able to repair the damage and strengthen the support canes.
A neighbour who also grows asparagus didn't stake his and they are leaning over almost on the ground, without a chance of restructuring.
I also noticed some wind-burn damage to my bean wigwams, I remember this happening last year, however the bean plants still produced prolifically.
Overall I was fortunate enough to weather the storm, but Tony my next door neighbour suffered some severe damage to his bean frame and cold frames.

Runner Bean Wigwams~ Survivors of the storm

I grew a few marigolds from seed to use as companion plants for my Brassicas, the pungent smell emitted by the marigold is thought to ward off aphids and black fly. Last year I had a terrible problem with whiteflies all over my cabbages and cauliflowers, even though I gave them a vigorous shake to get rid of the pests before I took them home, some managed to stick. I have heard that planting nasturtiums works the other way by attracting the aphids away from beans as the odours from the flowers are more attractive to them.

Seed drills ~ Beetroot and Radish

I managed to sow a couple of rows of beetroot seeds that will be ready to harvest in October, just in time for Margaret to pickle them for Christmas.
I also sowed some radishes as we have had no luck with radishes so far this year.
My courgettes are still doing well and the yellow variety are outstripping the green variety this year, we have given a lot away to people at the bowls club. Margaret has made some delicious courgette soup and has roasted some of them to add to the array of vegetables on our plates.

I snapped a couple of lovely pictures of this very pretty tortoiseshell butterfly on my leek beds, drying its wings in the watery early morning sun.

Freshly planted Leeks and a Tortoiseshell Butterfly

I am exploring the idea of growing some green manure on some of the empty beds on the allotment. I am intensely interested in a particular plant that has had a good write up in a Sheringham magazine named, PHACELIA TANACETIFOLIA. I have looked up some suppliers on the Internet and to my horror the delivery charges are more than the cost of a packet of seeds. I will have to try my local hardware shop before I invest that heavily. I am jotting down these few hints for successful growing of green manure.

(1) Sow or broadcast the seeds.
(2) Chop the foliage down and leave it to wilt.
(3) Dig plants and foliage into top 25cm of soil.
After digging in, the site should be left for two weeks or more before sowing seeds or planting. Decaying manure can harm plant growth.

Suggested varieties.
(1) Buckwheat ~~ best sown April to August. Good for nutrient-poor soils
(2) Mustard ~~ Should not be followed by Brassicas. ~~ Mustard is a member of the family
(3) Grazing Rye ~ Good for soil structure and overwintering well ~ Sow August to November.

I like the idea of PHACELIA TANACETIFOLIA though as it has so many plus factors.

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General updates ~ 13th and 14th July

15/7/2015

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Tuesday 13th July
I arrived at about 7am and pottered about at first, as usual tidying up and watering the pots and the seedbeds. I gathered quite a large harvest of courgettes and a punnet of Loganberries. Margaret had asked if I would bring home some potatoes and I dug out almost the whole bed. They are not too bad for early spuds, good sized potatoes and a good number of them. The allotment is doing very well this year and I am very pleased with the results. I am thinking of buying a couple of packets of green manure seed this year to grow and dig the green goodness into the soil. I have not done that on this allotment. They was a slight rain shower while I was working but I didn't stop work.

Monday 14th July
I met up with my friend David the postman on the allotment this morning, we discussed many things connected to gardening. I made him a present of three blackberry plants that have self-seeded and grown right next to my compost heap. These plants have had a very good start in life by growing in the rich nourishment provided by the compost that has rotted down in the bin. I fed my tomatoes with some tomorite, tomato feed, this is the first nourishment they have received as they have just begun to flower, I expect some good results from my tomatoes this year. My main plan for the day was to remove the nets from the strawberry beds and weed the beds, before the weeds run riot and out of control. I found quite a few luscious strawberries hidden under the leaves, this was a very welcome bonus. I harvested a couple of very nice cabbages for Margaret and watered the seed-beds and the pots. I also took my fiend Barry's advice and I watered my potato beds, I think there is a lot of truth in what he says about farmers watering their potatoes before anything else.

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Asparagus Beds ~9th July 2015

11/7/2015

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ALLOTMENT
We had a lot of glorious rain yesterday. The allotment was looking beautifully soaking wet and happily healthy when I arrived. I did not have to water anything at all and I was able to get straight down to work.

Asparagus Fern

My main job of the day was to concentrate on my Asparagus beds.
(1) A total clear up and removal of the weeds.
(2) Harvest the wonderful onion crop that I have cultivated as a catch crop.
(3) Stake up the ferns with bamboo canes to give them some support from the ever fierce Norfolk winds.

When I finally finish those jobs I will feed the very healthy looking Asparagus plants with a sprinkling of Growmore along the sides of the beds to encourage some growth in the roots for next years crop.
We have had the best year ever for Asparagus, I love the flavour of the fresh spears dipped in a garlic sauce prepared by Margaret using some of our home-grown garlic.

Hollyhocks

I trimmed back these beautiful Hollyhocks I grew from seed two years ago. They are growing wonderfully well tall and strong. A good cover and camouflage to hide my compost bins.

I picked a few more Loganberries, this has been another marvellous year for fruit. We still have the Blackberries and Raspberries to come.

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A STORMY START TO SATURDAY ~ 4th July 2015

7/7/2015

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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.

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.

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John~~Battling with the elements, pests and diseases in my struggle to keep the garden growing. A constant daily struggle that will be recorded here.

Gardening is such a delightful pastime. I spend time on my allotment almost every day of my life, and the sensation of pure satisfaction never ceases to amaze me. I get so much out of this pleasure, I think the benefits are so huge that the government should legislate and make it more available to everyone. I will list just some of the obvious reasons here. ~~
1) Fresh fruit and vegetables and other produce.
2) Fresh air and an intense feeling of getting close to Nature.
3) Healthy exercise without the necessity of machines that are found inside a gym.
4) The satisfaction obtained by growing plants and watching and caring for them through to maturity.
5) A regular occupation that you can make into a routine, somewhere to go to at a certain time every day.
6) The companionship of like-minded people, with whom you can get ideas and swap tips on your mutual interests.

There is peace of mind in a garden

July Brings ~ Wild Wind and Heavy Rain ~ 25th and 26th July

General updates ~ 13th and 14th July

Asparagus Beds ~9th July 2015

A STORMY START TO SATURDAY ~ 4th July 2015

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