Life is a roller coaster
So summer has been a non event
and at the time of writing we still await team GB’s first gold medal. So here
are a few highs and lows from the allotment plot.
A few weeks ago the blight did
for my tomatoes. Brown patches appeared on the leaves, and stems, idid not wait
to see how far it would develop and as I share tunnel space and not wishing to
be the cause of further infection, I took the drastic step of removing the
fourty or so plants and burning them.
Normally blight tends to infect
tomatoes and potatoes grown in open ground, but as I said my plants were under
cover, with this summer being so wet and humid the blight virus is so active it
is affecting plants grown in doors.
All was not lost as I had a
dozen pepper plants ready for potting up, so the ground was cleared and prepted
and the peppers planted. I will also sow a mixture of winter salads and herbs
to grow on for use later when the weather out side gets to cold.
It would seem that this summer
has been a wash out and all of the things we hoped for on the plot have not
neccesary worked out. First of all small seed would not germinate and even when
vegatables like spinach did start to grow it soon ran to seed.
But this can be turned in to a
plus, for allowing some herbs and flowers to do this can be a positive, such as
caraway, dill , fennel and poppys can all be havested dried and either used
next year for sowing or be used in the kitchen.
But all is not lost, the weath
weather has helped to settle in the new raspberries planted earlier this year
now is the time to remove spent canes on summer-fruiting raspberries and
loganberries and train in the new for next year.
Autumn fruiting raspberries can
be cut back later aftre fruiting.
Also new fruit trees have been
able to get there feet well in and are set to grow away next
year.
This year I have grown all of
my onions and shallots from seed and though the start was slow they are now
beginning to move away. I sowed three or four seeds per modual and did not thin
but planted out each cluster 6 inches apart and am now very gently pulling the
largest for current use and allowing
the others to grow on for lifting later to eat during the winter.
In the past I have grown onions from sets, these are heat treated
baby onions, and in general yealds have been good they tend not to store to
well and rot.
This technique of growing is a method I learnt from Charles Dowding
the new vegatable guru. And so far apeares to work, I shall leyou know if we
are eating onions through the winter.
Sowing
and planting
- There is still time
to sow quick maturing salad crops such as summer lettuce, radish, sorrel,
chicory and fennel, rocket. These can be sown between rows of winter
vegetables like leeks and kale.
- Continue to sow
spring cabbage, turnips, Oriental vegetables .
General
care
- Irregular watering
can lead to problems with blossom end rot in tomatoes, splitting of root
vegetables and flower abortion in runner beans. Help prevent this by
watering well during dry spells.
- Weeds can also
compete with vegetables for water, and act as hosts for pests and
diseases, so remove regularly by hoeing and weeding.
- Marrows should be
raised off the ground slightly, to prevent them rotting from contact with
the soil. Some older leaves can be removed, if necessary, to maximise sun
upon the fruit.
