The Frantic Gardeners’ Blog

wow! this month we have had 1/3 of the annual rain. It has absolutely poured it down - which has been v good for the watering. Today, the weather has changed, just like a switch has been thrown. It is boiling/sweltering/hot hot hot!! And today was the day that I had set for completely weeding the veg plot, watering it if required and then mulching. hmmm!! I did have help from DD1 in the end and we took out a bottle of iced water to keep us going.

Planted out

spare alpine strawberries went in the gap just emptied by rocket

tomatoes grown from potting the side shoots - gone between the artichokes.

maintenance

weeded everything hoed, pulled and hopefully got the majority. then placed straw all over the top of the beds and plan to put membrane down on the ‘paths’ as we have a holiday soon v keen to minimise the jungle on our return!

sideshooted the toms.

DH put trellis on wall so can plant out clematis and honeysuckle that are desperate.

girls beds of flowers are really looking fabulous, and they are both v happy with them. DD2 not seen any strawbs yet - should come next year…

harvested

ooh, i like this time of year lots of our meals have been made with 3/4 of the ingredients direct from the garden.

broad beans - the first sown nearly all finished now, but second sowing of red epicure starting - funny to have pink beans!

rocket - all the last rocket had bolted, so we pulled it all out so can eat some leaves and the rest for compost. next year plant less!!

pak choi - all the first sowing now harvested, again some had bolted, but cut the flower stalk off and ate the rest - mmm i love pak choi

summer sprouting brocolli - harvested 4 large heads this week [2 meals for a family of 4] have other brassicas to come [despite the panic earlier in the year, it is def not club root]. this has been such a hit with the family, that next year should grow more.

tomatoes - the sungold has been first to be ready, and the most prolific. shame only 5 seeds to a packet. DH’s speriment as to whether ring pot in growbag or in big pot seems to be clear for healthy look as growbag option. however, nodifference in harvest as yet. or taste.

courgettes - the ones in the ground harvesting merrily. lots of courgettes in our lunch and tea menu currently as well. the 2 in pots are not as good, will see if they will crop longer as will put in greenhouse once weather starts to draw in.

potatoes - just about to start a harvest i think the girls in bags are ready [emerald and rocket].

peas and mangetout - tailing off in the mangetout, should have done a further successional sowing [remember for next year ]  however peas in between 2 crops as it were, so loads of pods to fill out.

french beans - pretty much between crops, v few left now on the pots in the greenhouse, tho will see if they flower and crop some more, some beans on the first of the climbing beans [cobra] v tiny yet, and the second dwarf beans are flowering. since we will shortly be having a holiday, happy for the break to be whilst we are away

strawberries - just a few as this is the first year, but loads of raspberries

Pests and Wildlife

we saw a hedgehog rootling around by the compost bins

less happy a sighting is some caterpillars on the brassicas. they have bee hidden under environmesh, the damage not huge, but obv at somepoint one has got in . we have had large and small before, think these might be from a small. good inspection by dd2 failed to find any. i prob should repeat the process…

… but is now back up

thank goodness

my problem with june, is that once i start harvesting things i find it v difficult to plan some successional crops . we are harvesting enough now to have as ingredients for lunch and dinner, not just as snacks.

The broad beans have been really productive, and we are still harvesting from them.

The dwarf french beans that were kept in the greenhouse have also done really well and been v productive

The pak choi, along with the brassicas - see post below - have either been fab or died. I don’t think it is club root. just an odd failure. i love pak choi tho

the courgettes are harvesting - parthenon ready just before parador. the ones in the ground are actually far better than those in big pots in greenhouse and now outside, so think the extra nutrition from being in the ground outweighs the extra warmth from greenhouse. won’t bother with pots again.

the mangetout have excelled themselves - though they tend to get eaten directly rather than ingredients same for the peas

the salads have all done well, tho the first sowing rockets now bolted, and I sowed far too many!! the rabbits will be pleased however. Next year I need to sow less and more successional.

Strawbs and raspberries done well, but I must net the gooseberries next year…

just starting to harvest tomatoes - sungold has been the first. I prob could use a few of the chillis, as they are big and green, but prefer to wait for them to ripen to red.

nearly ready - potatoes

well, everything that is going in for now! Have again not been v successful at successional sowing. mostly because i get to taht stage of panic about putting in what i can see, and don’t really want to add more stuff to it. Lots of hoeing and weeding, and also watering gone on. Greenhouse also in near sorted position. SOme things have gone a bit by the wayside, and some may yet be caught up with.

Germination

A single solitary runner bean planted direct has germinated. I am just not keen on sowing direct! some of the direct sown peas did germinate, and the directly sown spring onion and carrots, so I shouldn’t be completely negative i suppose. Loads of weeds manage to germinate…

Potting on

actually, none done as yet, but this eve might pot on a last few of the peppers in smaller pots than i would like as DH making a compost run.

Planting out

You will never guess, but the artichokes finally have a home! It isn’t in the most convenient place for covering over the winter, or for next year - oops, but did for now. I think i will convince DH that putting overwintering garlic where broad beans are, and overwinter broad beans where the potatoes are will mean it is a plan . The final climbing beans sown have filled up some of the gaps. However, the lack of runner bean germination means that there are still 15 empty canes. oh well. think too late to bother sowing some more now.

maintenance

the greenhouse has been adjusted to final staging arrangements. the tomatoes are all in position, there are 3 tomatoes and 2 melons in growbags. never grown melons or watermelons before, need to get aquainted with how to do it properly! Eek! I think we need another greenhouse… or maybe some coldframes! [never any coldframes on freecycle!]

hoeing, weeding, watering… tho we have just had rain - for max of 5 mins!! not enough to damp the patio

getting the climbing beans to climb. they keep insisting on trailing through the gournd - that isn’t any good!!

Harvesting

still salad things, broad beans, peas, mangetout, dwarf french beans [from greenhouse] , raspberries, gooeseberries and strawberries [ok, only just started with a few of each, but still! ]

Twitter is a fantastic thing. Reminded me to make some elderflower cordial. We have lots of elderflowers in the garden [pernicious weed!] and usually make elderberry jelly. There are lots of recipes on the net. Here is another one

first pick 20 elderflower heads

Then add 1.6kg of sugar [preserving makes it clear but granulated or caster will work] to 1.25l of water. Heat gently until all the sugar dissolved and then boil.

Whilst you are doing this, get 2 oranges and 2 lemons. If you are keen, you can zest them first, or if not just cut in half and then thin slices

When your syrup has boiled, add it to the bowl full of elderflowers [with most of stalks removed] and sliced citrus. Add 50g of citric acid and then give a good stir.it smells fabulous [though DD1 who was making it doesn’t agree]

Leave it to stand 24 hours and then strain it through a jelly bag [or a sieve with a muslin so fine enough] into sterilised bottles to sit in the fridge. hadn’t thought of freezing some before, but I might try that this time to see how it works out.

so not so much time to even garden frantically. a quick water is really all managing, but most do a weeding shortly! today spent a couple of hours on essential maintenance, tho could get called into work at a moment’s notice, so can’t do anything too big or get too messy!

Sown

the rest of the twinkle peas in situ. think none germinated before due to parched soil. so soil where sown is as mud, and will try and keep topped up with water!

Germinated

the second emergency sowing of pumpkins are germinating too. should have a lot in the veg bed then! The climbing bean blauhilde have germinated. when a bit bigger will plant out

awaiting the climbing bean cobra and the direct sown runnerbean…

Planted out

the rainbow chard, into bed 4. look v nice there. there are a few that didnt fit, so maybe DH will place in his square foot bed.

Harvesting

the rocket and a few salad leaves. the peapods on the first twinkle sown looking big, so hopefully not long, we have some green tomatoes and some green strawberries. i think the goosegogs nearly worth a try. the broad beans are some way off tho.

Maintenance

Need to keep those pesky rabbits off the veg! so have gone round the outside with chicken wire with 2 ad hoc ‘doors’. Wouldnt keep anything really determined out, but hoping that it will work for our domestic rabbits, as they have loads of other interesting places in the garden they can go [and lots of dandelions to nibble!]

Problems

1/2 our pak choi look really brilliant, 1/4 have died and the other 1/4 look pathetic. on uprooting one, there were hardly any roots. is this a pest? or just unfortunate??

something has been nibbling our pea leaves again, and it isn’t rabbits.

To Do:

1. plant out sweetcorn and the single pumpkin that is big

2. pot on all the new little pumpkins and squashes

3. get tomatoes supported.

yes, this is our major harvest/glut. we are freezing some so that at some point i can pull out and make jam or smoothies! yes - the 4 of us can’t keep up. the peas are plumping up, by the end of next week we will be harvesting those! i spy baby courgettes as well.

i think this is the most organised this garden has been since we moved here. i must add some piccies into this blog. certainly the investment in mulch and clearing has worked, and i am trying to regularly hoe. i have also been pruning the bay and yews - well, starting anyway.

it is clear that we need to put bed structure in though, so that we don’t compact growing areas.

sadly, a plum minarette appears to be dying. it is dying back from the top and growing brown. no idea why?

oh yes, we have been away for a holiday, but things are moving on!

planted out: runner beans; french beans; courgettes; squash; sweetcorn. actually the beans were planted out by M-I-L, who seems to have planted the squash up the poles too. oh well, i am sure i can transplant!

harvesting: strawberries [yummy]

Need to do: sow some more beans, weed [actually this might be a crisis!], final pot up toms [another crisis!] and sow some salady bits.

[guess what our current glut is!] Actually, it surprised me how very much tomato makes how little dried tomato in oil!! Hopefully will be lovely.

Also still harvesting french and runner beans, peppers and aubergines, with stored onions to use too - very Italian!! Our pears nearly ready…

Oh, and our grapes are ready!!! woohooo

Beans all still going strong. Have been batch freezing both french and runner beans for the winter months. We are also eating them every day.

A smattering of carrots and sweetcorn - mostly to keep the girls happy.

Chris harvested pink fir apples today for tea, so potato crop not as good as we would have liked, but at least still there!

oh, and I harvested 2kg of red toms today - so made red tomato chutney - yummy. The first sweet peppers turning red. goody.