Feeling that Summer has been and gone
When August is drenched in sunshine and I’m sitting outside sipping a cold glass of wine I can forget that autumn is fast approaching - not this year. The cool wet weather has put paid to that. Now I have to sip my wine indoors otherwise I’d be colder than the wine, and soaking wet. Damn.
I’m sure it’s this rotten weather that’s made me less energetic in the garden and allotment. I don’t mind looking but I have to force myself to do anything. Mindful of this slothfulness I made some attempt to do some allotment jobs yesterday. First I eased myself in gently by shelling the dried ‘Martock’ Broad beans so that I could save some seed. They gave a surprisingly good crop for a variety with small pods (5 seeds each).
Saved seed of Broad beans 'Martock'
The Digger and I then went down to the big allotment to dig up the onions. Our garlic was decimated by white onion rot but the onions fared better. I would say that about a tenth of the crop was affected but some appear only slightly damaged so we must use them up quickly. The good ones have been laid out to dry off in the garage. The early Japanese onions we planted last October were lifted in late July and have already been used.
Onions 'Hercules' and 'Red Baron'
The winter squash and pumpkins have grown well amongst the sweetcorn. Thank heavens we are only getting 1-2 fruit per plant because they are rather larger than I was expecting - and still growing. They have been lifted up and rested on flat stones or tiles to keep them from getting damaged. Pumpkin ‘Rouge Vif D’Etampes’ should turn from yellow to reddish orange eventually. ‘Marina Di Chioggia’ is supposed to turn a bluey green and have a bumpy skin. Both of them look like ringers at the moment so we will see if they do a super hero transformation later on!
Pumpkin 'Rouge Vif D'Etampes' and Winter squash 'Marina Di Chioggia' amongst the Sweetcorn
6 comments
I think I might give up reading this blog out of jealousy. The tomatoes I’m looking after keep falling over in their pots because of the wind and they are clustered with unfertilised flowers because there don’t seem to be any insects to polinate them. There were masses of insects earlier in the year but they seem to have gone too soon.
(Beautiful stemmed kale and sweet baby squash and runner beans are all arriving in armfuls from Ming’s allotment - but I’m not looking after them so all is humiliation. I let caterpillars eat the brocolli in Esther’s garden on purpose as my way of supporting the butterfly population and now I’m feeling silly!)
Lucy
Lucy - all my outside tomatoes in pots are leaning to the left and tied to the fence with bits of string. But I have got tomatoes on them!
There is the “real” butterfly population and there are Cabbage Whites, who I feel need no encouragement to survive
That’s why I’m feeling silly.
Not only have they eaten the brocolli - the caterpillars have wandered indoors and there are chrysalises inside the house. I’m looking forward to coming home one day and finding the house full of cabbage whites.
Lucy
Well, I think it is just not right, August should be hot and dry and give all those summer vegetables the last sweetness. The ones who toil and work, let them sit in the shade under the ripening grapes and sip one or…glasses of …sigh…tomorrow is another day! (The vegetables look great and yummy.)
I have to agree with you about this weather making you/me feel less energetic - I have told all my gardens (I work as a gardener) that I am taking two weeks off and I shall return in September - perhaps then the weather will be nice and I can do some gardening!
Karen
PS
Sorry - forgot to mention - lovely veg - I am green with envy as usual.
K
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