Back to the allotment after the excitement of Gardening Scotland

Back again on Thursday to the usual routine after the excitements and pleasures of Gardening Scotland.  We started work in the rain but then it stopped though the dark clouds looked threatening.

The rain and heat have really brought on growth on the veg and fruit, and especially the weeds, but at this time of year the priority is to get the veg into the ground and get growing.

The Japanese veg grown for our pallet at Gardening Scotland were all planted out, the runner beans and dwarf French beans, courgettes and marrows.

The autumn planted onions are looking good and will be ready for using in a couple of weeks.  Unfortunately some of the shallots are bolting so were pulled out but can still be used in soups and stews.

The broad beans have put on a lot of growth but it is soft growth so the plants needed a lot of staking to give them support and prevent stems breaking.

The vegetables in the Biochar trial bed are all looking good and as yet, no difference in appearance, but that is what happened last year so we need to wait towards the end of their growth for differences to appear.

Amazingly there is no sign of gooseberry sawfly, that destroyer of leaves on gooseberries, white and red currants.  With the mild winter I did expect it back worse than ever but as yet nothing to be seen – not complaining though.

Jobs for next week
Plant out the beetroot
Cut the comfrey
Fill in the gaps in carrots, peas
Weeding and more weeding