Strawberry Time on the Allotment.
It was a warm and sunny day on Thursday and the priority was netting the soft fruit – not an easy job when the saskatoon is about 2m tall. The honeyberries and one of the redcurrants were also covered. The trained soft fruit is still in flower so time yet for netting that, but the plum needs to be covered soon.
A bee enjoying the flowers on the welsh onions
The warm weather has set everything burgeoning. The sweet peas are doing very well this year, as are the peas and broad beans. Carrot germination is being very slow but there is still time to do more sowing if needed.
There has not been any rain this past week, so the hose was out again. Once the courgettes and marrows were watered, they were given a mulch of leaf mould to help keep the ground around them moist and hopefully reduce the mildew which they suffer from each year.
The pleasure of the week was to see ripe strawberries on the variety Malling Centenery. These are new plants and looking to be good croppers. Some weed suppressing matting was laid down along the rows to keep the fruit off the soil.
Jobs for next week
- Weeding – especially under the apples.
- Move the fruit cage – maybe!
- Plant some of the marigolds round the plot.
Moira and the Allotment Team
