Sun, wind, rain and grubs!

A double blog this week.

The sun shone on the 22nd. Protecting our young crops was a main activity – netting over the strawberries which have magically appeared in abundance and fleece around the base of the young French Beans, which are looking a bit sad (possibly not liking the cold nights in contrast to the sunny days?). Lots of weeding today and digging up of volunteer potatoes. We re-sowed beetroot as a previous sowing has failed to germinate (soil being too dry?). We watered well before leaving, hoping for a bit of rain to break this 5 week stretch of very dry weather.

29-05-2025

What a difference a week makes! The rain has arrived and today we expected to be drenched. Instead, we were blasted. So was the allotment and we spent most of the time battling the netting back over the fruit bushes, the gooseberries making fools of us.

After a week of rain, everything has exploded. Green is everywhere. Despite the squall, we managed to tuck the burgeoning strawberry bed up with straw, to keep the fruit off the soil. String was wound around the sweet pea frame to allow for clambering, and we planted lovely young pea plants (Hurst Greenshaft and Oregon Sweet Pod). Purple Brussel Sprouts went in too (Ruby Crunch) as did a precious Pink Fir Apple potato. We re-sowed turnips as the tiny seedlings have disappeared (mice?) and optimistically added swede (Marion) beetroot (Bolthardy) and parsnips (Gladiator).

Apples are beginning to form and with them competitors are moving in. We swiftly removed a web of Coddling moth grubs smeared over the leaves of our Sunset eaters. The young French Beans are continuing to look sad and we discussed possibly adding Epsom Salts, the magnesium may give them a boost.

Jobs for Next Week: sow radish, kohlrabi and more swede; thin out the carrot seedlings; do a first thinning of the apples; weeding!!!