Terry Walton is taking stock of his plot
Joyous June gives us a chance to enjoy the work we’ve done
Oh, the joy that the most beautiful month of June is upon us! The days are running at breakneck speed as the longest day approaches. The planting frenzy has eased and all the most tender crops have safely settled into their new homes. There’s time for a pause to praise your work and see if it’s going to plan. Is it what you expected? My plot is. If the long-range weather forecast is to be believed, then apparently we’re in for a ‘barbecue summer’. Let’s really hope so!
Plants, like us, have simple requirements in life – warmth, water and plenty of food. Give them all of these basics and you’ll be rewarded well. It’s no real hardship to get out the watering can and spend an hour or so each morning giving them a little drink to quench their thirst. On regular occasions add a little of your favourite soluble plant food. In my case this is an organic feed, whether it be from my bokashi composter, wormery, or from my dustbin of dissolved sheep manure. They thrive on this natural feed material and will soon start to produce wholesome crops.
The greenhouse has evicted its winter inhabitants, the wormeries, and these are at the bottom of my plot where they get the early morning sun. In the afternoon they’re in the shade of the hedge so the worms can continue composting in a cool climate.
The potatoes have also been dragged from
the back of the greenhouse in their large bins and now stand outside the greenhouse door, protected from the winds. Surely now the chance of frost has passed and soon I can check what crop lies beneath all that foliage! These are watered almost daily and fed twice a week with seaweed extract to boost the production of tubers. This mass exodus has left plenty of space for the final planting of my tomatoes in the border. There are two ‘Shirley’, two ‘Crimson Crush’ and two ‘Heinz’ and I’ve squeezed in a ‘Big Daddy’ beefsteak tomato, too. These are watered well and treated to a feed of seaweed.
One job I don’t like at this time of the year is tying the sweet peas to their canes. Despite the cool, dry start to late spring and early summer, these are making bushy plants but are trailing on the ground. They need to be tied to their canes, so I use a figure of eight knot to secure them without crushing their tender stems. These should now make steady growth but need constant tying until they reach the top!