Terry Walton’s on the lookout for pests on the plot!
There’s plenty to harvest but plenty of pests to look out for, too!
The month of June is all but gone and the summer solstice over! The longest day we’ve been waiting for has quickly passed. But have no fear, there are plenty of long days and summer sunshine still to come. The month was good to gardeners on my hillside, and there was enough rain and sunshine to boost my growing crops.
These crops are giving good harvests and my shopping days are over for a while. The meals in my house are coming straight from the plot, and delicious and tasty they are, too.
Now’s a good time to have a daily patrol and pest watch. Not only do plants thrive in these near-perfect conditions, but so also do our enemies. The tips of the broad beans have long been removed to stop blackfly but some new tender shoots have appeared and these are the perfect place for a greenfly meeting. I was removing some of these when I spotted a group of my friends, the ladybirds, crawling around. There was temptation to continue destroying these pests, with my finger and thumb method, when the thought struck me that I was removing their food source. So they’ve been given the chance to devour and control them naturally. I hope they’re up to it!
The long-awaited day has arrived and my trial crop of asparagus has finally made sufficient size to be set free. I’ve already prepared its mounded bed with copious manure, and the plants are very pretty with their long, tender, fern-like leaves. I originally planted 10 seeds but only five plants have made it this far. I planted these about 30cm (1ft) apart on the mound and watered them in well to get them established. If the seed packet is correct I may well harvest a few spears this summer, but I’m not holding my breath!
A few weeks behind schedule, my swede have also made good plants in their seed compartments to be planted out. They’re joining my other brassicas under the protection of the net. I’m trying another new material this year called Remin Volcanic
Rock Dust, as I’m told it helps to protect brassicas from club root. I’m already growing a variety called ‘Invitation’, which is club root-resistant but I’m lining the holes with this rock dust as an extra precaution. My swede under-performed last winter so I hope this new ingredient will not only protect them swede, but help them make up for the lateness of the planting.
It’s rare to go home empty handed at this time of year and lettuce are being harvested freely. They’re accompanied by a constant supply of spring onions and radish, so at least all my efforts are getting some reward.