Veg is burgeoning and baskets are blooming
Like the rest of the country, we had a heatwave towards the end of July. While it was dry
I did a lot of weeding at home and on the allotment. My own garden is weed-free now, as are most of the beds on the allotment, but I know the weeds will soon come again with all this rain we’re having.
Most of the veg is growing well. We haven't had any beans, carrots,
turnips or cabbages yet, but will have soon. The small onions and shallots harvested in July are drying in the shed, and we’ve had the first cauliflowers, marrows, radishes, lettuce and courgettes. I've been giving a lot of these to neighbours. I’ve sown more turnips and radishes on the allotment, and cabbages, caulis and broccoli in pots in the greenhouse to prolong the cropping until winter.
By the time you read this I’ll have entered two shows and this is the aspect of gardening that I enjoy most. Because I now have only half an allotment I may not be able to show as much as I did before, but we shall see! With help from the children I dug up the potatoes from the school allotments before they broke up for the long holidays, and hope to dig my own up in the next few days because I may need them for my first show. However, I’ve harvested those that I grow in tubs and they’re quite nice, so I may have enough with these for my first show.
Some of the chrysanths are just beginning to flower. To keep them clean I cover the bed with sheets of polythene on a wooden structure. My front garden is at its colourful best, while the communal
containers that I planted up on the allotment are looking good, too.