The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Makings of a vintage year
The seasons have been everything the plants could wish for so far. It’s just a matter of watching out for pests now
pests and diseases are running a bit rampant as there was no severe winter weather to hold them back
Gardeners could not have asked for better weather than the kind we’ve been having this year.
After the mild winter we enjoyed a dry spring then summer arrived in April and May. And then just as we were getting a bit worried about dry soil the rains came and watered the plants.
My first rose opened up in mid-May and it looks like I will be getting a few first early potatoes any day now.
Of course the weeds will do their best to spoil the show but we’ve had so much dry weather that hoeing took care of most of them early on.
It’s never completely plain sailing, however, and pests and diseases are running a bit rampant as there was no severe winter weather to hold them back.
Slugs and snails are everywhere now the rains have arrived and greenfly are chomping away at anything in their colour.
The potatoes are growing so fast it is difficult to get the time to earth them up and my first early Casa Blanca looks strong enough to allow a picking.
All my root crops (carrots, turnips, swedes) have germinated and been thinned but my parsnips have yet to appear.
I know they are always the last to get there but my patience is being put to the test.
The early pea Kelvedon Wonder is now 3ft tall, well staked with willow prunings and protected from pigeons with the old fashioned idea of a couple of lines of black thread.
A later sowing of Hurst Green Shaft is now through the ground and ready for staking too.
Dwarf French beans sown direct into the soil gave me a good germination so they will need thinning out when they are a few inches tall.
Sweetcorn has been a bit disappointing this year as the plants have been very pale, despite extra feeding. They are in the soil now and I am hoping for a good recovery as they start to grow.
Courgettes and pumpkins love this weather but they will have to be kept well watered as they have been very thirsty in the hot sun.
Both were planted on land that had extra helpings of well-rotted compost since they are gross feeders and the compost retains moisture.
In previous years they have suffered from wind damage in early summer gales but this year has been fine so far.
Cabbage, cauliflower, sprouts and kale planted in early May have all established well – with a little help in the form of net protection from pigeons, slug pellets for slugs and snails and collars for rootfly.
Brassicas are always a battlefield when it comes to pests and I see plenty of cabbage white butterflies trying to seek them out.
Onions grown from seed sown in early March have also established well and this warm weather really suits them. Leeks are thickening up and will soon be ready to lift and transplant into their final rows.
Lettuce, spring onions and radish have grown very fast and picking started in mid-May. I’m still sowing new batches for a succession of salads together with some mizuna and rocket.
The strawberries are all swelling up so the rows have all been laid with straw to prevent soil splashing and the crop potential looks great – although it may be early June before I get my first picking.
Raspberries, red and blackcurrants, saskatoons, brambles and gooseberries are all growing strong and look like they’ll give me heavy crops.
The gooseberries were attacked by hundreds of sawfly larvae but an insecticide spray sorted them out.
Outdoor grapes are also having a good start with plenty of bunches showing so long may this weather last.