Bio , good to hear you are back home , I’m sure you feel better being back home and taking it easy
The weather , peaked today hear in Lincoln at 32 degrees , currently sitting outside with a drink 🥂 . Heavy rain forecast tomorrow which should do the garden/allotment the world of good
Can’t remember doing so much watering at allotment , picked a large tub of raspberries today , so o/h will make so jam tomorrow , never had so much growth on raspberry bed , in fact can’t walk down the middle of the 2 rows New strawberry 🍓 bed has produced a nice crop as well , which was nice surprise
We have put our lemon 🍋 and orange 🍊 ( only very little oranges , ideal in a gin ) out side
Did you get storms last night Obelixx? Water butts filling up nicely and all French Beans up so intense heat and a downpour obviously did the trick! Baby Sparrows and baby Great Tits full of beans to find toast left over from breakfast on the lawn this morning.
Biodynamic tip..if you would like a late crop of tomato 🍅 pop the pinched out tips and prunings with ideally a 2cm stem into a glass of comfrey or rainwater (not tap) and keep in a warm light place 20-30c until roots form to a length of 1-2cms (between 7-10 days) then pot up three to a pot thus ending up with bushy plants ready to crop in a warm Autumn. Also if you want to grow Chicory this year, choose a rising Moon in front of Taurus ♉ or ♑ Capricorn. Best dates 25th June after 11.44am 26/27/28th June before 12.50pm. Chicory should ideally be planted in a Nitrogen poor soil preferably after a green manure ,(cereal one-Rye being best choice) the soil must be friable to a minimum depth of 30cm (1ft in old measures) to allow for root development.
I think that this year will be my best Fruit Harvest for a few years, loads of gooseberries coming plus when I pruned hedge, left more Blackberry flower buds than ever before. Seems you are finding the same GWRS.
O/H in disgrace, lit bonfire and stray twigs caught my compost heap at same time..caught him creepng over there with bucket of water to put it out, hoping I would not see! It is still smoking a little this morning despite rain, shows how easily forest and moorland fires can spring back when firemen think they may be out, and why they stay and keep eyes skinned for little puffs of smoke appearing.
We've had some thunder and a dribble but no real storms so the water butts have not been replenished @biofreak. However, it is a mere 24C today and there's a fresh breeze so we're all felling much more comfortable.
The only beans we grow are broad beans which I sow in autumn so they benefit from winter rains and mature before the hot, dry stuff starts. We get a good crop that way and they've been picked and frozen for weeks now.
We don't eat chicons very often but we do like radicchio which is in the same family. Never see it on sale here so maybe I'll try some seeds. It did well for us in Belgium but there I could buy plugs.
Our small raspberry bed has been fried over the last week but the currants, tayberries and gooseberries in the fruit bed with a seep hose are doing well.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Hello , it rained all day yesterday , but nice and stead not a monsoon Popped to allotment on the way home today , more raspberries but strawberries 🍓 finished but it was a new bed Tried growing a different type of radish , very tasty but huge , golf ball size , unfortunately lost name of variety Gooseberries looking good Quince tree has loads of fruit As ever something are doing well and others not but that’s gardening
Hi Everyone Had shut polytunnel last night as sudden cold snap!! Ranked all day so potager grateful. Bought some children's sandpit sand to add to terreau 3 parts terreau 1 part sand for new Beetroot and Carrot bed. Works brilliantly. Hips Boo Baa back home as cold and wet..no doubt next heatwave will send him off on his travels again. Tommy has turned into a brilliant 'Moler' caught three on Saturday and one this morning. Bots the Bengal still 'voling'.. Pushkin useless..just lounging about!! Raspberries cmng on well now. Mange touts superb last night. Heritage one called Héraut climbing variety and I can highly recommend them. Obelixx .. company called Semailles sold them at Garden Fair here. Not sure if available in UK.
This morning, before I left for patchwork class (I'm teaching machine patch) the forecast was for .5mm of rain tonight. I got home from mosaic class which follows to find it looking very stormy to the south and now we've had dinner we actually have a storm that has already dropped more than the .4mm they now mention and looks good for the 24.8 to come overnight.
Fingers and toes crossed.
Somebody left us a dead mole on what passes for a lawn in the rose garden. I found Cosmos (white, aquamarine eyes and, supposedly, clueless about hunting) sitting guard over it yesterday morning. Today he caught a mouse and ate it in front of a witness. Who'd a thought? Maybe he's had lessons from ginger who is a feral cat he seems to have become friends with. They play occasionally and Ginger "talks" to him. He is resisting being adopted and fed and cared for.
My OH is in the doghouse too now @biofreak. he weeded the tomatoes in the polytunnel and took out 2 young chilli plants, the only ones to germinate out about 30 sown. They had labels and curly whirly stakes so weren't exactly hiding;
Anyway, here's the update for this week.
Monday 20th is a leaf day from 9h22 BST and an
ascending moon so good for sowing and harvesting any plant grown for its
foliage whether edible or ornamental.
On Thursday at 20h10 it moves into Aries, so fruits until
7h31 BST on Saturday but there is a node at 8h10 so no gardening for 5 hours either
side but you can do maintenance of tools, fences, structures etc.
From 7h31 on Saturday it’s Taurus so roots until 20h56 BST
on Tuesday 28th when it moves into Gemini, a air sign, so
flowers. Think about sowing and
planting broccoli for harvesting later in the year or even next spring.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Hi Everyone, always sad to reach Midsummers Day but we shall still celebrate the fruition of crops with some Fizz and seafood salad tonight.
I see 10 departments on high alert for major storms today in South West France. Only a few more showers here ..hope you got your rain Obelixx.. might well sow more Broccoli as 4 planted doing OK but need more for cropping next Spring as these will be ready for October. No Caterpillars in sight. 🦋 Butterflies very obviously avoiding sage and tansy, so as per Biodynamic Guide Brassicas planted surrounded by these do deter Cabbage White Butterflies...it is supposed to be the smell that puts them off the scent of Brassicas.. can certainly recommend it. Planted out Beetroot Chaggio and trimmed pulled Garlic, plus stored away 48 for the Winter. Ate last of last year's crop last weekend, so keeping them in the dark in the garage certainly worked. Gardening Magazine says pinch out Melon and Cucumber tips...did it last year and they did not like it at all, set growth back alot. Do you do this or leave them alone? I'm not looking for quantity but quality. Next crop Broad Beans have sprouted in pots, prefer sowng them in three's like this as opposed to straight in the ground, seem to come on better. First crop now ready to start harvesting in earnest.we like them young in salads. Happy Longest Day🌞
We had one storm at bedtime last night but the heavier ones that should have followed did not materialise. That means the rain won't have sunk in as deep as I'd like. Not going to mention what's forecast over the next couple of days in case that goes away too.
I planted out some broccoli plugs on Sunday evening and started harvesting seeds (ascending moon) from the remains of our spring PSB crop but the plant with the biggest seed pods isn't quite ready so we've left that one to mature another few days. We have to net all our brassicas against the chooks anyway as it seems to be their favourite food so we just use big nets over high hoops and that deals with pigeons and butterflies too.
After a brief shower on Sunday and last night's downpour there's a fine crop of weedlings coming up in my big island bed so I'll be hoeing those off today to clear the space for planting out ground cover Mexican fleabane.
All our broad beans have been picked and either eaten or frozen for over a month now.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Erigeron karvinskianus - ornamental plant for attracting pollinators so good for my veg plot nearby and also the birds.. The daisies have a lovely pink to deep red tinge on the buds and petal edges. Supposed to tolerate a wide range of soils and be drought tolerant. I've seen it growing ere in cracks in pavers so am hoping it will do well for me in a well-drained bed in full sun.
Posts
The weather , peaked today hear in Lincoln at 32 degrees , currently sitting outside with a drink 🥂 . Heavy rain forecast tomorrow which should do the garden/allotment the world of good
Can’t remember doing so much watering at allotment , picked a large tub of raspberries today , so o/h will make so jam tomorrow , never had so much growth on raspberry bed , in fact can’t walk down the middle of the 2 rows
New strawberry 🍓 bed has produced a nice crop as well , which was nice surprise
We have put our lemon 🍋 and orange 🍊 ( only very little oranges , ideal in a gin ) out side
Biodynamic tip..if you would like a late crop of tomato 🍅 pop the pinched out tips and prunings with ideally a 2cm stem into a glass of comfrey or rainwater (not tap) and keep in a warm light place 20-30c until roots form to a length of 1-2cms (between 7-10 days) then pot up three to a pot thus ending up with bushy plants ready to crop in a warm Autumn.
Also if you want to grow Chicory this year, choose a rising Moon in front of Taurus ♉ or ♑ Capricorn. Best dates 25th June after 11.44am 26/27/28th June before 12.50pm. Chicory should ideally be planted in a Nitrogen poor soil preferably after a green manure ,(cereal one-Rye being best choice) the soil must be friable to a minimum depth of 30cm (1ft in old measures) to allow for root development.
I think that this year will be my best Fruit Harvest for a few years, loads of gooseberries coming plus when I pruned hedge, left more Blackberry flower buds than ever before. Seems you are finding the same GWRS.
O/H in disgrace, lit bonfire and stray twigs caught my compost heap at same time..caught him creepng over there with bucket of water to put it out, hoping I would not see! It is still smoking a little this morning despite rain, shows how easily forest and moorland fires can spring back when firemen think they may be out, and why they stay and keep eyes skinned for little puffs of smoke appearing.
Happy Gardening.
The only beans we grow are broad beans which I sow in autumn so they benefit from winter rains and mature before the hot, dry stuff starts. We get a good crop that way and they've been picked and frozen for weeks now.
We don't eat chicons very often but we do like radicchio which is in the same family. Never see it on sale here so maybe I'll try some seeds. It did well for us in Belgium but there I could buy plugs.
Our small raspberry bed has been fried over the last week but the currants, tayberries and gooseberries in the fruit bed with a seep hose are doing well.
Popped to allotment on the way home today , more raspberries but strawberries 🍓 finished but it was a new bed
Tried growing a different type of radish , very tasty but huge , golf ball size , unfortunately lost name of variety
Gooseberries looking good
Quince tree has loads of fruit
As ever something are doing well and others not but that’s gardening
Had shut polytunnel last night as sudden cold snap!! Ranked all day so potager grateful. Bought some children's sandpit sand to add to terreau 3 parts terreau 1 part sand for new Beetroot and Carrot bed. Works brilliantly. Hips Boo Baa back home as cold and wet..no doubt next heatwave will send him off on his travels again. Tommy has turned into a brilliant 'Moler' caught three on Saturday and one this morning. Bots the Bengal still 'voling'.. Pushkin useless..just lounging about!! Raspberries cmng on well now. Mange touts superb last night. Heritage one called Héraut climbing variety and I can highly recommend them. Obelixx .. company called Semailles sold them at Garden Fair here. Not sure if available in UK.
Fingers and toes crossed.
Somebody left us a dead mole on what passes for a lawn in the rose garden. I found Cosmos (white, aquamarine eyes and, supposedly, clueless about hunting) sitting guard over it yesterday morning. Today he caught a mouse and ate it in front of a witness. Who'd a thought? Maybe he's had lessons from ginger who is a feral cat he seems to have become friends with. They play occasionally and Ginger "talks" to him. He is resisting being adopted and fed and cared for.
My OH is in the doghouse too now @biofreak. he weeded the tomatoes in the polytunnel and took out 2 young chilli plants, the only ones to germinate out about 30 sown. They had labels and curly whirly stakes so weren't exactly hiding;
Anyway, here's the update for this week.
Monday 20th is a leaf day from 9h22 BST and an ascending moon so good for sowing and harvesting any plant grown for its foliage whether edible or ornamental.
On Thursday at 20h10 it moves into Aries, so fruits until 7h31 BST on Saturday but there is a node at 8h10 so no gardening for 5 hours either side but you can do maintenance of tools, fences, structures etc.
From 7h31 on Saturday it’s Taurus so roots until 20h56 BST on Tuesday 28th when it moves into Gemini, a air sign, so flowers. Think about sowing and planting broccoli for harvesting later in the year or even next spring.
I see 10 departments on high alert for major storms today in South West France. Only a few more showers here ..hope you got your rain Obelixx.. might well sow more Broccoli as 4 planted doing OK but need more for cropping next Spring as these will be ready for October. No Caterpillars in sight. 🦋 Butterflies very obviously avoiding sage and tansy, so as per Biodynamic Guide Brassicas planted surrounded by these do deter Cabbage White Butterflies...it is supposed to be the smell that puts them off the scent of Brassicas.. can certainly recommend it. Planted out Beetroot Chaggio and trimmed pulled Garlic, plus stored away 48 for the Winter. Ate last of last year's crop last weekend, so keeping them in the dark in the garage certainly worked. Gardening Magazine says pinch out Melon and Cucumber tips...did it last year and they did not like it at all, set growth back alot. Do you do this or leave them alone? I'm not looking for quantity but quality. Next crop Broad Beans have sprouted in pots, prefer sowng them in three's like this as opposed to straight in the ground, seem to come on better. First crop now ready to start harvesting in earnest.we like them young in salads.
Happy Longest Day🌞
I planted out some broccoli plugs on Sunday evening and started harvesting seeds (ascending moon) from the remains of our spring PSB crop but the plant with the biggest seed pods isn't quite ready so we've left that one to mature another few days. We have to net all our brassicas against the chooks anyway as it seems to be their favourite food so we just use big nets over high hoops and that deals with pigeons and butterflies too.
After a brief shower on Sunday and last night's downpour there's a fine crop of weedlings coming up in my big island bed so I'll be hoeing those off today to clear the space for planting out ground cover Mexican fleabane.
All our broad beans have been picked and either eaten or frozen for over a month now.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/32487/erigeron-karvinskianus/details