Actual Real Sunshine!

I’m not making this up, honestly. Not only did it not rain today – not a drop – but there was this really strong light in the sky and I realised it was sunshine. I double checked in case someone had slipped something stronger into my tobacco tin but it was for real.

After I recovered  from the shock of this strange event headed off to the plot.  First job was to make sure everything was well watered in the greenhouses not least because we’re going to be away until Wednesday. Larry’s agreed to check things and water the pots but the plants in the borders should be OK as the water table is so high anyway.

Next job was to clear the patch where the broad beans had been on plot 29. Lots of weeds but cleared them all and ran the Mantis over the patch ready to plant some leeks out, at last.

Whilst I had the Mantis out I ran over the bed where the onions had been at the top of the plot as well. Weeded the salad bed and around the parsnips as I was at that end of the plot as well. Back down to the first bed and realised some onions on an adjoining raised bed weren’t doing too well. These are the ones from John Carver of the NVS. They’re quite large but starting to soften and a couple had started rotting. Took them all up and laid them out in the greenhouse to dry off.

Planted out some lettuce – Lollo Rosso, Little Gem and Tom Thumb and then moved up to the top bed where I planted out a row of Rocquencourt dwarf French beans and sowed a row as well as a row of Tendercrop.

Now the leeks have been sitting in large pots waiting to go for weeks so they’re on the edge and very rootbound. Got the first lot out and they were really tangled. Despite the old thing about trimming leeks, you don’t really want  to reduce the roots because that’s where the plant will get its nutrition from. So used a jet of water to wash the soil off the root ball and untangle the roots. Dibbed some holes, about six inches deep, dropped them in and watered them.

I’ve still three pots of leeks left ti go out but it was nearly nine o’clock  and time to go since we’ve packing to do.  Just time to grab some radishes, spring onions, lettuce and even a few peas for a salad and call it a day. Well, six hours anyway.

More rain tomorrow, thank goodness. Another day like today and we’d have a drought and a hosepipe ban

Posted in Allotment Garden Diary

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