On Sunday we managed to escape the rain for the day by visiting a friend on the south coast. It was actually a lovely evening, warm with occasional sunshine. I paid for our keep by sorting out her tomato plants.
Monday morning was bright and we headed for Dover. Halfway across the channel, the rain caught up with us and it was just like home. Rain pouring and lightning cracking welcomed us to the land of fine foods and wine.
Time wasn’t on our side this trip so I wasn’t allowed to go and admire rotovators but I did pick up another large watering can for a third less than our last visit. That got some looks in the hypermarket. They’re used to the English with trolleys full of beer and wine but throw a watering can on top and they are convinced we’re all completely mad.
I wanted to get a photograph of the French allotments alongside the motorway but the hard shoulder is narrow there and it was pretty busy. We did come off at the junction but couldn’t find them so take it from me without photographic evidence, they’re really nice plots with smart sheds and mixed flower / vegetable areas.
Back home on Tuesday night and I resisted the urge to go online. For some reason we were a little bit tired. Wednesday morning was fun, just 200 emails waiting in the inbox and many of them weren’t spam but the web site hadn’t burnt down in my absence so not all bad news.
A little shower.
The morning started bright but pretty soon the clouds darkened the sky and oh you guessed, it started to rain. I mean it bounced off as the picture at the end shows.
The rain gauge is now standing over 90mm That means we had 50mm when we were away.
In the greenhouse
Down to the plot late afternoon where the tomatoes are doing quite well. Quite a few reasonable looking fruits on the plants but very few ripe. I think the lack of sunshine is the problem. Tying in, watering and so forth done it was time to take a check of the plots.
Potato Blight
As I walked down plot 5 I realised the haulm has gone down on the King Edward potatoes. Blight has struck apparently. There is not much I can do now, just cut the haulm off and hope there is some sort of crop underneath the soil.
The Sarpo Mira on plot 29 are completely unaffected and the King Edwards on there seem to have escaped for now. The Sarpo will be fine as they are blight resistant and with a bit of luck the King Edwards there will be productive. We’ll have to empty the sacks of earlies and double check for rotting and blight. Potatoes are going to be in short supply this year. If you have blight there is and article on the site about it. Potato Blight
Back home I moved some cauliflower seedlings on into 3″ pots. They’re in the coldframe where the pigeons can not get to them. That’s 12 each of Pavilion and Aalsmeer. I just hope the rain stops long enough for the ground to dry enough to plant them out.
Promise of a reasonable day tomorrow before the next monsoon arrives on Friday. We’ll see what actually happens.
Photo: Rain Bouncing in the Back Garden
Rain on Patio
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