Saturday was spent watching the rain. Hardly a break all day and very heavy at times. I’m getting more than a little frustrated with this weather. Apparently the wettest June since 1914. It seems we regularly break weather records or have worst for 100 years. This April was the warmest since records began. The average UK temperature is higher than ever before.
Unfortunately this doesn’t mean we get wonderful summers and mild winters. The energy in the system means we get more extreme weather. Storms and whirlwinds, downpours and drought.
The farmers are suffering terribly, flooded land doesn’t produce crops so prices will be set to rise for vegetables. Another reason to grow your own unless you happen to grow in a flooded area.
The lengths people go to amazes me, Grannie Annie on the forums was harvesting her potatoes in the rain and mud. Such dedication.
On Sunday it went from rain to shine and back. Repeat and repeat. So in the morning I again repaired the wheelbarrow tyre’s inner tube.
Larry called round in the afternoon and I proudly showed him the ‘fixed’ wheelbarrow tyre. It had gone flat in four hours. So yet again it came out, found a small leak in one of the patches so back around. I seem to have managed to destroy the new inner tube so must buy another one and be more careful. It’s gone down again. Cursed, I tell you, cursed!
Anyway, Larry was pleased to tell us he has a ripe tomato in his greenhouse. So when I went up to the plot later I had to look for myself. I crept into his greenhouse to admire this prize specimen.
Luckily my camera has a macro zoom facility enabling me to photograph small objects in close up. I’ve added a couple of arrows to make its position more obvious.
Larry’s Prize Greenhouse Tomato
Actually he’s got a lot of much better ones in his greenhouse but they’re still green.
Goodbye Dwarf French Beans
I’d sown a load of dwarf French beans before we went away at the beginning of June intending to plant them out on our return from holiday but with the weather being as it has I haven’t managed to get them out. They’ve just gone incredibly leggy in their pots and are beyond it so they got recycled onto the compost heap. I’ll try another sowing in pots unless the weather improves enough to get them into the deep bed on plot 29.
Most of the large onions in the small greenhouse were loose so brought them home, bar three, to dry out in the home greenhouse. I don’t think they’re anything like a show standard but they look like very nice eating onions.
Rest of the time was spent watering the tomatoes in the greenhouses and tying them up, pinching out side shoots etc. The peppers aren’t looking brilliant but I think that’s down to lack of sunshine. Perhaps a little early to expect much from them. One is flowering in the main greenhouse.
Around the Plots
In a word, it’s wet. At the bottom of plot 5 it’s a real swamp. The climbing beans look rather ill and the runners aren’t much better. The maincrop potatoes seem to have been enjoying the rain, they’re looking very promising. The Aisla Craig onions doing well considering the weather. They’ve now become officially my favourite variety. Last year I grew them and they did exceptionally well and this year is no different.. Must remember to order more this year.
Back onto plot 29 things don’t look too bad. The Jersusalem artichokes are about four feet high and healthy. The idea was they’d shade the greenhouse in the hot summer months but they seem to be acting as a rain break.
According to my rain gauge we’ve had nearly another two inches of rain over the weekend. Now to buy yet another inner tube. I need a tube that won’t go down, after all it might be acting as a life preserver at this rate.
Took some photographs while I was down at the plot, by the way. AllotmentPhotographs for July
Leave a Comment Here on More Rain, In the Greenhouse, Tomatoes and Tyres