This week we will be earthing up our potatoes for the final time. They are a really good size now and looking very lush and healthy. Hopefully the tubers are growing just as fast. We will be incorporating some potato fertiliser as we earth them up to give them a good feed at the same time. We are now giving them a good watering once a week to help the tubers swell. We are watering them with soaker hoses to make sure the water only hits the roots. At this stage in their season, we want to avoid too much water on the foliage as this could help the dreaded blight take hold. As we have had such a dry season so far, hopefully this won’t be an issue for us.
Our garlic crop has succumbed to rust yet again. This is now a regular annual occurrence despite us taking measures to prevent it, such as watering regularly, feeding and applying potash in early spring. Thankfully the plants had already reached a good size before the rust really took hold so we are hoping the bulbs will be a good size too. This week we will have an investigatory dig to see how the bulbs are faring, and harvest them early if they are big enough. The foliage will be burned rather than composted in an attempt to prevent it attacking further crops. Our elephant garlic, planted elsewhere, is so far unscathed and providing us with delicious scapes which are a real treat.
We will also be continuing to water, feed and weed all around the garden. And we will occasionally be taking a break to enjoy the juicy, strawberries that are ripening each day. I must add cream to my shopping list this week…….
