It’s been another week where the heat has built up, peaking on Friday in the 30's, and still no decent rainfall. The water butts are empty again. So, it was more days of what seemed like endless watering, luckily it is a relatively quiet period at the moment in the kitchen garden and throughout the other gardens, so we had the time to give the plants a regular soaking.
Harvesting has continued and the runner beans are producing vast amounts this year on our Runner Bean Frame. The tomatoes in the greenhouse this year have produced very little, but we are not alone, with a lot of other gardeners saying the same, possibly its down to the extreme changes in temperature we have experienced this year.
Aubergines are doing well in the greenhouse and the chilli plants are really enjoying the heat, there will be no shortage of these in the coming months. The courgette production did slow a little, but with the heat returning they are producing good harvests again. Always amazed at how quickly these grow, leave them too long and they seem to turn into mini marrows overnight!
One variety of eating apple has not done well this year, last autumn it was the wasps and squirrels eating them before we could harvest them, but this year the apples have got brown rot. Each apple is having to be checked and then removed if there is any sign of the rot, the diseased apples are then destroyed or put in the refuse bin.
The winter vegetables are growing steadily and there are sprouts beginning to appear on the stalks. The leeks are looking healthy and the two lines of parsnip that were sown directly into the ground are doing really well. The cauliflowers have all gone, we were unable to save them from the mice. The broccoli we bought from Rocket Gardens is really taking off (excuse the pun!). A good watering every day is really helping the plants thrive.
Elsewhere in the other gardens, the main jobs are keeping up with the weeding and deadheading the roses that have had a second flowering. Also cutting back any summer flowering plants that have finished and need tidying.
We hope you are continuing to enjoy your outside space during this hot weather, remember to keep your plants watered and make sure you keep yourself watered too! On the really hot days it's better to garden early mornings and early evenings and water during these times to. This will help to avoid scorching plants and stop all the water being lost to evaporation during the hottest part of the day.
Happy Gardening!
