This might be a country reputed for its damp climate but there isn’t much evidence of it in my neck of the woods right now. The weather forecast has been predicting rainfall on and off over the last couple of weeks – but to date nothing substantial has arrived.
I understand that while I was at work, this lunchtime there was a spate of hail stones…. The result of which appeared to be a damp patio and a few thimbles of water in my collection boxes round the Wendy House.
This I judiciously used in a row of turnips underneath the big cloche on the left of the above photograph. However, the ground in the middle foreground is still as hard as stone. I do however remain hopeful that the ground will get a soaking soon…
The specific reason I need this rain is because I want to move the rotary washing line a couple of feet or so back, into what will be the flower garden. I need to do this before I plant out the rest of the tomato plants and pumpkins, otherwise they are going to get knocked about remorselessly on a wash day.
Oh well, if the rains don’t come very soon, I will simply soak the ground with some of last year’s deluge! And at least in the meantime I can report that all my crops seem to be thriving.
Thus, I currently have the following on the go: as already mentioned, there are turnips, tomatoes and pumpkins (the latter two are on the right of the photo); also on the right are strawberries (they are coming out at the end of this season), rocket, garlic, fennel and cauliflower (I am now growing this solely for its leaves as the flower was destroyed in the spring snow) and rainbow chard; in the foreground of the photo there is garlic, radishes, spring onions, coriander, rainbow chard and parsley; I also have runner beans and broad beans to the left and onions/garlic, mint and lettuce in various places. Last but not least, there is purple sprouting broccoli and cauliflower between the broadbeans and turnips respectively. So, quite a feast to come!
© Helen Butt, June 2013.
