Sizzling Sunny June

June

What an incredible summer we have been having and the wonderful weather from May continued straight into June with no let up in the gorgeous hot and sunny days.

M took advantage of the good weather to mow the orchard, around the edge of the woods and some of the paths though the woods.

The main veg bed was beginning to fill out with potatoes, peas and french beans on one side. 

Next to the peas was the large area dedicated to onions. We really didn't mean to plant this many but when you order the onion sets they do only come in large packs. Hopefully we will get them dried thoroughly so that they store well.

In the next veg bed were the broad beans, two different varieties this year. The brassicas at the top of the bed were protected from birds and butterflies with mesh cloches.

For the first time since moving we have had to deal with exceptionally dry ground. I took a hoe out to weed between the broad beans and had to give up as I couldn't break the surface of the soil.

We had an abundance of Astilbe plants taken for one plant we purchased last year so thought we would plant them along the side of a path in the woods. They seemed to like the light shade and were indeed thriving.

Sadly the next day the Astilbes looked like this. Yes, the deer apparently like them. We put some wire around what was left in the hope that they may recover, only time will tell.

Before we moved I collected some acorns from my favourite woods where I used to walk Jess and Finn. Now, 3 years on, we actually have some little oak tree saplings. They are still protected from the deer for now and are looking great.

Finn often pootles off into the woods on his own for a wonder around. A while ago he started to bring out these eggs. Unfortunately we had no idea where he was getting them from but he managed to collect about 4. They looked like duck eggs and M examined them to check for life but they didn't appear to have been fertilised.

The greenhouse shading was definitely worth the time and effort with the daytime temperatures regularly reaching over 40⁰C.

The tomato and pepper plants were thriving and enjoying the unexpected heat.

One sad moment was the discovery that the 250 bluebell bulbs planted in the spring appeared to be Spanish bluebells and not the English variety I had expected. I contacted the seller (and sent photos) and they agreed that they looked suspiciously like the Spanish bluebell. Kindly they offered to replace these bulbs with a new batch of English bulbs.

One day later and I had successfully removed the majority of the bulbs. I must admit I was feeling pretty deflated by this as most of the bulbs had grown and produced 2 or 3 baby bulbs. Not only did this mean that we will probably have Spanish bluebells poking up for a few years but also That we have lost a whole seasons growth. Looking on the bright side I hope the new bulbs will be more successful next year.

One veg calamity this year has been some of the garlic crop. As the tops had turned brown we planned to lift one batch out of the baths. Sadly the bulbs were small and mostly covered in a white fluffy fungus which M correctly diagnosed as Onion White Rot.

It appears that the dry weather can exacerbate the problem and this batch were destined for the bin. Hopefully it will only be one of the baths and if need be we can remove the soil, disinfect the bath and refill for use next year.

Thankfully the Fig was loving the heat and had doubled in size since we bought it last year, with one little fig growing bigger by the day.

After much discussion we decided this would be the last year for growbag tomatoes and peppers in the polytunnel. They were nowhere near as good or healthy as the plants in the greenhouse so we will only have some hanging baskets with tumbling toms next year.

Keeping everything watered was the biggest challenge during June as the high temperatures seem to evaporate the water almost before the plants even got a drink. The water butts were emptied and our rain dances increased. Some plants died and others flourished so lately we've been learning to make the most of what we have and not dwell on those that weren't meant to be.

With all the good weather we were spoiling ourselves by finishing work in the early afternoon and relaxing in the garden. We had an old gazebo which we used when camping and it proved to be ideal in the garden as Jess and Finn were able to join us in the shade. (Looks like the weeds in the lawn were the best draught survivors and sadly the only photo I have of the Gazebo was when the sun went in briefly). With the radio we were also able to keep up with the football scores while reading magazines, doing sudoku, knitting and chilling. Bliss!

It has been wonderful to see the garden filling with colour as the pots and beds have come alive.

The wall troughs were full to bursting and the bees have been joining us in enjoying all the flowers.

Fruit and Veg.

Well, what a busy couple of weeks we have had; all our craft projects have taken a back seat as our attention has been completely focused on the garden/smallholding. Time to take a breath and have a look at what's been going on.
 

As an amateur gardener, a lot of what I know was gained through trial and error, combined with a healthy amount of searching through gardening books and the internet. However, what I do know is that water, warmth and sun provide the perfect growing conditions for many plants, both edible and non-edible. 

We have been so fortunate to have had warm sunny days with just enough rain at the right time and oh how our plants have started to flourish. So much so in fact that this post is all about edibles and I'll dedicate a separate entry to all the flower planting in and around the smallholding.

Where to start? Mmm, potatoes I think. One of the best examples we have of how the plants are sprouting is the potatoes. We have 3 varieties planted in this bed and also in the large tubs and wooden planters on the right hand side. This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago, just after we had earthed them up.

This photo was taken only 5 days after the previous one and shows how quickly the potatoes have grown. It seems even more obvious looking at the potatoes on the right, now peeking over the top of their planters. Now they need to be earthed up again, I'm sure we only did it once last year but I suppose we'll be glad we made the extra effort when it come to harvest time.

A very helpful contact on Facebook advised that we could earth up our potatoes with grass cuttings. I was always dubious about using grass as it has a tendency to end up as a green slime but this Guardian article made us think again and give it a go. If it works it'll save a lot on the amount of compost we use.

We have been both surprised and delighted with the developments in the polytunnel. M constructed some supports for the tomato plants and in they went; I'm hoping we get a good harvest again this year as the freezer is starting to look a little empty. The only slight downside of these wonderful growing conditions is that they are also perfect for weeds so there was quite a bit of weeding to get on with.
 

You can see the growth here in just 8 days. The brassicas, squash and pumpkins are certainly thriving in the extra heat and are coming along nicely in the right bed. In the left we have Kale closest to the camera with small Pak Choi only recently sown. Above the Kale is Swiss Chard and in the top bed are some cauliflower with beetroot sown on either side. In the orange pot to the left of the door we have a Gherkin, a first for us.

M was keen to get a Fig tree for the polytunel and we picked up this (very) little plant for about £3. It may be some time before it bears any fruit but it is now in situ in the polytunnel enjoying some TLC.

The peas and beans have got off to a slower start due to some prolonged dry periods but they are staring to recover and we have flowers appearing so hopefully they will survive through to harvest.

The latest addition has been the first batch of sweetcorn; hopefully the last of the frosts have passed and these will establish quickly. There's still room for the second batch when they are ready to leave the greenhouse.
 

This is an old apple tree we have called Jess' tree as she loves to gather the windfall. We performed quite drastic pruning on it last year to lift it off the ground and remove some crossing branches. So we have been delighted with the abundant blossom this year which proves we did the right thing. 

Some of the original trees in the orchard did nothing at all last year but we have been pleasantly surprised that some blossom has appeared and look forward to seeing if we get any fruit and if so, what type it is.

I thought I'd show you a little picture of our 'Orchard', taken when we first arrived here about 20 months ago.

Followed by how it looks today. The rough overgrown area in the middle of the first photo is where our veg beds are now. It amazes me how much it has changed in a relatively short time.

Our orchard trees are still very young and quite stick-like but we have had some blossom and the beginnings of fruit. Last year we had 5 apples from the orchard so anything more than that will be wonderful (although to be fair they did taste amazing).

There's so much to share at this time of year that I feel I may have gone on a little too long so I'll leave it here. I hope wherever you are your gardens are growing well and you are getting the opportunity to enjoy some summer sunshine.

Early Summer Sun

What a wonderful time we have been having recently. After a very wet February and March we had been praying for some decent weather and oh how it arrived in style. We have now had about 4 weeks of sun, no rain, warm days and the occasional cold night. It is a very busy time in the garden, the plants are growing and we are working long and often exhausting days, but my it is also such a rewarding time.

The onions are growing slowly next to the beans which are still under protection until they are established. Despite our scrupulous efforts to remove all the potatoes last year there are tiny little potato plants emerging amongst the onions -oops.

M has built a rather large pea and bean frame as we discovered last year that the peas all collapsed on top of each other, encouraging slugs and making harvesting a real chore. It might look like overkill as the peas are so tiny right now but they should end up covering most of the framework.

So with the temperatures in the greenhouse varying between from a low of 2⁰C at night and daytime highs of 39⁰C we have had an unexpected issue. The blazing sunshine has been too much for some of the tender seedlings and for the first time ever we have installed some greenhouse shading, this is stage one with some more shading yet to go in.

It is incredible the difference a little bit of shading has made, the plants have the advantage of sun and good ventilation without frying.

I am so excited, my lemon tree which has been suffering over the past few years and had barely any leaves last year has finally got 2 minuscule flower buds appearing. I'm not really expecting fruit as it's still in recovery but it's a good sign. On the down side it seems like that some ants have set up residence in the pot so we may have to disturb Mr Lemon and repot him to remove said interlopers.

Planting up has begun in the polytunnel and so far we have a selection of squash (winter and summer), pumpkins, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. There is also room for the kale and chard along with some companion planting of nasturtiums and marigolds when they are ready.

I just have to include a picture of our flowering Rhododendron; it was new in last year and although it almost doubled in size there was not a single flower. Look we have flowers and definitely worth waiting for. The leaves have turned a bit pale and we're not sure of this is a nutrient deficiency or due to the large quantity of rain we had over the winter but we've put some feed around it so will hope for the best.

The Forget-Me-Nots (which we fittingly forgot we had planted) have been the mainstay of the garden flowerbed as it is still too risky to plant out anything tender. However, some of the Alium bulbs are starting to poke through the surface so we may have some more colour to come.

This flowerbed was submerged at various times during the winter but has recovered remarkably well. It contains lots of unidentified plants as I was particularly rubbish with my labelling system so it could either be surprisingly beautiful or painful to the eyes, we'll just have to wait and see.

M was really keen to have a Peony and this is it. It's probably well behind every other Peony in the country but it was only planted a couple of weeks ago and so has some catching up to do. For the first time we had to water the plants in the garden, I was loathe to do so but when their heads start to wilt I guess there is no other choice.

After the mower was fixed (seems like an annual event) M got stuck in around the orchard and the woods. I love these pictures as it really does show how beautiful the weather has been.

The orchard trees are so tiny and most still look like sticks but we have a few leaves arriving and have been treated to the uplifting sight of blossom on the cherries and damsons with the tantalising promise of apple blossom to come. Even the hedging is beginning to grow after the relentless prunning regime carried out by the wild rabbits.

Even Daffodil walk (although not an appropriate name once all the daffs have gone) got the mower treatment and now our little shrubs look even smaller. They are a mixture of Hydrangea, Astilbe, Amelanchier with a couple of evergreen shrubs. Everything has to be protected from rabbits and deer so they have fencing around them which is a good thing as at least we can see where they are.

The sunshine has been wonderful, it is revitalising and relaxing all at the same time and we have been enjoying every second. The weather app tells us that rain is on the way which will be welcome news for the orchard and hedging plants as the ground is bone dry and starting to crack up. The water butts, and we have lots, are nearly empty and they could do with a bit of a refill soon too. Until then though we will continue to bask in the sunshine and soak up as much vitamin D as we can.

I just had to finish off with this gorgeous picture of Ginger after her mud bath; they are having a great time in the sun and unless M creates the mud bath for them they just empty their drinking water out - rascals.