Summer days of June (2019)

The start of June marks the beginning of summer and the joy of seeing flowers and fruits coming alive around us makes all our hard work worth it.

During one of the tv gardening programmes we saw a segment about growing loofahs (although the spelling seemed to be slightly different everywhere I looked). The plants looked amazing and the resulting fruit and dried loofah sponges were incredible. A few weeks later and we had our first loofah or luffa seedlings.

One of our Trollius plants was munched by deer or rabbits but an upside down hanging basket protected the other one and hey presto we had a beautiful bright orange bloom. These plants like wet conditions so it is very happy at the wet end of daffodil walk.

Another plant we saw on TV was the Camassia which is woodland plant which comes in a variety of blues and white. I was able to plant some white ones with a variegated leaf in the white garden. I was a little sceptical as to whether they would become deer food but in the end we had some beautiful flowers.

Despite it being June we were still allowing the last of the daffodils to die back before mowing the whole area. Sadly it always looks a bit messy until we can tidy it up a bit. In the meantime M got the mower out and cut either side of the daffodil beds. We needed to weed around the shrubs but that was a task for another day.

We have no idea who laid this egg but it must have been painful! The egg on the left is the normal size for our chooks and the one on the right was huge.

It turned out that the massive egg was a double yoker, our first one and extremely tasty.

As we have been trying to keep a record of how things are growing and changing I have been attempting to take regular photos from approximately the same spot. The orchard looked great just after M had been active with the mower again.

We inherited a shrub in the garden which covers the wall dividing us from the chicken yard. We have always assumed it was a clematis of some kind. No matter what variety it is the abundance of flowers and beautiful scent astounds us each year.

For some reason we have never been particularly successful when it comes to growing roses. There were about 5 in the garden and they all looked pretty dreadful despite our mulching, feeding and pruning regime. However, occasionally we were rewarded with a gorgeous bloom.

Earlier in the year we chipped and laid paths through some areas of the woods. By June the weeds had begun to grow through and M battled through on the tractor. It looked so much better and saved Jess from walking through the nettles.

We were amazed to find this little fellow hiding under the matting around one of the orchard trees. Thankfully M was on hand to escort him back to a safe place.

With the long sunny days the temperatures in the greenhouse were soaring and in recent years we have only shaded the south facing side of the greenhouse. this year I decided to fix some shading to the west side of the greenhouse to reduce the scorching effect of the sun on my little plants. It was surprisingly really effective.

The winter weather took it's toll on the green bench. Well that was my excuse for the fact that it collapsed under my weight or perhaps it was when Jess jumped up to join me. Either way it required a serious makeover, M put his diy skills into action and hey presto a new (and safe) bench in our afternoon woodland suntrap.

We inherited these vegetables shelters from my aunt last year and decided to try them over the sweetcorn. One was particularly wonky but seemed up to the job nonetheless, at least it was some protection from the hungry rabbits and deer.

Our local garden nursery was a wonderful find and results in a car full of plants. The latest trip found us buying 3 more rhododendron a coupe of hydrangeas and a few shrubs for the white garden.

   

The new rhododendrons planted up.

A new rhododendron added near to the ones we planted over the last few years.

A little blue hydrangea.

A climbing white hydrangea for the white garden.

We planted some Cornus Candensis (ground cover), Solomons Seal, Astrantia, Hollyhock, Buddleia, Viburnum and Campanula. They looked very young and immature but we were hopeful that they would grow strongly over the summer. A wonderful end to a month of hard work.

We grew all our tomato plants in growbags in the greenhouse after the trial polytunnel ones performed very poorly, suffering from various ailments. They were planted up in mid May and by the middle of June they had lots of healthy new green growth.

We had planted some broad beans in the polytunnel at the end of autumn last year and were rewarded with a lovely early harvest.

 

The pots and hanging baskets were beginning to fill out and enjoying the long sunny days, our main task was trying to keep them watered and fed.

I thought I'd finish with a little photo of M's collection of Hostas. This was only their second year, they appeared to be staving off any slug attacks and were putting on lots of green foliage. Just lovely and possibly the start of another obsession!

August Delights

August disappeared in a flurry of activity. I spent a large part of the month away with mum helping to look after another family member so poor M was left to fend for himself and look after the homestead.

When I was home it was harvesting time and there was plenty, especially from the tomato plants. The yield from the polytunnel plants was pretty poor but due to the long sunny days and higher temperatures we had bucket loads from the greenhouse.

The first batch of tomato and chorizo soup was made from our own tomatoes, chorizo, onions and garlic, it felt amazing that it was made from all our own produce.

Another batch of tomatoes made it into 7 containers of passata for the freezer to be used up during the winter months.

The Jalapenos were the best yet and these large juicy chilli were destined for the freezer in the form of Jalapeno Poppers.

I tried making these a few years ago after sampling them in a restaurant. The recipe has changed ever so slightly but is basically the same. The Jalapenos are sliced in half then the seeds are removed just in case they are particularly hot. The halves are then filled with a garlic and herb cream cheese mixed with a little finely grated cheddar.

The chillies are then rolled in plain flour, egg and breadcrumbs. After open freezing they are boxed for future use. Before eating we just pop a few in the oven for about 15-20mins. They are soooo yummy but we have learned from experience that it can be a little like Russian Roulette as to whether you get a hot one or not!!!

On recommendation I bought the National Trust Book of Scones during the summer and while I was away M had a go at cheese scones. I didn't get to sample them but he did say they were very tasty.

   

M did an amazing job harvesting all the onions and oh did we have a bumper harvest.

   

Centurion                                                Hercules

     

Sturon                                                       Red Baron

Now if they are stored well they should last through the winter. Failing that I think it might be a good idea to slice and dice the best ones then open freeze them before bagging them up. It's a good job we like and use a lot of onions; perhaps I should have a go at making some Onion soup.

More Hot and Sunny Days - July

Sitting here on a dull, drizzly, wet and windy day the wonderful warm and sunny summer days seem a very long time ago. August disappeared in a flurry and now I find I've got all of July and August to catch up on. So, taking one month at a time, this was July:

The wonderful warm and sunny weather from May and June continued right on into July. While we loved wearing shorts again (probably the first time in 3 years) and spending so much time outside we found it was quite a task to keep up with all the watering. Indeed we sometimes had to water twice a day. It had never seemed possible that we could empty our 6 water butts but yes, they ran dry.


The polytunnel was difficult to keep watered sufficiently as the daytime temperatures soared to 40⁰C. Whether it was the increased temperatures, our more managed watering schedule or a combination of the two, we have had quite a few successes with (of course) the occasional failure.

While the greens, spinach, chard and kale have grown superbly, our young lettuce, spring onions and rocket struggled to germinate in the heat and those which did grow bolted and went to seed before we could harvest them.


The majority of the tomatoes have absolutely loved the heat and sunshine. The plants in the growbags were growing strong with one main stem and all side shoots removed. Sadly the tomato plants in the green canvas pots (on the left) struggled. It appeared that they dried out really quickly in the heat and I was slow to realise that watering once a day was insufficient. For the first time ever we had some Blossom End Rot which we believed was due to the extremes of temperature and lack of water to allow the plant to take up calcium. I managed to increase the watering schedule and in the end only two plants were really badly affected.


As expected, the Sweet Peppers and Jalapenos also thrived in the heat and sunshine producing a mass of flowers and tiny fruits growing quickly. Again I was extremely careful that they had plenty of ventilation and didn't dry out. I was especially pleased that the Jalapeno we had nurtured indoors during the winter had beautiful green leaves and signs of flowers appearing.


I was feeling quite proud of our healthy looking little pepper plants and couldn't wait to see some fruits growing.


The first potato harvest was the Extra Earlies. It was a small crop but so tasty boiled, or as mash and occasionally chips.

We noticed a increase in deer activity during July, they were getting closer to the house, mooching around the yard eating flowers and quite happily lying at the back of the midden. Although it was lovely to see them, especially with their new foal, we hadn't quite been prepared for the damage they could wreak.

   

We didn't just have to contend with the weather conditions but also the extreme pruning by the local wildlife.

We set up the camera just to check why all the fruit trees seemed to be suffering and to identify the culprits. Unfortunately I couldn't get all the video to download but this video from June made it pretty clear who was to blame!!!


We were able to keep the baths watered throughout the hot days and enjoyed some early carrots. I was so impressed that the purple ones grew, they were all extremely tasty, much better than any shop bought carrots.


This dahlia was a cheap plant bought in the sale section of a garden centre a few years ago. It spent the winter in the greenhouse before going outside in June. I was thrilled to see some large blooms appear in the bright sunshine.

In previous years we had seen this clematis growing up a tree in the garden but this year it obviously enjoyed the warm dry summer and produced the most beautiful display of deep red/crimson flowers.


In fact the flowers around the garden survived the drought and all the pots and troughs were overflowing with colour.


The best thing about July is the start of harvesting, this was a little meagre offering to begin with but brimming full of flavour and colour!

  

Sometimes it seemed like we were in the midst of a continual game of ready steady cook. We would go and collect the fruit and veg ready for picking and then try to design dinner around the ingredients. Not always a successful combination, we were certainly doing well in our quest for 5-a-day fruit and veg.


We were blessed with another few cycle rides and days out at the seaside, it was just a shame I developed a cycling shorts/t-shirt tan.


Halfway through July we decided to cut our losses and harvest the rest of the garlic. Sadly the early onset of summer must have coincided with the main growth period and with a serious lack of water the bulbs failed to swell as we had hoped. There were lots of garlic bulbs but they were extremely small. Thankfully they were flavoursome but I doubt they will see us through the winter. Still we'll have another go next year.


I took another photo from the gate so we could compare the changes in the orchard throughout the growing season. The trees from this angle looked quite healthy despite the hard dry ground.

Our little fig tree entered it's second season and decided to fruit. Sadly it split due to the heat and irregular watering but we are hoping for even more next year.


By the end of July the main veg bed was starting to look quite full with the onions flourishing and only a few starting to produce seed heads.


We had planted 2 different varieties of broad beans, one red and the other a dwarf green. They were both gorgeous and so we'll probably do both again next year. The brassicas on the far side of the beans were pushing up their netting so we had to take that off and keep a close eye on any caterpillar activity.


After the harvesting of the early potatoes this part of the main veg bed was starting to look a bit empty but the peas (foreground) and the French beans continued to grow well. That was until the deer decided they liked the taste of peas. Unfortunately we lost a lot of our produce to them, time for a rethink for next year.


The garden looked great with the grass freshly cut and the flowerbed edges trimmed. It was wonderful that we managed to sit and relax and enjoy the flowers and nature around us. One big bonus of the dry weather was the lack of midges, one thing I was not going to complain about.


Finally a delightful flower to finish off. Our Hemerocallis finally flowered this year, in fact it produced at least 4 large stunning blooms, such a beautiful sight after it's poor performance last year. It may seem like a long time ago but we had a glorious summer with much to be thankful for.