So here we are approaching the end of June (which means we’re past midsummer and on our way to Autumn) the garden and vegetables are beginning to be productive and I’m making the record of what we’re harvesting.
The tomatoes are all growing well and have small fruit growing on them. I have a feeling that this year is going to be a battle with slugs. I grow the tomatoes in Morrisons Flower Buckets and the buckets are stood in trays so that I can water them without wasting water (water from the bottom, feed from the top). Anyway I moved a couple of trays the other day to find lots of slugs under each of them. I don’t want to put down slug pellets but obviously I’m going to have to keep a close eye on them because slugs can (and do) cause havoc. All in all, they look to be doing well. Looking at the mix of varieties I’m growing this year, I’ve got a larger proportion of cherry tomatoes than I would normally grow so I expect I’ll get a slightly smaller crop that is usually the case.
The other greenhouse has got peppers, cucumbers, physalis and (more) tomatoes. The physalis that’s looking like it will crop earliest is three years old and beginning to look like it could do with being re-potted. It’ll be interesting to see how early it crops.
Outside (and in the netted tunnel) in the veg plot, the strawberries are doing well, the spring cabbages are nearing the end and the french beans, runner beans, courgettes, potatoes, carrots, parsnips and lettuces are growing with everything struggling in the dry. Its a while since I’ve been forced to use tap water to water my vegetables but this year its already proving necessary. The apple trees are looking good but quite a few have fallen with the “June Drop” and our battle with the squirrels isn’t far away.
Looking at the crops that we’ve taken:
We’ve picked all the broad beans (around 1.5kg of podded beans) and planted lettuces and swiss chard in the space vacated;
The potatoes (1st earlies) are pickable and we decided that we would start picking them whilst there were small quantities, rather than waiting and getting an inedible glut;
We’ve had our first cucumber (always a pleasure);
The strawberries are producing a relatively small but continuous crop (when we can beat the slugs to them); and
The lettuces mean that we haven’t bought any for a couple of weeks – they’ve got too dry and bolted so we’re going to have a week without any whilst they come on.
And that’s it