9th-11th July 2022 - Big Guns, Umbrellas and Gooseberries
It has been hot! No… it has been very, very hot! In the first couple of pictures we have brought in the “big guns”. Meet Tom, one of the grandsons. He asked if he could come down and take a look at the allotment. Of course we immediately said yes, and then got him working on the tough gigs.
This piece of land is part of the land that the previous neighbour dug over right at the start of the year, or might have been at the end of last year. Anyway, it is hard, weedy, and some brambles thrown in for good measure. Tom got stuck in and dug a fair amount of the roughest stuff! Not really the best tool (small spade) for the job and it was the first time Tom had done anything remotely like this, so it was a good learning experience… not sure if he’ll come back though!
In the next picture Desi is wading through the tomatoes, making sure as they grow that they are well supported by the bamboo canes. Tomatoes need the side shoots taking out, the lower leaves removed, tying up to the canes and watering. So they aren’t just plant-and-forget - there is some care and attention required.
Well, after the hard work of the day, time to relax under our new umbrella. Chris’s sister has installed a new awning, and consequently this umbrella became available. Perfect that it is rectangle and just the right size, shape, and height to provide a very “needed” shade. The temperature is said to be getting just south of 40C this summer, and boy does it feel like it. Many of our co-plot owners are coming early in the morning to water and then not returning till the next day, so there isn’t much company down here these long summer days. Time for tea with Desi!
Gooseberries…
Desi found these and then brought a few for us to eat. I first of all said, "It’s ok, no thanks", remembering how sour they were from my Dad’s garden. But no… these were really sweet. I just worked it out: our dog ate all the sweet ones, and we just had the sour ones left! We have a renewed interest in restoring these gooseberry bushes for next year.
The cucumber plants are starting to grow well, and it looks like the swedes Desi laboured to plant are doing well also. The potatoes and the Purple Sprouting have now screened off the bottom blot from view. We must sort them both out at some point: the Purple Sprouting needs harvesting and trimming back (it has produced purple florets) as the white netting is totally full now.
