28th June 2022 - Back to the “gardening / growing” … what we love!
Around the side of the polytunnel, check out these high flowers on stalks. I can see three of them, two taller ones and a shorter one. These ball-shaped flowers are those of the leek. Many of the onion family have similar purple flowers which are kind of round, certainly chives do.
The raised bed is now yielding some beetroot, and behind there are some strawberry plants on the ledge. The challenge with spring / summer is that everything comes together, so these times are very busy sorting out plants and deciding where they are going. Most of that is already decided but last minute things always change the eventual outcome.
The new plot area (well a small part of it) is beginning to take shape. At least it is less “natural meadow” than it was, with plants organised in the parts we have reclaimed from the wild.
Back at the tidy main tomato bed things are progressing nicely. Flowers are already showing on the tomatoes. Maybe we will start them even earlier next year and see if we can get them planted out with flowers at the end of May… possibly bring the crop forward 3 weeks or so?
In the polytunnel, tomatoes are already forming on the vines, I think all of them now have some tomatoes on them.
In the next photo an excellent example of “planting yoga” where the exercise is all based around planting out plants (in this case peppers) whilst simultaneously incorporating a Yoga session.
On the terrace, flowers are growing steadily, except the horseradish which is attempting a takeover bid. The pink Mallow plants are in and growing well, very soon we will see them hopefully.
In the very next picture, at a different angle, we see a pink Mallow already! Very soon!
Behind the polytunnel, on the makeshift shelf - lettuce everywhere, along with a radish plant that has already gone to seed.
Plants go to seed when they are stressed and feel like they are near the end of their life, then they are pretty much going to die afterwards. All plants thus far if in small containers have dried out which does accelerate plants going to seed. We shall have to watch all of these lettuce, the herb box and pretty much all the raised beds in case of drying out.
Desi continuing with the yoga in the polytunnel… it is very warm in there this afternoon.
What a beautiful show of blue / mauve in the raised bed (sq box)! The lettuce appears to like it there too, as does the Asparagus right at the top. We have more Asparagus to plant at some point. We like Asparagus although allegedly we need to wait 3 years before harvesting to allow the plant to establish itself properly.
At the back of the allotment, the Purple Sprouting Broccoli appears to have forgotten what it is. Maybe we should rename it Purple Sprouting Giganticus. Perhaps this is due to cross pollination with other brassicas which we are told is very common. All brassicas come from the humble cabbage, a vegetable cultivated for 1,000’s of years presumably because it grows in the winter and offers great nutrients when most other plants do not grow.
Down behind the purple sprouting the onions are growing well, so much so that we have planted some more… hopefully they will catch up or we can replant next year for even larger onions.
In the decorative fence planters we have added some Marigold, but getting in the picture is the Passiflora which has suddenly shot into life “massively”. Clearly it is enjoying the location and this second year looks like it will take over the trellis.
The herb box is showing great signs of life. We have sown Dill, Coriander (Cilantro), Marjoram and Holy Basil (Thai Basil or Tulsi) in this box and all are growing nicely. Next year I shall have to add the second box, so we can extend the herb collection further.
