Onions

Just as I was running out of space the onions were ready for harvesting. By far the best and largest were the yellow onions - the white and red were small in comparison. I also lifted the elephant garlic which, while not exhibition size, was big. I have left the garlic and shallots in the ground in the hope they will get better. Who knows?

I have slow cooked the onion in readiness for a caramelised onion tart. Meanwhile the elephant garlic was trimmed, wrapped in foil and roasted in the oven.

The onion, along with some griddled courgettes, made a healthy and delicious topping for a pizza.

The rest of the onions and garlic are drying in the sun but in a sheltered place as there are storms predicted.

Most plants have been coping well in the drought and hot weather we have been having. I gave the seedlings and potatoes a good drenching with a bucket to make sure the establish well. I also sowed two varieties of courgette - yellow and golf ball size. I sowed straight into the ground which is new thing for me so I hope the do well. I also managed to harvest a tiny 200g of potatoes as I was transplanting the Christmas potatoes in the front garden. More than enough for a little potato salad.

I have to cut the raspberry canes down as they are obstructing the path. This is a real shame as they are just starting to fruit. I just didn't expect them to go this wild. Maybe retying some wires will control them long enough to allow me to harvest the fruit?

Checking in with the changes

B.W. Before Weeding

After heat and drought, temperatures are back to seasonal norm and Easter onwards gave us rain. However now half the country is in drought (predicted to be the worst since 1976) and we are unlikely to have hosepipe bans lifted until December.

Temperatures at night dropped so much that the emerging potato tops have browned a little in the frost. This weekend it was time to plant last Shetland black potatoes and earth up others. This is done easily by using a rake to drag the soil from the mounds to cover the green (and brown) leaves. Damage to the leaves is noticeably worse on the plot than near house where there are no signs of frost damage.  The house itself must give them a little protection.

I finally got around to weeding the onions and garlic which are shallow rooted and hate competition. This should be a lesson to me to regularly weed rather than do a marathon job - two wheelbarrows later and I was exhausted.  But as you can see, it made a huge difference. Now I just need to fertilise them and water the Jerusalem artichokes which are in the shadow of the grape vines so don't get rained on even if it does rain.

A.W. After Weeding

Great excitment was felt (well, by me anyway) after the weeding revealed our very first stems of asparagus. 2 weedy little specimens but mine own no less.
Window box salad is through as are some spring onion shoots (I think).
We had a mini disaster with the chili seedlings. Tom knocked them off the window sill and all but 3 seedlings are no more. I suppose it's a crude form of survival of fittest. Mind you I don't need many just enough to make chili jelly. Plus  the overwintering grafted one we bought from the RHS Hampton Court flower show is coming back to life. Both tomatoes and chili are actually perennials but our winters usually kill them off and they grow so easily from seed that they are usually treated as annuals.
Other seedlings that are doing well are the butter nut squash - I need to pot them on as can't plant out yet but I want to make room for sowing giant pumpkin seeds. My beetroot and PSB (purple sprouting broccoli) probably need repotting too as they are too fiddly and tiny to plant out but I will also try to direct sow as they look unhappy in their seed trays.

Some tomato seedlings are out but I have let them get leggy and should really pot them on deeper (ie plant them with half the stem submerged) to allow for roots to form further up the stem and make sure they are sturdy.  I also want to sow the black tomatoes to test them out.  Where will I find all the place?

Times of extremes

In the week the clocks went forward the days were reaching 22 degrees by lunchtime but the clear skies allowed temperatures to drop at night.  A quick visit to the plot saw a touch of frost on the strawberries but everything else untouched. Yorkshire has just joined the South in suffering from drought and though temperatures are due to return to a seasonal average, there is still no sign of rain.

Of the 3 potato trenches I planted, Sharpe's Express and Swift are poking through but Pentland Javelin is still staying under the soil. At home, the potatoes Bernie and I opportunistically planted in pots in the front have survived their January planting and are coming through.

Saturday was a day of action - clearing side passage, taking out the last of brassicas in raised beds, pruning and pressure washing before the water ban comes in on the 4th April.

In contrast to the highs of March (It's official. March 2012 was the sunniest, driest on record in the UK.) April temperatures are back to a seasonal average and we even had some rain on the 3rd. (the right sort of rain not just flash flood heavy rain that washes down the drain.)

A week of extremes

At the weekend we had overnight temperatures of -1. As visitors to the gorgeous Brighton we had to scrape frost off the car on our way to a half marathon (ouch!) but were bathed in sunshine as the day warmed up.

London fared slightly better I believe though the nights are still chilly.

We are being lured into a sense of security and optimism about planting later though as Thursday temperatures are predicted to rise to 16 degrees. 

After a relatively dry winter (the second in a row) there are warnings of possible drought measures in the future and families are being urged to start saving water. Apparently, the average rainfall this winter has been lower than the months preceding the severe drought in 1976, which brought a summer of water rationing, damaged crops and wild fires. The worst affected areas are the east of England, the Midlands and the South East.

I recently had some good news - I am to be the reader of the month in April's Garden Answers magazine. Apparently there is a prize associated with it.  I'm seriously hoping it will be a collapsible water butt as they look awesome. And it will help with the upcoming drought.*

*Please note that predictions of drought often precede an unbelievably wet and unimpressive summer (see 2011).

Preparations for neglect

With holiday plans afoot I prepared my plot for a little more neglect (though to be frank, an extra week of it won't make much difference).

Next to the tomatoes and courgette/ squashes I pushed on some upended plastic bottles with their bottom cut off. The idea is that these provide reservoirs of water in times of drought. The thing is that I don't think I've buried them enough as they fall over with a little water in them. Looking at a good tomato growing plot they have buried the bottles half way. Perhaps a job for Tom to do.

The plant fair at Kent house gardens got me a few new plants to try without the fuss of germination. 10 runner bean seedlings (st George because of it's red and White flowers) went in to the base of a cane tunnel Tom built (incidentally, what's the difference between a wigwam and a teepee?). A large (pink) fruiting brandywine tomato also went in with a slightly sturdier stake than a cane but I might need to replace it with something longer later.

Two cherry tomatoes (totem) went into pots on the steps at home. The name seems to suggest cordon but the tomato expert lady said it was tumbling and tastier than garden pearl. Must look it up.

The importance of weather

Top tip:
Keep an eye on the weather report but don't rely on it.  Protect plants if frosts are predicted and keep watering in dry weather.

10.03.10

Never have I been so interested in the weather. Something that formerly only governed what I was going to wear, if we could entertain outside and if I could get a tan now was going to affect what I needed to do on the plot. It was going to dictate how easy it was going to be to prepare the ground, if it was the right time to sow, if things needed protection or watering and how quickly they needed harvesting (and how much there would be to harvest). It also meant that I found a positive side to formerly hated weather like rain – it just meant that it was good for the plants and I could delay an in depth watering session.

Every month I will be keeping a record of the weather courtesy of the Met Office so that year on year I will be able to build up a picture of seasonal changes and not be surprised when we get frosts. This year has been very dry and sunny even after the late frosts and cold weather that delayed a lot of planting out and sowing – there are even threats of water bans.

31.03.10
March – a month of two halves, weather wise.
The first two weeks were generally dry and fine, although it was rather cold with some night frosts. The second half saw more changeable weather with rain at times
Mostly fine and dry until mid-month, with some overnight frosts, then becoming more changeable with wind and rain at times. The monthly mean temperatures were close to the 1971-2000 normals across almost all areas. Rainfall was somewhat below average in most places. Sunshine totals were generally somewhat above average. 

30.04.10
April – where were the showers?
The first week was unsettled but after this high pressure over or close to the UK brought plenty of dry and fine weather until the last few days. Daily maximum temperatures were above average and reached 20 °C in places on several days. However, daily minimum temperatures were close to normal with some frosts. Overall, April was a dry month, with less than 50% of the monthly average rainfall recorded in many areas and only about 30% of average in parts of northern England and East Anglia.

Provisionally, it ranks thirteenth driest in a 100-year series, but was not as dry as April 2007. This does not bode well for a hosepipe ban and we can only hope the wet summers of the last two years will insulate us. The dry weather has hit particularly hard in the south where totals were over 150% of normal locally. Provisionally, it ranks fifth sunniest in a series from 1929, similar to April 1990 but not as sunny as April 2007.

31.05.10
May – showing the truth behind the saying never cast a clout before May is out
For all us blasé Southerners May was a bit of a shock – after an extremely cold winter we thought we had seen the last of the cold, especially as April was so nice. Halfway through the month, though, the frosts hit – damaging some vegetable plants and delaying planting out of tender seedlings.

The first half of May saw cool weather, with a mainly northerly or north-easterly airstream. After a showery first few days, there was plenty of fine weather but with some overnight frosts. Temperatures recovered during the second half of the month, with a very warm spell from 20th to 24th. Overall, mean temperatures were normal or slightly below the 1971–2000 normal, by about 1.0 °C in parts of south-east England. May was a dry month in all areas, with less than 50% of the average rainfall recorded in parts of central southern England. Provisionally, it ranks tenth driest in a 100-year series, and is the driest May since 1991. Sunshine totals were up to 10% above normal.