Dry weather brings with it new challenges on the Vegetable Patch and in the Garden

I mentioned in my June article that summer felt as though it was just around the corner and the sun has been shining pretty constantly since. I am not going to complain about that after the winter and spring that we had, but it does bring with it a new set of challenges to be dealt with. We have had a couple of thunderstorms but in general it has been dry and pretty warm.

The Barbara Butternut Squash plants are loving the weather and spreading across the vegetable patch at quite a rate, and in fact have outgrown the space allotted them. Luckily the growth spurt on the Squashes coincided with the Pea's coming to and end so I have taken out the Pea plants to give the Squashes some extra room to roam.

This year I was once again growing Pea Bingo which is a dwarf early maincrop variety growing no higher than about two-and-a-half feet. They cropped well again, though in truth I probably didn't sow enough, and next year I will almost certainly dedicate more room on the plot for them. The biggest problem I had with them this year was keeping family and friends away from them as the picture below shows! 

The various Tomatoes on the veg patch are also thriving as are my Runner Beans, and the Tomatoes in the greenhouse are already reaching the roof – a friend recently remarked they resemble Triffids they're growing so well! I am growing a bush type Tomato this year called Tiny Tim in a couple of pots and they are just beginning to begin to fruit. I love growing a big Tomato, and the Pink Brandywine amongst others in the Greenhouse are all about size, but these Tiny Tim are lovely little toms, not even really quite a mouthful, but very tasty and a bit of fun.

The flip side of this lovely warm weather is of course, all the watering now required; the three varieties of potatoes I panted in 30-litre sized pots back in March needing watering daily as does the greenhouse. Last week I had the first of the Charlotte potatoes and If I do say so myself very nice, they were to; I will certainly be growing them in the pots again next year as it has proved pretty successful.

In the greenhouse it’s not just the Tomato plants that get watered but the floor as well. Damping down as this is known is simply pouring water onto the floor of the greenhouse (I have a concrete path in the middle of mine) ideally first thing in the morning. As the water evaporates during the day it creates humidity to prevent your plants from suffering heat stress. Another thing I water regularly in the hot weather is my four compost bins; I have the ‘Dalek’ type bins. A compost heap can struggle to compost correctly if too dry, successful composting depends on a certain amount of moisture in the mix, so it pays to give the bins a sprinkle of water once a week or so when the temperature is consistently high. Whilst you are at it, don’t forget to turn-over the contents as well to keep it well mixed and aeriated.

The Lilies in the White Border are yet to bloom but the border is looking lovely, especially in the late evening when the white really sings in the fading light with the Chrysanthemum Silver Princess and the White Geraniums doing their thing. Butterflies and Moths are definitely attracted along with various other little critters which is an added bonus. With the Lavender in full bloom in the opposite bed and all the Agapanthus also now flowering it can be quite hypnotic sat in the garden in late afternoon with the low hum and buzz coming from the beds with all the Bees, Hoverflies and alike hard at work. 

A little project I have decided to undertake is the underplanting of the climbing rose I have on the east fence of my garden. The rose is spectacular every year, and in one half of the bed underneath I have a number of Ferns that love the shade they get there partly from the house and partly from the Pergola I have outside the Conservatory. I have struggled to find anything to fill the other three-quarters/half of the bed though that does get a fair amount of sun during the day. I have a Viburnum Tinus in there that adds a little colour in late winter and three Hebe that were given to me a couple of years ago, variety unknown. Lily of the Valley has crept in from next doors garden, as pretty as it is in flower it can be invasive and doesn't do a lot other than in April and early May so I will be digging a lot of that out. A couple of years ago I added some native Foxgloves which have self seeded; a couple flowered lovely this year and I will be allowing them to self seed again this year. I also have three or four seedlings growing well which should overwinter and flower next year so that experiment has, thus far proved fairly successful. I have purchased some Viola seeds, Viola Sweeties and Viola Singing The Blues, with the plan to sow some now and overwinter the seedlings before planting out next year and probably direct sow a few in the spring as well. These pretty little plants should be hardy, and will self seed in the right conditions, so all being well will make a lovely carpet of colour under the Rose for a few years. 

It won't be long now until I find myself spending more time harvesting than doing anything else on the plot and I can't wait! 

Cheers 🍺