"There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments"
Janet Kilburn Phillips
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Happy (Belated) Solstice!
Hi Everyone.
Yes, this means that we are beyond mid Summer and moving towards harvest time. Are you looking forward to picking your first Tomato and wondering why you planted so many Courgette plants, I know I am. But let's not sit back and convince ourselves that this is it for this year. It won't be long before you notice gaps in your growing area and start to wish you had carried on sowing seeds.
So what have we got in store for you this month.
- What to sow and grow in July and August.
- Watering tips...Don't waste a drop!
- Filling those gaps...it's not too late to sow more.
And lastly, Lottie news.
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What to sow and grow in in July.
Sadly, being this side of the Equinox means that our days will start to get shorter from now on. However, that also means we can start thinking about things that prefer the cooler weather or ever hardy veg that will go right through winter and give an early crop of veg in the spring.
If you have the space, Autumn and Winter Cauliflowers can be started off now, along with all of the Kales, Winter Cabbages and Spring Cabbage that will be ready in March to late April.
Short season crops like Spring Onions, Lettuce, Pak Choi, Radish and Turnips are all good to get a succession sowing in, so that when your first crop is starting to go over, you've got some more waiting in the wings so as to get a continuous supply.
Have you tried Kohlrabi...that strange Sputnik looking veg? It is surprisingly very pleasant, the only way I can describe it is a bit like a Cauliflower or Broccoli stem crossed with sweet Cabbage. Goes really well grated up into a coleslaw.
You could do some Beetroot, Swede, Carrots, Peas, Bulb Fennel, Chard and true Spinach, which either don't mind or prefer the cooler days. Or how about starting off some Gerkin Cucumbers. And lastly, if you have some large pots and some undercover space, you could put in a few first early Potatoes and have them ready for your Xmas dinner.
| | | Watering Tips...Don't Waste a Drop π¦ | | |
With the threat of 41- 45C heat this summer, watering and keeping all your crops happy is going to be a tough challenge. Already on a couple of occasions this year my poly tunnel has reached over 40C! π₯΅ There are a couple of things we can do though to save precious water and help our plants to survive the heat. Below are my five top tips and a few more in Ben's video.
- Watering in the morning I feel is the best time of day. This way the surface compost will have dried out during the day which then leaves it dry on top which the slugs and snails don't particularly like. If you water on a warm evening as the sun is going down this is exactly the wet and warm conditions slugs and snails love as they come out to feed at night.
- Water where your fruit and veg needs it, which is their roots. Water as close to the ground as possible and try not to get water on the leaves especially potatoes and tomatoes as this can create an environment that blight can thrive.
- If you can, mulch the ground around your plants after watering with something that will help keep the moisture in. Things like grass cuttings, wood chip or a product called 'Strulch'.
- If and when it rains, try to capture as much rainwater as possible. Whether this is in an actual water butt or a few buckets, trugs or containers, every little helps as they say.
- How do you know if things need to be watered? If you have grow bags or tubs, these will probably need to be watered every day in the heat. With veg in beds the best way to see if they need watering is to dig down and inch or two and if the compost feels cool or damp then you could probably leave it a day. Also, look at your plants, do they feel firm and springy or are they a bit soft and wilting? If they look a bit lacklustre then give them a drink. With the weather we're having at the moment it's almost impossible to overwater.
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It's not too late!
ο»ΏThere comes a point in the veg gardening year where gaps begin to appear in your beds. Potatoes and onions have been pulled up and the Broad Beans and Garlic have finished. I often get asked at this stage "Is it too late to plant..?" fill in the gap.
There's plenty you can still sow or plant now, but it means doing a bit or research first. Seeing as garden centres will probably not have any veg plants at this time of year apart from herbs, you'll going to have to buy seeds.
A Carrot is not just a Carrot and a Cabbage is not just a Cabbage. What I mean by this is that there are Spring Cabbages, Summer/Autumn Cabbages and Winter Cabbages. Different varieties require different conditions to grow and different times of the year to be sown.
Here's a few vegetables and a couple of varieties that are suitable to sow at this time of year. Some will overwinter to give you a spring harvest.
Carrots - Autumn King 2 and Resistafly
Cabbage - Wheelers Imperial and January King
Cauliflowers - All Year Round and Snowball
Spinach - Matador and Giant Winter
Beetroot - Bolthardy and Golden Eye
Peas - Eddy and Douce Provence
And don't forget that direct sowing Dwarf French Beans are great for filling any small gaps that appear in your veg patch or in pots on a balcony.
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Barnes Pond Market
Saturday 5th July 10am - 4pm
Fingers and toes crossed that the market doesn't get cancelled again this month otherwise I will have to have all my plants for sale in my front garden! Believe me, I've done it before.
Hope to see you by the pond and the sun shines all day βοΈ
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Growing your own food.
Monday 14th July 11am - 12.15
If you'd like to know more about growing your own food and get lots of tips and tricks, email me for more info or to book your place.
This month I'll be talking about organic fertilisers, hand pollination, a Carrot update, veggies to see you through the Winter and I'll be answering all of your food gardening questions.
Come and meet me and a friendly bunch of beginner food growers and get a free cuppa, a bickie or two and time for a chat at the end. Β£6 a session
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This is the first open day we are having at Westfields & St. Anne's Allotments and we are hoping lots of people will come along and see all the lovely plots we have worked so tirelessly on this year.
Have a leisurely wander around, chat to committee members and plot owners or come and get some refreshments from our soon to be community plot. We'll have cold drinks, cakes and maybe jars of local honey and organic fruit jam to purchase. You never know what handy tips and new ideas you'll go home with.
Its free entry. Hope to see you there.
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Courgette cake with lemon drizzle...Yum!
I've done it again!...I've planted too many Courgette plants and they are now coming through thick and fast. After last year with the excruciating slug problem I hardly got any Courgettes as most of them got eaten. So this year I wasn't taking any chances and have got three in my beds and another three in pots waiting in the wings.
So what do you do with so many Courgettes? Well, apart from donating them to the local food bank or gifting them to friends, family and neighbours there's always CAKE! π°
A variation on the Carrot cake theme, this recipe uses two medium sized Courgettes and you would never know it had veggies in. My lovely Geezer Hubby is the baker in our household and he makes a wicked Courgette cake. See below.
The link to the recipe that we use is HERE Do check it out as it's very good.
I'm hoping you'll be able to try a piece at our allotment Open Day on 20th July.
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Lottie News!
June on the Lottie wasn't without it's problems, but on the whole there were some nice and some interesting developments. Firstly my Strawberry guttering experiment was a complete disaster! I'd decided to use the home made compost from my Dalek compost bin, which had only been there for a year. It became apparent early doors that there were a lot of viable seeds in the compost, mainly Tomato and Pepper from my kitchen waste. In fact after a couple of weeks the guttering was groaning with hundreds of Tomato and Pepper seedlings, which completely overshadowed the Bear Root Strawberries I'd planted. Out of 20 Strawberry plants only two have survived. Sigh!
It just so happened I'd used some of the same compost to put in my hanging baskets in the poly tunnel, but this time I'd decided to leave some of the seedlings in. Needless to say that I have got two of the best Pepper plants I've ever grown and a couple of Tomato plants that are already producing fruit!
The Yacon I planted six weeks ago is going great guns and after not getting any Blackcurrants last year, this year the bush is heaving with Currants and I already have enough to make some jam. The Courgettes started coming through and I'm desperately trying to pick them on the smaller side, especially the Lebanese ones. As with all Courgettes, turn you back for five minutes and you've got a Marrow on your hands.π²
The poly tunnel went up to 45C the other day, but the Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Melons seem to like it, along with my hanging basket Peppers. It does mean I have to water in there every day, even the pathway as this helps to keep the temperature down a bit.
My saved seed Sweet Peas started to flower which I was pleased to see, but the blasted pigeons made a meal and a half out of my Lettuces, all three of the Valmaine ones. Fortunately they don't like the Lollo Rossa variety so I didn't loose all of my salad leaves.
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If you have a food gardening question you'd like to ask just pop me an email and I'll see how I can help. I don't proclaim to be an expert, but I will do my best to answer any of your questions.
In the meantime, if you know of anyone who might like to become a FG4A member do feel free to forward them this email and get them to visit the website and sign up, it's free!
Or you can always catch up with what I've been up to on Facebook or instagram.
Keep Cool.
Christine x
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33 South Worple Way
London, SW14 8PB United Kingdom
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