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Allotment Watering
Lots of stuff planted out. Runner beans and French beans are out and rapidly gaining height (with a bit of fleece for protection).
Spinach, beetroot and pea seedlings are all making good progress.
Watering has been absolutely essential. The soil is just a dry powder and I don't think any of the seedlings would have made it without water.
We've been watering the strawberries which are now starting to set fruit. Several plants would have died by now, let alone managed to produce any fruit without extra water.
The fruit bushes like blackcurrants are also water-stressed. The raspberries and the blackcurrant bush in the back garden are doing noticeably better than the the ones on the allotment. That's because they're right outside the kitchen door and every time I run the tap to get hot water to wash the dishes, I end up with half a bowl of luke-warm water which promptly gets poured on a thirsty plant.
Raspberries on the allotment that were transplanted earlier this year are the ones that are suffering most, but all raspberries are shallow-rooted and thus suffer when the soil gets too dry.
If you have any fruit or veg, get watering. A light sprinkling is no help at all. The soil is bone dry and you need a bare minimum of can of water per square meter and preferably several. Too little will just wet the surface and evaporate away. (Dig a small hole after you've watered and see how far down the water has got - the result may surprise you.)
On the allotment, we have a water tank. (Other plots use water butts or dustbins - anything that holds water and has a lid will do). We fill the tank from the tap with a long hose pipe; then we only have to walk to the tank to fill the watering can.
Don't let rain fool you. It rained last night, the first rain in ages. However, although the ground looks beautifully wet on the surface, a quick glance at the birdbath tells me that it wasn't actually very much rain - no more than .25 cm. That's not going to make much difference to the plants. We need serious heavy rain to soak the soil, a couple of centimetres at least. It's got to get down to the roots, or it isn't going to help.
Spinach, beetroot and pea seedlings are all making good progress.
Watering has been absolutely essential. The soil is just a dry powder and I don't think any of the seedlings would have made it without water.
We've been watering the strawberries which are now starting to set fruit. Several plants would have died by now, let alone managed to produce any fruit without extra water.
The fruit bushes like blackcurrants are also water-stressed. The raspberries and the blackcurrant bush in the back garden are doing noticeably better than the the ones on the allotment. That's because they're right outside the kitchen door and every time I run the tap to get hot water to wash the dishes, I end up with half a bowl of luke-warm water which promptly gets poured on a thirsty plant.
Raspberries on the allotment that were transplanted earlier this year are the ones that are suffering most, but all raspberries are shallow-rooted and thus suffer when the soil gets too dry.
If you have any fruit or veg, get watering. A light sprinkling is no help at all. The soil is bone dry and you need a bare minimum of can of water per square meter and preferably several. Too little will just wet the surface and evaporate away. (Dig a small hole after you've watered and see how far down the water has got - the result may surprise you.)
On the allotment, we have a water tank. (Other plots use water butts or dustbins - anything that holds water and has a lid will do). We fill the tank from the tap with a long hose pipe; then we only have to walk to the tank to fill the watering can.
Don't let rain fool you. It rained last night, the first rain in ages. However, although the ground looks beautifully wet on the surface, a quick glance at the birdbath tells me that it wasn't actually very much rain - no more than .25 cm. That's not going to make much difference to the plants. We need serious heavy rain to soak the soil, a couple of centimetres at least. It's got to get down to the roots, or it isn't going to help.
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My runner beans and mange tout are coming along well.
One courgette plant a casualty to the heat, the other coming along fine. As they do a courgette a week (or did last time) one is probably enough!
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Mange tout are fabulous for nibbling! And broad beans look good for the flowers, as well as the beans.
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I haven't seen a slug this year - it THAT dry. (snails, yes; slugs no)
What does 'Ble!' mean?
'Bah!' perhaps?
Or is it a swear word?
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And yes, ble, I have just returned from a garden and they are there again!
We had several downpours today but I managed to mow the lawn between them.
It strange to hear that it is that dry in England. Here, with the rain and low temperatures, are more like Scotland.
No good for the meadows, the farmers need to make hay, and the long lush grass has begun rotting.
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Or, possibly, 'yuk'.
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´Yuk´ is great! :-)