Look at my face, no go on, take a good look. It is the visage of a mildly contented, nay relieved man. Okay it wasn’t as much as I would have liked, less than an inch across the week, but compared to what has fallen in the past couple of months it was riches indeed. So this is a week of few complaints – which is a rarity, and something that I am sure you will be pleased for. I wasn’t hauling hosepipes or sprinklers about all week, which was a blessed relief and a great time saver.

The reduction in temperature made for far more comfortable working conditions too, so I was able to spend much needed time in the greenhouse and polytunnel, weeding, feeding, training, staking and side-shooting. I am really quite pleased how the protected crops are doing, I am hopeful for a good harvest from the cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. I have already harvested more than 90 cukes, that’s far more than in previous years for this time in June. I just hope that the red spider mite and powdery mildew keep away for a good while. There are some very good trusses of green tomatoes (see above), and there are peppers on some of the plants that are already at least half the size that they will be when mature. I don’t always have great success with peppers, but I have a good felling about this season. I planted some basil in one of the beds last week, and I have another area to clear where I will grow lots more.

Outside the brassicas welcomed the rain and have noticeably perked up (taking their lead from me), and I will be cutting spring greens this week. They are actually my pointed summer cabbages, but they are looking so good that I will cut some before they have hearted up. They are ever so good for you containing vitamin K and vitamin C and are an excellent source of fibre and antioxidants and those tasty dark green leaves will put hairs on your chest. Tempted? The other item that I will begin cutting is chard, that too has benefitted from the precipitation. The runner beans are still looking sorry for themselves, they are growing, but ever so slowly and are not looking the picture of good health. I am hoping that all of a sudden they will buck up and stop sulking.

I have taken the bottom half of the garden out of production, mostly because I just can’t cope with the rigours of it, but also because the perennial weeds have defeated me. It is highly populated by thistle, docks and comfrey, all of which are difficult to control when you don’t use herbicides. There are also other things growing amongst the thugs, such as clover, oxeye daisy and buttercups. I decided that I needed to run the flail mower over it, but when I did the first pass so many bees and butterflies were present that I decided to change my plan and would cut the field in strips, in effect only cutting half of the area so that the pollinators and beneficial insects still had plenty of forage. Through the summer I will alternate the mowing so there are always flowering plants for them to work, and the mowing should result in subsequent flushes of flowers. I plan to oversow the plot with a legume and wildflower mix to create more competition to the dominant self sown plants and to increase diversity to encourage a wider range of bird and insect species.

There is little change in the shop this week, save for the addition of chard, and that red oakleaf lettuces have been replaced by green oakleaf lettuces, plus some little gems. Apples will be Gala, that’s about it. The cherry tomatoes last week were very tasty, but over ripe. I have informed the supplier of this and am hopeful that in future they will have a longer shelf life.

I took a chunk out of my head on Friday when halfway round my delivery route. I fell foul of the rear door of the van. I don’t know how it happened, but bashing my head is a fairly common occurrence, so I wasn’t altogether surprised, but stars were seen momentarily. It’s a bit of a thing with bald men, we have apparently lost the sensory warning system provided by hair, which acts like animal whiskers, brushing against obstacles to signal that you are getting too close. Without it, judging proximity becomes increasingly difficult, and as a consequence….painful! It’s not often that my bald pate is blemish free. Perhaps a wig is the solution?

I have an appointment at the opticians tomorrow morning for an eye test/check up. It is several years since the last one so it will be interesting to see how much my sight has deteriorated in the meantime. I know that it has – I really can’t read anymore without reading glasses, and I’m not sure that my distance vision, though still pretty good, is quite what it was. I will report back next week.

Right, I’m off to the garden now to practice my keepy uppies to get me in the mood for the football World Cup which kicks off on Thursday, so if you’ll excuse me…..one, two, three, doh!

Phil