George Frideric Handel’s number one best seller is ringing in my ears as I look out of the window at rain…yes rain! It’s actually raining! As I write these words 6.4mm has registered in my weather station guage (10mm at Moyns Park), and the weather forecasts are predicting more during this afternoon and then overnight. Okay it’s not enough, but it’s been steady and it’s better than nothing and it will freshen things up. But after this there is no more to come for the foreseeable, and joy of joys we have another heatwave heading our way towards the end of the week.
I was delayed late one afternoon last week. I was about to close up the polytunnel for the night when I discovered a hen pheasant in there with a large brood of newly hatched chicks. I reopened the doors and left them alone for a few minutes, hoping that they would find their way out. When I returned a little later the hen was outside the tunnel with some of the chicks, but most of them were still inside. She was part way down the side calling to her offspring, but they couldn’t work out how to get to her and were scurrying up and down the inside of the tunnel ‘peep peeping’ back at her through the plastic. So one by one I caught them and delivered them to her outside, and each time she ran at me hissing, seemingly ungrateful of my rescue mission. Eight tiny babies were reunited with their mother, whereupon she disappeared with them into the undergrowth – I reckon that there were probably 12 in total. This afternoon I came upon the family group again down the garden, and once again she darted at me head down and hissing. I only counted 3 chicks on this occasion, but I suppose there could have been more in hiding. They don’t often seem to successfully manage to raise many to adulthood, and the poor hen appears to get absolutely no assistance from the cock bird. I will try to keep tabs on them and will report back next week.
For the past two years I have had leaf cutter bees nesting in the hollow rungs of a metal ladder that leans against a door in the greenhouse. I hadn’t seen any this year, but a few days ago I noticed some debris on the floor near the base of the ladder. It appears that a bee has been cleaning out a previously used rung and is making a new nest. What they do is cut quite large notches out of leaves, fly back to the ladder, roll the leaf up and lay their eggs in them. What I noticed on the floor were last years dried out rolled up leaves. It does of course mean that I won’t be able to use that ladder for the third year running.
I had a wander down the orchard earlier to assess the apple crop, and it’s a mixed bag really. Some of the trees are well endowed whist others are sparse or are devoid of apple, and with the lack of rain it remains to be seen if the fruit will make a decent size. My secondary reason for going down there was to check the fence, and sure enough another hole has been made in wire mesh. I’m not surprised, last week when I was cutting grass down the bottom I disturbed two Muntjac, which explains the nibbling of the summer squash. There are also hare droppings about the place. Tedious ain’t it?
I’ve got a lot of planting to do tomorrow – kale, red cabbage, lettuce, flat leaf parsley, sweetcorn. The soil will still be moist from today’s rain (hallelujah), so the plants should get off to a decent start. Tomatoes are ripening nicely and are well ahead of most years, and I have already cut 163 cucumbers, not bad eh? This week the lettuce are Little Gem and I will start cutting chard and curled parsley. Courgettes are still in short supply (thanks to the wildlife). The Maris Bard new potatoes are still coming out of the soil nice and clean, they have been very good considering the weather.
Farewell and good luck to my loyal customer Elaine who is moving back to the midlands. It has been a pleasure knowing you and your late partner Keith, I wish you all the best, you will be missed.
Okay that’s me done for this week.
Phil