What a sizzling week of weather we had, that was the week to have been at the Cornish coast, not the cold and gloomy one that I experienced a month ago. Oh well, good luck to those that struck lucky. It made for quite a physically demanding time working, because both the greenhouse and polytunnel were too hot to work in after mid-morning, and even outside it became a struggle in the blazing sunshine. In fact, on Wednesday whilst picking dwarf French beans I was bent double for the best part of a couple of hours with the sun beating down on my back, and later in the day I really felt quite queer, with impaired vision and a headache. I put it down to a touch of sunstroke. I need to hydrate much better when conditions are like that. And yes I did have a hat on. After a couple of days of cooler weather it looks as though the week ahead is going to be fairly warm, though not as hot as last week. I hope that it’s a bit more comfortable overnight too, sleeping has been difficult.
After all that rain for all those months and complaining about what a rubbish summer it has been, I am now irrigating selected crops! I know, it seems mad doesn’t it? I am mostly concerned about the beans and the squash, both of which are thirsty crops. So the sprinklers have been whirring to try to keep the plants healthy and to maximise the harvest yield. The French beans are actually doing quite well, so they no longer have the ‘limited’ tag attached to them, and by next week there should be lots of runner beans. I held off from watering because thunderstorms were forecast on a couple of days last week, but nothing materialised here, except for a bit of drizzly stuff yesterday morning.
The netting of the courgettes has paid off, so I can finally offer my own ‘Cocozelle’ courgettes in the shop. This is not the most productive or uniform variety, but I grow it because in my opinion it has superior flavour to any others that I have tried. Late on Friday afternoon I went to cut some to take to the farmers market the following morning, I had just started to peel off the netting that is protecting them from the midnight feasters when I was confronted by an angry and aggressive hen pheasant. She darted in front of me, dancing around my legs, ushering me away from her chicks that were peeping in distress under the netting. I retreated in haste, pulling the net back in place as I departed the scene virtually empty handed. Good for her though, I like her spirit.
The Spotted Flycatchers are about again, a very welcome sight. I had the pleasure of watching a Treecreeper at fairly close quarters for several minutes as it searched for food on the stem of one of the small trees in front of the potting shed a few days ago. I have picked up some interesting results in my birdsong identification app recently, including Linnet, and also a Green Sandpiper, which I am somewhat dubious about. I would like it to be true, but I think it’s unlikely. I will have to ask my mate ‘Birding Bazz’ if it could be possible.
These Olympic Games are proving to be somewhat distracting. I’m not getting much done in the evenings in my own garden, the lure of the telly is proving to be too strong to resist. I am a real fan of sport….many sports, so this is like being a child in a sweetshop. Triathlon, mountain biking, swimming, BMX racing, it doesn’t really matter, I just love it, but it don’t arf waste some time.
The shop is looking a bit light this week. As I mentioned last week there will be no lettuces, they should be back next week. The Florence fennel is finished, though I do have another batch that will be ready in a few weeks time. The European orange season is about finished, so they will be absent until the end of the year. I am introducing ‘Portugal’ chilli peppers, they are larger than the Cayenne types, are sweet and are mild to moderate in the heat stakes. The ‘Ring of Fire’ are now red and are officially HOT! I will begin cutting green bell peppers this week, it won’t be long until there are red ones now, and they are obviously much more tasty at that stage. There are lots of cucumbers and tomatoes.
Looking ahead, I am fairly confident that there will be the first eating apples of the season ready to pick next week, exciting eh?
Okey dokey, I am too distracted, the men’s 100mtr final is about to start so I’ve got to get on my starting blocks. Have a great week, see you soon.
Phil