That’s how it feels after a week back….what holiday? That’s not altogether true, the break was lovely and it did me good, but trying to catch up after time away is hard work. The tomato plants in particular needed a lot of attention – side shooting, training and weeding. At this time in their development they put on a lot of growth in a short space of time. One of the plants in the greenhouse was so laden with fruit that its supporting string snapped, so I had to go up the ladder to fix a new one to the roof beam, then I had to reattach the 8ft long vine to the support – it was like wrestling a writhing python!
Weeds are great aren’t they (that’s great not great)? Whatever the conditions they thrive. They are plants that have adapted to the conditions in which they find themselves, and mostly I hate them, but I do have a grudging admiration for them (a bit like my relationship with Grey Squirrels). What I would say is that at Moyns Park an awful lot of them appear to have adapted to the conditions very well. I am picking my battles though, from necessity, and am concentrating on the crops that need to be kept weed free. Some, like the squashes, can largely suppress the weed competition by smothering them with foliage, but beetroot, chard, lettuces and many of the brassicas need to be kept fairly clean until they reach a certain size. It’s like keeping on top of painting the Forth Rail Bridge though, as soon as you have finished hoeing you need to start again.
In my ‘what I did on my holidays’ piece last week, I failed to mention the number of butterflies that we encountered. I get a pretty good quantity of them in and around the garden, but down there clouds of them were flitting hither and thither. I’m pretty good at identifying the common ones we see in these parts, but there were some that just wouldn’t stay still for long enough for me to get a good look at them, but there were types that we don’t see around here. That’s not surprising, because the food plants in South Devon are somewhat different to the industrial agricultural landscape of East Anglia. Last week saw the Large Whites (Cabbage White) arrive en-masse, like a marauding gang of hooligans. All of the vulnerable brassica plants are covered in very large sheets of fine netting, but the little devils find their way in somehow and lay their clusters of nasty little yellow eggs that turn into nasty little green caterpillars with an insatiable appetite. I’m conflicted again; I love butterflies….just not those ones!
There are some comings and goings in the shop this week. Out go Apple Juice, apples and Florence fennel. The apples were not great last week, but they have done well to hang on this long, but if you had a bad experience with them please let me know so that I can make it right with you. Some items are in limbo – broad beans are big and starchy, which is fine if you like them like that, if not blanch them and pop them out of their husks – a faff, but worth it. Broccoli is in short supply, as is kohlrabi and sweet potatoes. In comes red stemmed ‘rhubarb’ chard, little gem lettuces and spaghetti squash. There will also be some medium hot green chili peppers. I had Portobello mushrooms last week, I just made an error in not adding them to the shop, so I sold them at Wyken yesterday.
I’m picking some tomatoes but don’t yet have enough to offer them in the shop, hopefully next week. The round summer cabbages are now large, so you will need a hearty appetite or save some for coleslaw or bubble and squeak. The runner beans have topped their wigwams and have got a fair bit of blossom on them, so hopefully it won’t be too long until some pods start forming. Padron peppers will be available next week, cucumbers are still plentiful, and there will soon be some kale.
I have been somewhat distracted in recent days by the cricket, I just can’t get enough of it. After today’s nail biter there is a break until the 19th of July until the next Test at Old Trafford, I will be like a child waiting for Christmas day, checking the number of sleeps until the next game. The consolation is that a new round of County Championship matches begins tomorrow so I will be accompanied by that on the radio for the next 4 days. It’s very therapeutic listening to the commentary, with a lot of nonsense being discussed between middle aged blokes between action on the field – it’s like a comfort blanket.
Anyway, that’s enough from me. Have a good week, the steamy weather of yesterday seems to be behind us, a few showers would be useful, but not too many. See you soon.
Phil