Page 26 - ALG Issue 4 2023

on the...
from June to mid-August 2023
Kings plot
Well, June was warm – but not quite as hot as last year, giving crops a chance to get going without the need of constant watering, something
that I’m sure you will remember was
a real battle last year. In June, I had good early salad crops and the space on the plot was soon full of crops for the summer and autumn. I am one of those gardeners that likes a full plot and, as soon as a space comes vacant, it is filled up again with later sowings of beans, salad crops, of even winter greens.
July was what I would call a normal
year. A good mix of sunshine and a good amount of rain in between, creating ideal growing conditions for crops and the weeds. After any rain, as soon as the soil just starts to dry out, I always like to pull a hoe or a three-prong cultivator though the soil, as this will help trap some of that moisture below ground, almost creating a mulch. This will also let some air in and stop the soil capping, plus reduce the number of small weeds growing.
With the wetter July, it has meant that runner beans have produced masses of flowers with the majority setting well. I mainly grow runner bean Bench Master and this has cropped very well this year. I make three sowings; early May, mid-May, and early June. Those sown in early June are just starting to crop as I write this article in mid-August. These
will keep me in beans as the earlier sowings start to run out of steam. This year I made a 4th sowing of runner bean Moonlight and Firestorm on the 1st July; these are just producing a few flowers low down and hopefully if we get a warm September, they may extend the picking season further. I will let you know in a future issue.
Climbing French bean Cobra has cropped well again and I think better to grow than dwarf French beans, as Cobra crops from low down right up to the top of the plants for over a month and are much easier to harvest.
I am one of those gardeners that likes a full plot and, as soon as a space comes vacant,
it is filled up again with later sowings of beans, salad crops, of even winter greens.
Carrots and beetroot have cropped well as did the summer cabbage, cauliflowers and I am still harvesting small heads from Calabrese Stemia which started cropping in mid-June.
August saw the first flowers on my dahlias and this year I grew a patch
of sunflowers for cutting along with statice that I always grow. All these cut flowers have been a real hit and I have been cutting bunches of statice from early July, followed by sunflowers from late July. These will be followed by spray chrysanthemums that are just starting to show colour.
The sweetcorn has grown tall this
year and the cobs have swelled nicely; the first ones harvested have been delicious. Outdoor tomatoes look great, and as I only grow the blight resistant varieties, these so far are living up to that claim. The damp humid conditions have been ideal for blight, but so far, my plot is clear, including my main crop, blight resistant potatoes Setanta, that are still on flower in August, and will hopefully give a good crop. The second earlies have had their tops cut down
so the skins set and will be lifted and stored later this month.
Winter greens have grown well and
26 Allotment and Leisure Gardener