I had got behind in the veg garden after being away for a couple of weeks, but luckily my neighbour keeps things watered for me as best he can, so not all bad news on my return…
Aubergines tomatos and sweet peppers doing OK in the greenhouse…
Root veg looking good, parsnips carrots and beetroot already producing edibles, even the swedes are nearly big enough for two…
The beans, after a terrible start, are cropping madly and we are giving away many more than we can eat…
The onions have done really well and are quite big enough for our needs so I have pulled them and have laid them out to dry…
The Oregon thornless blackberries have suffered because of the intense heat last week, so the early berries have been lost but it looks like there are plenty more coming along which should be OK, they really are one of my favourite fruits so I would hate to lose the whole crop…
All in all not a bad year up to yet, I just hope the autumn raspberries crop OK because they seem rather short of flowers up to now… so fingers crossed…
Thanks Meg the garden didn’t suffer too bad while we were away but I’m afraid the baskets and pots just shriveled in the heat.
Thanks LD I love the Hibiscius too. It’s in the front garden very close to the garden wall and it’s surprising how many passing people just rip off the stems
Thanks Mups I’m sorry I don’t know the name of the white Agapanthus - I bought 2 loose bulbs from the Flower Market in Madeira about 15 years ago, I gave one to my daughter and hers turned out to be a blue one
I did see your blue and white ones, you have quite a big collection of them now I really like your white and blue one, such a delicate colour on the huge flower head.
Every spring I scrape the top couple of inches of soil off, and replace it with fresh soil - a mixture of 2 parts John Innes No. 3 and one part horticultural Grit.
Divide plants when they are too pot bound.
People say they need to be pot bound, but there is a difference between being ‘snug’ and no growing room at all!
Feed mature plants about every 3 or 4 weeks with a high potash feed like Tomorite.
Feed young plants a little more often.
This chap has some beauties. I have bought off him in the past and found him very helpful.
Thankyou Mags. They are beautiful aren’t they.
I think that one is my favourite. It is called ‘Queen Mum.’
The heads are just on 11" across, and they are face height to me.
Thanks Annie. I am very proud of them, they have been beautiful this year.
The blue ones flowered a little earlier and are going over now, then these ‘Queen Mum’ ones are a little later, to continue the colour. I think it’s always sad when they start to die off for another year.
No, I leave them out.
Group them together, loosely tie the leaves together to protect frost getting in the ‘crown’.
Put some bark chippings over exposed soil to help keep the frost out, then wrap the pot in bubble wrap.
It’s a bit of a pain, the winter protection, but I haven’t got a greenhouse to move them into.
If it was really severe prolonged cold, I will drop one of those ‘Bell’ cloches over each plant too.
the garden didn’t suffer too bad while we were away but I’m afraid the baskets and pots just shriveled in the heat.
