MY WEEK 28 : ( 10TH JULY )

Hello all, it has been a busy week here at my allotments with plenty of watering and harvesting taking place. We have only had one rain shower since last week so I have had to do plenty of watering to keep the produce going, however some things like the Garlic and Shallots are drying off nicely, as you can see in this photograph I have hung up my Garlic at home to dry out, it is important to get all of the roots and soil dry so that they do not rot, when the soil has dried you can just rub or brush it off.



This week I have harvested all of my Broad Beans, I have left the haulms in place and just bent them over as I went along this is because the roots have nodules on them which will fix Nitrogen into the soil around them so will act as a fertility provider for following crops. The Broad Beans were then shelled and the beans were blanched in boiling water for about 2 minutes, then plunged into cold water to cool them before being drained and then frozen in freezer bags.



With the warm and dry weather we have been having the Shallots are ready for harvesting and drying, you can tell when they reach this stage as they become detached from the soil, you then lift them and place either on netting or wire mesh off the ground in a warm and dry place to let the air get all around them and dry them out. If you check them regularly and remove any of the loose skin and roots as well as any that may show signs of going mouldy around their roots then when they are thoroughly dry you can store them in net bags or even old pairs of tights until you are ready to either pickle them or use in cooking. If kept well during the Winter you will be able to select some of them to use as your seed sets for next years crop.



Also this week I have been harvesting my Summer Raspberries, ( Malling Jewel ) we have frozen about 20lbs already this week and there are plenty more to follow in the coming few weeks. Raspberries freeze very well and are delicious with cream, ice cream and fromage frais, infact my wife Sarah loves them with a few frosties and fromage frais. In the Autumn I will use some of them to make up some jars of Raspberry Jam for my lunchbox over the Winter months up when I still go to my allotments.




This week has seen the first of my Runner Beans forming, although not enough yet to start harvesting them. A few of the plotholders are experiencing problems with their beans not setting, when the weather is hot and dry the plants will shed their flowers without any beans forming to help get them to set you should water regularly, some people recommend misting the flowers in the evening and another tip that has been passed onto me is to feed and water the plants with Tomato fertiliser which will help them to set as well.

The Sweet Peas appear to be responding well to being layered, at first there was a delay in them producing new flowers suitable for cutting but now they have got used to their new positions they are growing nicely, with a bit of luck I will have plenty more beautiful scented blooms to come in the weeks ahead.







In last weeks video I showed you how I transplant my Leeks into their final position after raising them in a seed bed at home, as you can see from this photograph I planted my bed of Leeks out during this last week. I will definitely have to keep them well watered during the current warm and dry spell we are experiencing to ensure that they transplant successfuly. If they are not putting enough growth on before the onset of Winter they will benefit from a feed of a high nitorgen based fertiliser to fatten them up so to speak, as once the weather starts to cool down they will grow more slowly. Personally I prefer the Leeks not to be too big as they lose some of their tenderness and flavour.


Around the plots this week I have been harvesting more Cauliflowers, Kohl Rabi, Lettuce, Radishes, Turnips, Young Carrots, Courgettes, Cucumbers, New Potatoes, Spring Onions, Peas and the first of the Summer Cabbages.




After the photograph of one of my Dhalias I received a great deal of admiration for it and requests to show my others, here are two more varieties that have started to bloom this week, I'm afraid that I do not know the names of any of my Dhalias as they were given to me by a friend and I have not had chance to investigate further in my gardening books, perhaps there are experts out there that may be able to help me out with their identities.





The first of my Gladioli blooms have opened this week, along with the Chrysanthemums and Dhalias they make for a wonderful floral display at home. Daniel wanted me to show you all how wonderful his English & French Marigolds are looking, although it's Dad who has been watering and dead heading them he planted them out for me so he deserves the credit.


Well that is it for this week's update, if you have any ideas of subjects that you would like to see me cover with future videos then please let me know either by email or comments, as you may have noticed I have started a Guestbook which is much easier for you to leave comments on than before, well I hope that you all have a good week and will speak to you all again next week , regards Steve.