The stone fruit are getting ready to flower. 4 August I sprayed them with copper oxychloride. 5 August I cut all the dead wood off them – it’s easy to spot at this time of year (it’s the wood that isn’t red and glowing with health).
As the soil will be warming up in the next couple of months, it’s time to plant seeds so that I’ll be ready. The first step was to sort through all of my seeds. I gave Maria all of the excess seeds and sorted the rest into an old cake tin. It does feel very organised!
I looked at the broad bean, brassica and pea seedlings that I planted out in autumn. The slugs have had a fine old time over winter. This winter hasn’t been as cold as others, so I think the slugs have had a better season. It doesn’t look like there is any advantage to planting out the brassicas and peas in autumn, but it is certainly worth planting out broad beans – they are busy flowering.
Brassica seedlings
Pea seedlings
Broad beans
Broad bean flowers.
5 August I sowed the first of the seeds in the glasshouse:
Tomatoes – 9 x Anne Pears, 9 x Dagma’s Perfection, 9 x Island Bay (all my seeds)
Onions – 9 hole sprinkle of Italian long keeper (Kings seeds)
Corn – 8 x Chieftain F1 (Kings seeds)
Cucumber – 4 x lemon (Kings seeds)
Zucchini – 4 x Cocozelle (Kings seeds)
Celery – 6 hole sprinkle of Elne (Kings seeds)
Broccoli – 6 x De cicco (2 seeds per hole = 12 seeds – Kings seeds)
Cauliflower – 6 x All year round (2 seeds per hole – Kings seeds)
Cabbage – 6 x Copenhagen market (2 seeds per hole – Kings seeds)
Pumpkin – 4 x butternut (2 per hole), 4 x Zambezi gem, 4 x Hop grey winter, 4 x Austrian hulless (2 per hole) (all seeds from Koanga gardens)
I still need to sow peas, beans, salad greens, peppers, root crops, spinach/chard, more corn, cherry tomatoes and basil.
Seeds all planted out.
The brussel sprouts are fantastic this year. I need to get them in the ground at the same time next year… The leeks need to go in a little earlier.
One of my favourite scents is wafting around the garden at the moment – Daphne odora.
