Flighty's plot

Although it’s been cooler and fresher since the weekend it’s still been mostly sunny.

I finally picked a couple of ripe sweetcorn Golden Bantam cobs but found when I went to eat them that they were only so-so.  I think that was because they got cooked in the heat last week.

I’ll try another one in a day or two, but if it’s the same I won’t bother with the rest and will leave them for the wildlife.

The runner beans didn’t like the heat either but I’m still picking plenty of dwarf French beans Sprite, which despite the slugs early on have proved to have done really well.

The tomatoes took a long time to start ripening but I’m now picking almost too many  of the small red Gardener’s Delight and larger yellow Golden Sunrise.

 

I’m pleased to see that there are still some sunflowers to come as this just opening flower bud shows.

 

Have a good weekend, and take care!

I’ve always had a couple of small ponds on the plot for the wildlife and the first thing I do each time I go there is to check the water levels and top them up if needed.

By the shed is this 6 in/15 cm plant saucer with a couple of flat stones in it.  I rarely have to top it up so I guess that doesn’t get used much, if at all.

 

The other one is an old rectangular washing up bowl which as I mentioned last Thursday is completely hidden from view at present.  This one nearly always needs topping up so I guess that the foxes use it.

A couple of days ago I noticed this lemon-yellow sunflower with a dark centre which is partly hidden by a couple of other, yellow, ones.  I like this colour and hope to grow a few more next year.

Thankfully the hot weather looks set to end during today with some thundery showers, and by Tuesday temperatures will be in the low 20’s C/ 70’s F.

Have a good week, and take care!

I know that it’s only been a few days but I’ll be glad when the temperature drops back to the low 20’s C/low 70’s F early next week.  It’s been too hot for plotting so my visits have been early morning and brief.

The nasturtiums don’t seem to mind this weather and are a mass of colourful flowers.

Despite what I said last week I did lift the last of the main crop potatoes Picasso and bought them home.  Other jobs I did  last week included cutting the comfrey back to ground level then adding it to the compost heap, and it’s already starting to regrow.  I also pulled up the collomia grandifloria stems, then weeded and hoed the area.  The plot pond area needs sorting out as it’s now surrounded by long grass and disappeared from view, so that’s top of my to do list.

The rose Pretty Lady may be looking well past it’s best as far as the leaves go but it’s still showing plenty of lovely flowers.

Have a good weekend, and take care!

and as I mentioned on Thursday next week is going to be dry, sunny and warm with temperatures heading towards 30 C/85 F.  That’s too hot for me so my visits to the plot will be early and short just to harvest and water.

It was another damp and dull day on Friday so I didn’t go plotting.  I’m still digging up the last of the main crop potatoes Picasso, with just a few plants now left which can wait a week or two until cooler weather returns.

 

This morning my plot neighbour Fran very kindly gave me these three chunky pears which are now on the windowsill to ripen.

 

 

The sedum (iceplant) flower heads are now beginning to colour up.

 

Have a good week, and take care!

 

Although I’ve been to the plot every morning this week I’ve not done much plotting apart from starting to dig up the maincrop potatoes Picasso.  They have included plenty of quite big ones, however the slugs have had a go so I need to check them all carefully before deciding which to store or use.

 

Thankfully the tomatoes are stll blight free and I’ve been bringing home both some red Gardener’s Delight and yellow Golden Sunrise to ripen on the windowsill.

 

The Candytuft (Iberis umbellata) Fairy Dwarf Mix which flowered briefly during early June is flowering again from plants which have germinated and grown since then from self sown seeds. (Note this picture is from July 2021)

I’m not plotting this morning as it’s overcast and rain is forecast later.  It’s only 15 C/60 F today but from Sunday into next week it looks being mostly sunny and reaching 25 C/77 F.

Have a good weekend, and take care!

The plot sunflowers have done really well this year.  There have plenty of them, ranging in height from less than one foot to well over four feet with some having a single flower and others being multi-headed with no less than eight flowers on one plant.

 

Most of the flowers have been yellow with a dark centre with some having slightly red inner petals.

 

 

 

They were mostly grown from saved seeds sown in the spring including the knee-high variety Music Box. I’ll be saving seeds again to sow next spring.

 

 

Have a good week, and take care!

 

Despite the slugs having ravished most of the dwarf French bean plants I picked enough today for a couple of meals, and hopefully there’ll be more to come.

 

Apart from picking these along with more runner beans and lifting carrots I’ve done very little this week.  Although it’s not been too hot it has been rather humid at times which has left me feeling a bit washed out.  I’ll certainly be thankful when it’s fresher.

Following on from the Cosmos corner post I did recently I  noticed these elegant white ones, which are my favourites.

It’s a Bank Holiday weekend which heralds the end of summer but there’s still the sweetcorn to come, along with various Michaelmas daisies and the sedums.

Have a good weekend, and take care!

I didn’t thin the carrots Short n Sweet out when they started growing so it’s not surprisingly that many of them are only the size of a pencil tip.  At the moment I’m just lifting some of the bigger ones every few days.  Most have been as good as the first one which I showed here.  I’ve had few damaged or wonky shaped like this three-legged one which made me smile.

 

At long last the first tomatoes, some of the Golden Sunrise, are starting to change colour.

This morning I couldn’t resist picking one and bring it home to ripen on the windowsill over the next few days.

 

The nasturtiums Jewel are flowering freely and have also spread about 6 feet/nearly 2 metres  alongside the path edge.  I note that this variety is quoted as being a compact plant growing to around 1 foot/30 cm!

I’ve always grown the nasturtiums at the end of the strawberry patch, as they do far better there than anywhere else I’ve tried on the plot.

Have a good week, and take care!

Most of the dwarf French beans which did eventually germinate and grow have been ravaged by slugs and/or snails over the past few weeks and there’s been few left to pick.

Thankfully the runner beans (variety unknown) have done really well and I’ve been picking plenty.  There are still lots of red flowers on them so more to come.

 

It’s probably the best year yet for the red flowers on the big clump of crocosmia down in the south-east corner of the plot.

The white dog rose flowers came and went went quickly this year but it’s now full of big, bright red hips.  The birds don’t seem to eat these but I’ll leave them on the tree.

Most of the raspberries are now fruiting well and I’m picking enough dark red berries to bring home every few days.

 

This week  a young robin has been visiting the plot whilst I was lifting the second early potatoes Charlotte then forking the ground over.  It’s red breast is just showing and will soon become more pronounced.

Have a good weekend, and take care!