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After early concern about moneymaker aubergines when leaves were wilting they seemed to recover and thrive. Dozens of flowers and then fruit formed. Most still look good but found some had rotted, just on one side where flower hadn't detached. Spent hours looking up infections, diseases and other problems. Could be anything from potentially fatal virus infection to environmental problems. Certainly recent weather, heat and rain has provided the conditions that can cause the rot and I think the plants are a bit crowded reducing ventilation so humidity may be the cause. Fingers crossed. If it's worse not sure what I can do. Who'd be a gardener?
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Raised the containers of the squashes I moved outside last week with a couple of laths to make sure they can drain freely. Probably won't help as they were already on slats not solid base, but they looked as though they were about to drown. I thought they'd have gentle introduction to outside life as it was so warm and sunny last week. How wrong. Should have looked at the weather forecast. Eliminatory error but I was desperate for space in the greenhouse.
Harvested more broad beans. Snails have eaten all my July sown French bean seedlings, despite slug pellets. They were in large grow bag outside the back door with the salad leaves. Have visions of snails climbing up outside of bag and leaping across onto the seedlings without touching the compost. 007 molluscs.
Birds have pecked at my strawberries. As soon as they started turning red. Need a net over the baskets.
Spent part of the afternoon cleaning and disinfecting plant pots ready for re-use later. New bed still not finished. Too wet.
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Bright start but didn't last long. After early trip into town, just enough time to check on the vegetable garden before the rain started again. Intermitent showers at first, went to check on the greenhouse. Topped up the water troughs. Seemed odd watering when it was raining! More and more tomatoes, what will we do with them all. Half a dozen or so small money maker aubergines, black beauty a bit behind just coming into flower. Plenty of bell peppers and various chillis.
Eager to see the cucamelons beginning to plump out. I'd never heard of them until last year when I saw the seeds on sale. As recommended in interesting video I saw, I'm growing them up through the tomatoes. Could be difficult to spot them all. Still pleased with the progress of the pineapple which I repotted last week. Steady drizzle set in with occasional heavy shower.
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Managed to dig over half the new bed, removed stones and barrow full of couch grass roots. If it stays fine tomorrow I should be able to get the rest dug but it will need going over again to remove more roots. Hard work made more difficult by the wasps in nearby plum tree. Nearly all the ripe plums have been damaged by the wasps and they became aggressive when I went to pick some.
Got good harvest of potatoes, carrots - some even straight, that's a first, broad beans and peas. Still more Autumn sown beans left and the spring sown are ready now too. The squash plants have survived but a branch has torn off one of my buddleias.
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Wet and windy for the successive second day. No end in sight to this miserable weather but at least it is watering my vegetable plants.
I'd been planning a busy weekend: completing a new raised bed I need to be ready for when I take delivery of winter brassica plants next month; restructuring the compost heap and weeding the fruit garden. Ah well, hopefully tomorrow. I had to cheer myself by ordering a selection of autumn planting bulbs so I can look forward to more colour in my pots and borders next spring.
Not a good outdoor start for the container based patty pan squashes I moved out of the greenhouse on Friday. I'd left a few inside but finally had to evict them to make space for the aubergine, peper and chilli plants. They're much larger than those I've grown outside from early on and they have been a bit battered by the wind and lost a lot of flower heads, but still they have plenty of small fruits so I hope not to much damage done.
