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Bumblebees HEART Leeks
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Proliferation of rats and gooseberries
Having decided for do-it-yourself disposal of the obnoxious rhodent, I enrolled my husband and we went – albeit reluctantly – on Friday night after work: to our surprise rats had multiplied overnight; to our relief, the operation was swift and dignified.As we were there, I took the opportunity to pick some gooseberries: over 4 kg, and still counting…
… I made jam yesterday, had tried gooseberry fool last week and two friends took me some crumble they made with my little present of soft fruit. I even tried them fresh, as my neighbour vouched for their delicious taste: after a gluttony of this size I am inclined to avoid gooseberries for the rest of my life!!!However, as I said, I have more to pick this year, and there will be even more next year, as I have cuttings from the current bush, and earlier this spring had bought an extra plant with purple berries. Friends and neighbours beware – they will come your way!!! Actually, I am going to the post office later on to send a nice little gift of jam to Italy! 🙂
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New rat, bigger one…
I went to have an overall check and to pick gooseberries, but did not manage to do much: there was a new rat trapped in the cage, and all my energies were drained by planning for disposal.
One useful thing I did though: as shallots grow in a bunch around the set you plant, they tend not to grow too big. So I tried pulling out a couple to make more space for the others to develop. I have also picked a couple of mono-clove garlic heads, not clear how they came to be.The leek flowers are quite spectacular now that they are all in flower, purple spheres on their tall stems… and bumblebees seem to love them!
So hot I was alone
It was really hot tonight, and I was alone, which meant that the water pressure was ok, and watering was not such a stressful job.Really enjoyable after a full four days without gardening… I transplanted more tomatoes, some soya bean plants, weeded here and there, added a couple more humming lines, which seem to be working very well to protect the soft fruit and finally got to pick the first, huge gooseberries: I’m going to make gooseberry fool with them!
In the meantime, the red currant is almost ripe, and looks pretty stunning – I must say that many soft fruits that are pretty common here are unusual in Italy so there is much to learn on how to eat them as well as how to grow them.Everything is growing reasonably well, all considered: the sweet pea I transplanted ages ago is finally flowering, courgettes are on their way and the sweetcorn is also slowly catching up. Celery is 20cm and strawberries are still cropping, although I have noticed that they do not taste as good when they are all red and ripe, as when they are a bit behind. Also, there are two figs as big as tennis table balls, and more seem to be coming out, which is really exciting!
Leek’s flowers are in full bloom, and they seem to attract bumblebees, so in the end I am happy I left them there – and I can plant brassicas in between them anyway. In fact, I sowed kohl rabi, which I hope will come out, as I have tried some from Riverford’s vegbox in a glorious roast with my first potatoes, and it’s an interesting tasting turnip.
Till next time…
Unexpected afternoon on the plot
Should have been in Switzerland for work but I had to cancel so I found myself with half a day of the weekend free for the allotment, perfect to catch up, and blimey there were things to do: where to start?
Maybe with the fascinating purple mangetout that are in season now, or the carrot seedlings timidly emerging, that I covered with fine netting.
Overall I spent the whole afternoon digging, weeding, picking, sowing, transplanting. It felt really good, it was such a long time since I managed to go at the weekend, and it did not feel like a was on duty but leisurely as it shoud be. I got knackered nonetheless.I have now two beds cleared and ready for brassicas, and sowed it all over again: kohl rabi, cabbage, cavolo nero, caulifower. More sowing involved capers and beetroot.
As planned, I dug out the greenhouse potatoes (almost 2kg of them) and transplanted tomato seedlings in their place.
Fingers crossed for some strategic rain this week, which is forecasted to be hot and sultry.
Lesson learned the hard way
I went to water tonight, as tomorrow I am having a day off at Wimbledon and it is unlikely that I can make it over the weekend.
Gloom on the brassica patch is confirmed, but yesterday’s poor soft fruit crop was just because it was the wrong day: I get enough red fruits for two portions every other day. To tell the truth, it’s more than enough for two, and in just one week since their first appearance, raspberries seem to be overtaking strawberries in number.The seedlings in the greenhouse are doing very well, even the soya bean is sprouting, although reliability of the seeds seems very low.
After I got over yesterday’s horrible discovery on the brassica patch, I can npw say I have most definitely learnt to soak seedlings for a good while before doing anything with them. And possibly check the weather forecast, so as not to transplant anything before a scorching sunny day.
Is this the worst evening of the year?
Condolences accepted as 90% of the brassica seedlings transplanted yesterday have wilted away. I was so happy they looked healthy and strong…
To boot, I am bloody tired again and dragging myself home I tripped, so today’s rather meager crop of strawberries and raspberries went crushing in the middle of the road.
— Post From My iPhoneAbout Me
M.Paola, that’s me
I got my first allotment in the UK in 2007 and started growing my own food. Learning as I went along was not enough, so I studied horticulture. Faced with the horticultural warfare, I became a conscientious objector: I use no chemicals and support organic principles and regulations.
Brexit gave me a new life in the Netherlands, three new plots by a nature reserve and an MSc in sustainable food systems.
I write in my personal capacity and, as a language perfectionist and a non native speaker, I keep reviewing my entries’ text for clarity.
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