We kicked July off with a wonderful New Potato harvest. Charlottes are one of my favourite early varieties (2nd early) as they are super reliable, full of flavour and actually store really well too. The Nadine harvest wasn’t quite so great sadly, most of the plants had been eaten or died. When lifting it was clear 3 of the 4 tubers had rotted and the only remaining tuber gave us a measly 9 potatoes. One of the many lessons in growing your own is that it doesn’t always go to plan.
We also lifted our garlic which sadly was a huge disappointment. The wet Spring was just too much for them. The inevitable rust came in and then on lifting the vast majority had rotted or were covered in white rot. I had hoped being in the highest raised bed that the ground wouldn’t be too wet for them but the relentless rain made sure it never dried out.
This autumn I’m planning to grow my garlic in the plot greenhouses over winter. They will stay drier but still cold and will be ready to harvest sooner next year.
All was not lost with the garlic, however, as I decided to peel all the good bulbs and then pop them straight into the freezer. Now we have garlic to hand as and when we need it.
Its been an exceptional year for our blueberries, they have absolutely thrived giving us daily pickings of delicious berries. And they really do taste so much better homegrown!
The onions from sets proved a huge success, and thank goodness too as all the onions from seed were eaten! I will grow from seeds again but I will grow them on much more before planting out next time.
The sets I grew are Autumn Champion and they really have been champions! The feed of Sulphate of Potash in Spring does help massively and I’d highly recommend trying it.
Having noticed a huge decline in pollinators and other little beasties this year I decided to try and encourage more into the garden. I made some little ladybird houses and am still in the process of finishing off a bug hotel. My winter project will be to make even more for the plot and garden.
Snap Dragons have been a true delight this year, as have hardy geraniums. I’ve always adored both of these plants but even more so now that I know SLUGS DON’T EAT THEM! The garden has struggled with being eaten by slugs and snails and so anything that hasn’t been nibbled I will be growing more of going forwards.
My Lavender cuttings from the spring have grown amazingly well and have now been potted on again. It’s incredible how easy they have been to grow and how they’ve thrived so much. I will plant them out next Spring on the plot which will help bring even more pollinators in.
Towards the end of the month the tomatoes are starting to ripen, the blackcurrants are in abundance and the sun is shining. We’ve tried to get out walking as much as possible although unfortunately work tends to get in the way of these plans. However we did manage to get out for a spectacular sunrise one morning and honestly it was incredible!
Here’s hoping for more abundant harvests as we head into August.
Steph
Steph’s Allotment 