The Joys of a cool wet summer

A Cool Wet Summer – the positives!

I think I’ve been whinging on for the last few blogs on our miserable, cold wet summer, or lack of summer even. Yes, everything is true and the problems I’ve talked about do continue but, as always, there is a plus side.

When I go to my allotment or gaze out into my garden, I don’t see drowned devastation. While many crops have been disappointing or even failed completely because of the weather, there really are many crops which are just loving it. Let’s face it, if the weeds on our plots are thriving so will lots of other stuff.

Slugs and snails are having a field day [no pun intended] and I have been ranting on incessantly about red ants in my poly-tunnel but, apart from in March when it was very dry and I was trying to establish my brassicas, I haven’t seen any flea beetle and, I believe I’ve seen one – only one - white fly since early spring. Similarly, although I saw a few aphids on my roses early in the year, they have also been noticeably absent. During the last few years all of these pests have caused immeasurable damage to my crops and have weakened them to allow in further damage from mildew and scale bugs. Not so this year.

In my poly-tunnel, while I’m complaining about red ants and caterpillars on my tomatoes – there have been only a few of the caterpillars and I hope I’ve managed to remove most of them. Since they only appeared a couple of years ago for the first time when we were having a series of long dry summers, perhaps this cold wet one will remove the moths these caterpillars have come from. The red spider mite which was  a significant pest in my tunnel a couple of years ago has not appeared at all this year – something of a surprise as I always believed it was impossible to eradicate.

I have almost finished harvesting my 2nd pea crop – Hurst Green Shaft – and it has been more than satisfactory. These peas are sweet and tasty. If not left to become too big they are delicious eaten raw. In spite of suggestions from neighbours that they were likely to have maggots this year, these have not been apparent. I have already filled a drawer in my freezer with bags of shelled peas and might just get another half bucketful before I compost the vines. I have wondered about the possibility of growing a late crop of peas. The seed company [Dobies] have stated on the pack that they can be planted up to [and I’m assuming that means, ‘including’] July. Since I had the seed, I have, in any case, sown 4 more heavy rows in a couple of cleared raised beds. There should be time for them to grow and crop and I will report back on the success of the strategy.

After a difficult start in early spring, all of my brassicas look very healthy and promise good crops. After complete failure of my Brussels Sprouts last year, I have tried a variety I bought from The Real Seed Catalogue – Seven Hills [suitable for exposed sites, and I know that, compared with many areas of the UK, my site is definitely not exposed but, I am on top of a low hill]. I sowed the first round of these at the end of February in  my poly tunnel and from these, planted out some weeks later, I now have three rows of strong healthy plants where already I can see the nubs of the developing sprouts. Two further sowings have now been planted out and will hopefully provide me with sprouts to see me through the autumn and into spring. While the earlier transplanting of All Year Round Cauliflower suffered from the exceptionally dry early spring and bolted, those plants which were later or smaller, might yet provide me with good heads and will, no doubt, have me wondering what to do with twenty or thirty large heads all coming to maturity at once. I live in hope!

My sweetcorn, F1 Earlibird, sown on 10^th April in my propagator and then grown on in my poly-tunnel has now produced its male flowers and the silk of the females is just beginning to appear. I have planted them much closer together this year – 20cm or 10” apart – as in previous years I’ve some problems with the pollination of the female flowers. A later sowing of Rising Sun [both from Dobies]– sown on 2^nd May in the same conditions, is already as tall as the Earlibird but, hasn’t yet produced any flowers. Like peas, sweetcorn freezes well when cut off the cob and provides a welcome addition to the fresh winter vegetables.

Potatoes have been disappointing so far. The First Earlies [Vale’s Emerald], I tried for the first time and found them very disappointing – flavour, texture and cropping. I won’t grow them again.

I grew Red Duke of York as a Second Early – the cropping was disappointing but, as everyone is complaining of poor crops, I will put that down to the weather. The texture and flavour of these potatoes is excellent and I will be happy to grow them again next year.

The Purple Majesty [Early Main crop] are just beginning to bulk up and, of course, provide an interesting, healthy and tasty alternative to the usual white potatoes – try them boiled in their skins or mashed – I have tried them as baked potato but, was not really impressed. The colour is wonderful.

Different varieties of squashes and pumpkins are developing well and look very healthy though, as I have mentioned in previous blogs, they have had an uncertain start. I think I may have too many, not really a complaint - they store well and are always welcome  to my family. [or maybe I'll have too few, I find this difficult to judge]

My gladiolas have been astounding this year, For the last two to three weeks I have been bringing home white and purple heads by the armful. They don’t last long as cut flowers, 3 – 4 days, but they just seem to keep on producing. The brighter colours are just beginning to send up their flower stalks and hopefully will be just as prolific.

While fruit this year has been disappointing, I still find that I have so much produce to turn into preserves. I have frozen many of my early crop of raspberries and made Strawberry Conserve with the much-reduced crop of strawberries. see last blog for recipe.

I found that I still had quite a few tubs of raspberries in my freezer from last year so have made raspberry jelly from those – very intense flavour but, delicious.

However, the star of the season so far, is my Gooseberry and Chilli Jelly. My neighbour, Christine, gave me the recipe for using windfall apples and as I have no apples ready yet and no crab apples at all [one of my complete failures this year!] I decided to try it with gooseberries which also give a good, sharp, flavoursome and reliable set – last year I made Mint Jelly and Rosemary Jelly with my crop. Do give this a try.

Christine’s Chilli Jelly

4lb fruit [ cooking apples or slightly unripe gooseberries]

2 pints [ 1200ml] water - a little of this, perhaps half pint could be replace by cider vinegar for sharpness

3 chillies whole [These can be fresh or dried. The season will affect the heat so  you might like to add seeds or not according to how hot you would like your jelly. The variety of the chillies will also affect the heat of the product]

1 cube [2cm – or 1 inch] ginger root - I used twice this amount and felt I could have added a little more - M.

1 garlic – whole, crushed

Method

·         Wash the fruit and remove any leaves or stalks – no need to remove cores.

·         Put the fruit and the water into a preserving pan and gradually bring to the boil.

·         Simmer gently until all the fruit is well soft.

·         Allow it to cool slightly then, put through a scalded jelly bag and leave overnight to allow the juice to strain.

·         Next morning, carefully measure the juice and return it to a clean preserving pan – allow 450gm [1 lb] sugar to each 570ml [1pint] juice.

·         Add the sugar to the juice in the pan and bring it to the boil stirring frequently to ensure all the sugar has dissolved. Add the chopped chillies [I added 1 at a time and tasted between each - M].

·         Boil rapidly until setting point is reached [use a sugar thermometer or when you feel you are getting close to the setting point, put a spoonful of the juice onto a saucer and place in a cool place – in a fairly short time, 1 min or so, when pushed by a finger, the jelly should wrinkle obviously].

·         Remove from the heat. If you wish, at this time you can add well washed and dried herbs [finely chopped mint, rosemary, ginger, or thyme. You can also add the chopped chilli at this time].

·         Freshly chopped herbs have a tendency to rise to the surface. You might want to wait a short time before the jelly sets and stir it to ensure the herbs are mixed in well.

·         Allow to cool slightly the pour into sterilised, warmed pots and seal immediately. Label.

Early March on the Allotment

Early March on the Allotment

It would be so easy to be seduced by the wonderful spring-like weather we are having at the moment and... I totally am! But really, we are only just out of February.

I have been trying to restrain myself from getting going on my plot too early and, perhaps fortunately, a heavy cold that has made me feel a bit miserable for a week or so, has prevented me from doing more than I might otherwise have done.

This is the first year, perhaps ever, that I am seeing the flowers on my really delightful double-flowered camellia not scorched and brown from frost. I suppose I could have put fleece over the bush each year to protect the blossoms but, that does rather seem to defeat the purpose of the plant. It is now very beautiful. Close to where I live there is an avenue lined on both sides with purple leaved flowering cherries. In spring time they can be absolutely stunning as they come into flower and as I passed them today on my way to my plot I was thrilled to see them just starting to bloom. When they have finished flowering the dark leaves can make the same avenue look quite gloomy and as they are pollarded every other year they don’t always look so spectacular. Hopefully, for the next few weeks they will make everyone who sees them feel joyful.

Some activities are reasonably safe... I think! Today I prepared seed beds for early sowings of some brassicas in my poly-tunnel. I have tried to rein myself in and have sown only a few seeds from each packet. Today, I've sown All Year Round Cauliflower, Cabbage - Golden Acre Primo, both from Dobies and Brussels Sprouts - Seven Hills from the Real Seed Catalogue [it's the first time I have tried these but they are recommended for exposed windy sites - my plot is certainly that although, being in the South West, t is probably not as exposed as some]. Brassica seeds will keep for several years so, it’s a good idea to sow only what you think you will need. Of course, if you are sowing very early you can successionally sow up to the end of April and for many varieties, well after that. Do read the instructions on your packets of seed and take into consideration where you are living and the weather conditions. In my poly tunnel is, I think, pretty safe but, possibly, if this mild weather continues, I could get away with sowing brassicas in outdoor seedbeds. They might be slower to germinate but that’s okay. If you are propagating indoors or in a propagator do make sure they are ‘hardened off’ [gradually reducing the levels of heat...without exposing to harsh frosty conditions, perhaps set them outdoors during the day then take back indoors at night!] before transplanting outdoors.

I did take a tray of propagator induced lettuce seedlings to my poly-tunnel a couple of weeks ago and today, I transplanted a few of them into the enriched compost of my tunnel and watered them well in. Although they were really quite small...second true-leaf stage, hopefully, I will have some early lettuce. This is well worth doing as they are easy to grow and are so expensive to buy. These are Cos, Winter Gem, Vaila, and are really quite hardy. Shortly, I will transplant some of them outside.

Today, I took the fleece covering from my globe artichoke plants. This is the first year I have covered them although all professional advice does recommend this [usually covering with straw for over-wintering]. After last year’s exceptionally harsh winter, when I lost 40% of my plants, I decided I was being just a bit too confident. Several of my allotment neighbours reported 100% loss. My plants are just starting to put on new growth and I felt it was time to divide a couple of them which were becoming a bit too ‘overgrown’ to do well in the coming season. The original artichoke plants will die back as they age and will put out side shoots. These will be fine for a few years but, eventually the plant will start to fail and will need to be replaced. This can be avoided by dividing the root mass. When the side shoots become obvious you can, during the ‘dormant’ months put the spade through the root mass and separate the side shoot from the ‘parent’ plant. This ‘side shoot’ can then be transplanted and will grow successfully as a new plant, removing the need for buying seeds or new plants. When you do this, make sure you take as much of the new root with your new plant as necessary. Several years ago I would complete this process without thinking and had 100% success. However, during the last 2 bitter winters, my propagation methods have had limited success and I am now so much more careful. Nothing beats over-confidence like a bit of failure!

Some very late transplanted and very miserable white-sprouting broccoli plants I bought from Thompson & Morgan [my own had failed as the very dry spring and early summer had prevented transplanting at the correct time and young plants I then bought from T&M were dismayingly dismal, leading me to complain bitterly] have now, actually started to sprout and today, I have brought home my first dishful, not a lot but I hope for increased cropping in the next few weeks.

I’ve also been back to my propagator and have sown two types of basil in pots, some orange scented thyme, Sultana tomatoes [little plum shaped, salad tomatoes which did absolutely brilliantly last year and tasted amazing... I bought my seeds from Dobies ]. I’ve sown pepper seeds and after the success of my chilli seeds, I hope these will be as successful. Last year’s peppers, although they grew and did produce fruit were not, what I would call, successful. The previous year I grew ‘Sweet California’ from a packet of free seeds which were outstanding. However, as we had little heat or sunshine during the growing season last year, the results were disappointing. Really, the impact of the weather conditions can’t be ignored, especially for crops which are not indigenous. My recent sowing was with Corno di Toro Rosso from Dobies. These are long sweet peppers, suitable for salads and cooking. I will sow my ‘bell’ type peppers later.

And, God heavens! the first asparagus spears are appearing... already!

From now on, I guess the year will speed up so, more stuff in the near future.