Better today as it was cloudy much of the day, although still muggy.
The first job, which I noticed yesterday but didn't have the energy to deal with, was to tie up the tomato plants. This was urgent so I made sure I got it done by going down to the plot at 7.30am in case it got too hot later. There are 4 plants spaced about 2ft apart in a square, which I thought was plenty of space for cordon tomatoes. Not these. 2 are Crimson Crush, and 2 are Oh Happy Day. They are huge, and the damn things keep forking, which they seem to do over night as I do keep removing sideshoots. They have formed what can only be described as a thicket of tomato foliage and stems, and the soil between them is completely invisible. There are plenty of tomatoes forming, and the various branches desperately needed supporting. I did this partly by tying branches to the nearby stakes, and partly using the same method as I have used for the Red Alert bush tomatoes, with a clip on the end of a string, tied to the stake higher up. It will be interesting to see how this works, and whether these supposedly blight resistant varieties cope with this situation when blight appears.
Having come home for the weekly work Skype meeting at 8.30, I was back shortly after 9 to tackle the horsetail. I hadn't much enthusiasm for this - the more I pull it out the worse it seems to get, there was loads of it and the nets get in the way. I did some of the raised beds before i got sick of it and went to tackle a job where I could see light at the end of the tunnel - the pile of leylandii.
Apart from sheer cussedness on my behalf, there was a reason for wanting to get this done today - it cuts much better when it is dry than damp. There was, however, a rather ridiculous amount of it, some of which was big branches and some strangely shaped knobbly bits.I sorted it into 3 piles as I went, one of large and oddly shaped pieces, one of bits with a woody part in the middle that was too big for secateurs, and a pile in the middle of smaller bits that could be completely shredded. I then set about the pile of big and knobbly bits, cutting off all the smaller branches to leave straight sticks which went on the wood pile, or smallish knobbly pieces of wood which went in the trugs with the horsetail, to go to the tip later. By the time I had finished I had reduced the piles from 3 to 2 and the volume looked considerably smaller. My hand was starting to get sore and the black dalek was nearly full. I went home for a bit, taking a beetroot for lunch.
It was still not too sunny after lunch so I went back to the plot, intending to do something different. I cut down the Hurst Greenshaft peas that have finished and removed some horsetail from among them. But I really wanted to get that leylandii finished and I'd convinced myself over lunch that it wouldn't take long. I'd underestimated the amount left. 2 hours and 4 trugs of chopped leylandii later, and I had finally cleared the lot. I somehow managed to cram it all into the black dalek where it will stay until it has rotted down enough to be used as a mulch.
I picked some runner beans and a courgette and went home for tea.
At around 5.30 we had a sharp shower, but it didn't last long, so I watered everything as usual. A total of about a watering can full of water had collected in my various dustbin lids and trays. I've been keeping an eye on the radar all evening and there has been loads of heavy rain and thunderstorms to the north and west, and loads of heavy showers to the south and east of us. York has remained resolutely dry, although we are currently having a very light shower. There may be more to come, but it looks like we have missed the heaviest of the rain as showers tend to die away after dark.
The first job, which I noticed yesterday but didn't have the energy to deal with, was to tie up the tomato plants. This was urgent so I made sure I got it done by going down to the plot at 7.30am in case it got too hot later. There are 4 plants spaced about 2ft apart in a square, which I thought was plenty of space for cordon tomatoes. Not these. 2 are Crimson Crush, and 2 are Oh Happy Day. They are huge, and the damn things keep forking, which they seem to do over night as I do keep removing sideshoots. They have formed what can only be described as a thicket of tomato foliage and stems, and the soil between them is completely invisible. There are plenty of tomatoes forming, and the various branches desperately needed supporting. I did this partly by tying branches to the nearby stakes, and partly using the same method as I have used for the Red Alert bush tomatoes, with a clip on the end of a string, tied to the stake higher up. It will be interesting to see how this works, and whether these supposedly blight resistant varieties cope with this situation when blight appears.
Having come home for the weekly work Skype meeting at 8.30, I was back shortly after 9 to tackle the horsetail. I hadn't much enthusiasm for this - the more I pull it out the worse it seems to get, there was loads of it and the nets get in the way. I did some of the raised beds before i got sick of it and went to tackle a job where I could see light at the end of the tunnel - the pile of leylandii.
Apart from sheer cussedness on my behalf, there was a reason for wanting to get this done today - it cuts much better when it is dry than damp. There was, however, a rather ridiculous amount of it, some of which was big branches and some strangely shaped knobbly bits.I sorted it into 3 piles as I went, one of large and oddly shaped pieces, one of bits with a woody part in the middle that was too big for secateurs, and a pile in the middle of smaller bits that could be completely shredded. I then set about the pile of big and knobbly bits, cutting off all the smaller branches to leave straight sticks which went on the wood pile, or smallish knobbly pieces of wood which went in the trugs with the horsetail, to go to the tip later. By the time I had finished I had reduced the piles from 3 to 2 and the volume looked considerably smaller. My hand was starting to get sore and the black dalek was nearly full. I went home for a bit, taking a beetroot for lunch.
It was still not too sunny after lunch so I went back to the plot, intending to do something different. I cut down the Hurst Greenshaft peas that have finished and removed some horsetail from among them. But I really wanted to get that leylandii finished and I'd convinced myself over lunch that it wouldn't take long. I'd underestimated the amount left. 2 hours and 4 trugs of chopped leylandii later, and I had finally cleared the lot. I somehow managed to cram it all into the black dalek where it will stay until it has rotted down enough to be used as a mulch.
I picked some runner beans and a courgette and went home for tea.
At around 5.30 we had a sharp shower, but it didn't last long, so I watered everything as usual. A total of about a watering can full of water had collected in my various dustbin lids and trays. I've been keeping an eye on the radar all evening and there has been loads of heavy rain and thunderstorms to the north and west, and loads of heavy showers to the south and east of us. York has remained resolutely dry, although we are currently having a very light shower. There may be more to come, but it looks like we have missed the heaviest of the rain as showers tend to die away after dark.
Comment