Stopped

    Well any work on the vegetable garden and the garden in  general has pretty muched ceased. Some lifting of potatoes, watching out for Colorado beetle, cutting the odd cabbage and pulling a carrot or two is about the sum of my activities. The weeds and hedges are growing and I look at the grass thinking that I need to mow and I need to cut the hedges! My time is now spent on my move rather than the garden.

    I lost Mrs Brahma hen this last week. She has been off colour for a while and I think the heat finished her off. No real sign of any illness. Her comb was bright red and she was still getting about without any sign of effort. Chickens are very good at hiding any illness. So down to five hens now and the beggars are not laying! Average daily lay this last two weeks is 2.

   My field was mowed for the last time under my ownership and it was mowed rather than cut for hay. I did not need any bales and I guess the farmer did not either.

    This is how it is going to be over the next six weeks or so but I will have to spend a day cutting the hedges that is for sure.

Mowed field

Even less

    This is late posting mainly due to there not being a lot to say about what has been going on in the garden mostly due to my sorting stuff out for my pending move.

    So, grass cut, cabbage cut and potatoes lifted. The odd onion pulled. Talking of which the onions are looking quite good! Weeds are growing well and I guess at some point I should try to remove some.

   I think the heat is hitting the chickens. Average daily lay this week was 2.4 eggs. A drop on last week and I suspect I have another broody hen!

Wheat harvest under way locally

Slowing down

      It is strange to be winding down my vegetable garden. After eleven years to nnow let it go and not be working the soil and not sowing and planting out and thinking of what to be doing for the autumn and winter.

      Over the last week I have mowed grass and lifted AGATA potatoes. Not that impressed with the AGATA potatoes. A reasonable amount of potatoes per plant but on the large size and that is not what I want from a first early potato! The weeds are growing well and I need to harvest my shallots which because of the weather have finished growing rather early this year. Too hot and dry at the wrong time! Onions are now benefiting from the latest bout of rain and I am hopeful for a decent crop. My two rows of carrots planted early in the year are giving me a decent number of roots, certainly for the amount I need. Parsnips are a complete waste of time most of which have gone to seed. The golden batam sweet corn is looking good and as I have probably said before sweet corn is tolerante of a hot dry spell. 

     So just to put some gardening stuff in this weeks blog I have included some work done on Sunday 3rd July. Usually my blog week goes from Sunday to Saturday. So on Sunday I decided it was time to tackle some of the weeds. Summer cabbage, onion and a potato patch cleared. To my dismay I discovered Colorado beetle on my main crop Desiree potatoes so now it will be a daily check for beetles and eggs and no doubt squishing of said beetles and eggs! 

    Egg production up this week. Average of four eggs a day. I have decided to let them out to room the garden with hope that they may eat some of the Colorado beetles (some hope that is! Lol!).

Cabbage before weeding

Cabbage after weeding

Onions before weeding

Onions after weeding