Thunder! Rain! Sun! Whats next?

   Weeds. That is what is next, weeds. Bit of sun, bit of rain and you get weeds. Lots of weeds not to mention the grass! So a fair amount of time has been spent weeding. Having said that everything is growing away madly having loved the sunshine and then really enjoyed the rain to put on a big spurt in growth. 

Troubadour water melon patch

Blackwater water melons

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   I have sorted out the melon patch in between down pours. This involved digging out the dirt and putting a layer of chopped Comfrey (a green manure), a layer of earth, a layer of cow manure, a layer of earth, more cow manure, more earth. Hopefully they will like that! Melons like their roots to be warm, hence the plastic covering the patch. Elsewhere I have planted out Blackwater water melons which have been very successful for me over the last two years. This year I have five plants. Fingers crossed that I get some big water melons.
   The year is moving on and winter vegetables are being sown already. Savoy cabbage, swede and purple sprouting have been sown in modules or pots and are well established. I have continued to cut lettuce and more has been transplanted and also sown to continue the succession. Vegetables are being harvested, in particular cabbage and peas. I have sown another row of carrot with my first sowing not germinating at all. At last the beetroot has put its head up and there is a good row. I will need to protect them from  my feather friends, the chickens! All the squash plants (Waltham butternut and  Burgess buttercup) are now planted out and established as are the two varieties of pumpkin (Hundredweight and Justkynka).       Out side the poly tunnel cucumbers, La Diva, are also out and established along with the cucamelons. Courgettes, two varieties, Straiato di Napoli and Milano have also been planted out. Two more varieties of peas have been sown to accompany the Champion of England already growing (both are home gathered seed, Oskar and a sugar snap type).   
    In the poly tunnel the tomatoes are thriving and I am watching them for the first signs of blight. There are many tomato's set and the variety Galina I think will be the first to ripen. Wautoma cucumbers are rapidly reaching for the roof and the bed of sweet peppers are growing well. I am on the look out for cucumber flowers.  Good old Basil, Mammoth, Lemon and Sweet Genoese is now established. Nigel's Green Chili's are looking good!