Week one - the absentee gardener again!

After the set-backs last month - picking up the pieces from going away on holiday, falling ill with Covid and the slugs taking over - would you believe that I went on holiday again for the first week of June. It was tempting vegetable fate but Croatia was beautiful and Lester and I had a lovely time. That is not to say that I forgot about the veg garden. For one thing I still worried about the slug problem and suddenly thought “Nematodes! why didn’t I think of that before!”. On further reflection I realised I hadn’t seen any advertising for them this year. Then, as if on cue, an email from Nematodes Direct popped into my inbox. Apparently they had been sold out because of high demand - so Marden’s slug invasion isn’t unique. Mental note “Order some as soon as I get back”

Week two - back home

Phew! I think I got away with it! The sweetcorn seem to have overcome the initial slug damage. The French beans have germinated and are holding their own against the slugs thanks to the egg shells and pellets. Even the Red Russian Kale whose leaves have been shredded still have the growing point intact. So the cool, wet weather which Marden had while we were away doesn’t seem to have encouraged the slugs too much, and the rain has probably helped the plants grow.

Meanwhile, the courgettes and cucumbers are all doing ok, though have not put on as much growth as I would have expected. Not so the climbing peas which are swamping their side of the bean supports. The cool weather suits some but not others I guess. The broad beans are ready to harvest and taste good. Even, hidden away in its foliage, there is the first of the globe artichokes.

The recent, more typical English weather seems to be suiting the fruit bushes, most of which have started ripening. The blueberries are definitely bigger than in previous years.

It is all looking good and the nematodes are on order.

Week three - the nematodes arrive

The nematodes have arrived and are stored in the fridge while I tackle the raised bed favoured as a toilet by our garden visitor. It is cleared and raked over and rows of cut-and-come-again salad leaves, beetroot, radish, land cress, spinach beet, basil and broccoli are sown. Some of the seed is old so might not take, we shall see. The whole lot is covered with netting to deter unwanted digging and deposits.

Nematodes are mixed with water and applied in the evening after giving the beds a good watering. There is plenty spare to use on new plants in the flower garden.

Week four plus - a new pest and parsnips

It is all going well in the greenhouse and, though the tomatoes are going to be late to fruit, there are some forming on the Ailsa Craig plants. The cucumbers are growing well and are ahead of the ones outside.

Outdoors it is almost all going well too. In the raised beds the salad leaves, spinach beet, radish, and beetroot have all sprouted. Due to my erratic labelling at the seed sowing stage, theres is a certain imbalance in the curcubit department. In all, I have 9 cucumber plants romping away, 5 courgettes and 1 solitary squash. Hope the neighbours like courgettes and cucumbers…

The peas are producing well and the climbing French beans have started - the whole legume bed has overcome the slugs, thanks to the onslaught of egg shells, slug pellets and most of all nematodes. However, a new pest has appeared - black fly. It has really taken a toll on the broad beans. I’ve spayed them with homemade soap spray but that made no difference, so it has been a case of salvaging what I can of the remaining crop, cutting down the plants and putting them in the garden bin.

It has turned very warm and sunny so everything needs watering, even the fruit bushes are getting a soaking to keep the fruit a good size. I’ve been picking blueberries and raspberries for freezing almost daily and the black currants are nearly ready to harvest. This is such a satisfying part of having a productive garden - there are going to be some serious jam-making sessions ahead. Not before time as we are down to the very last jar from last summer.

“Here's a little tip I use with my parsnip seeds. I put some kitchen roll in a dish and make it quite wet then sow some seeds on this. Make sure it doesn't dry out and after about two weeks you should see some producing a little white root. At this stage I pot them into pots made out of toilet roll tubes then once the leaves are showing put them straight into the soil, cardboard pot and all. It always works for me plus I don't get gaps in the rows like you do with direct sowing, the other thing is you need fresh seed, sometimes last years seeds will germinate but they're not reliable.”

Just to be experimental I also sowed a tray in compost. Of course, this is all happening very late, but they are a late crop so hopefully I will get away with it. I even pondered sowing by the phases of the moon. By chance this week’s waning moon is just right for root crops… and I was sowing as England scored the winning goal against Slovakia to get through to the quarter finals. I’m hoping these are signs of success against the odds with the parsnips!