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By
Alan J Hartley
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Warming Up At Last.
May had weather that was
definitely more typical of April with seemingly never ending Showers and
cool days, until the last week of the Month when things picked up a bit
with slightly warmer night-time temperatures and drier, sunnier days.
The combination of the cool days and nights continued to hold the Figs
and Grape Vines back though and they didn’t really start to leaf up
until the very end of May. Even the Potatoes didn’t really shoot until
late in May because of the cold. Hopefully, everything will catch up,
although last year the Potato crop was down a little and my Grapes were
worse then useless. It won’t be a great loss if my Potatoes don’t do
well though, as the tubers didn’t cost me anything, because as usual,
they were grown from my own saved tubers. The experts always say you
shouldn’t do this because of the risk of disease which is fair enough,
but if you rotate your crops properly, any problems that you get in the
soil should disappear before you grow in the same plot of soil again.
Careful examination and monitoring of the Tubers, while they over
winter, should also go some way to alleviating any potential problems.
With one of the wettest May months on record I was bemused to find that
I had grown a new crop that I hadn’t grown outside before and that was
Mushrooms! The only problem is that I don’t know if they are safe to
eat. The Creamy coloured Mushrooms are growing from the Wood-Chip
against my edging boards and the black Bracket Fungus (to give it a more
proper name) is actually growing on one of the Logs edging my Boarders
in my Garden at home. After being given a Mushroom kit for Christmas,
that I have to confess I didn’t do very well with, I had said I would
try to grow some mushrooms outdoors. However, I didn’t expect to do it
so soon and without even planting them!
With the weather finally improving at the end of May, going into June, I
felt that I could at last start to plant out my more tender vegetables
including all of the different Beans, Courgettes, Cape Gooseberries and
Yacon. However, I am still a bit reluctant to plant out the Squash,
Outdoor Ridge Cucumbers and Outdoor Tomatoes that really do need the
warmth to grow. With so much planting underway, the wet weather has been
a bit of a bonus making things settle in a bit more easily and reducing
the amount of watering that has to be done. However, as one of the TV
gardeners pointed out, it may seem a bit surreal to be watering plants
in the rain, but it is necessary immediately after planting to make sure
that the roots are settled into the soil properly and to prevent air
pockets.
At home, the warmer weather tempted me to take some more plants out of
my Green House and stand them out in the sunshine. I am still holding
back with my Banana for a few more days, but the Citrus plants including
my Orange, Lemons and Kumquat have all been put out on my yard where
they will get some real sunshine and natural rain on them which they
really prefer. They do not like being inside at all and will positively
curl up and die if you give them Tap-water instead of Rain-water to
drink. The Lime is a bit more tender though, so I am still holding back
with that. On the other hand the red leaved, and red flowered, Cannas
have been re-potted and divided as they were shooting very nicely and
have all gone out.
They are very expensive to buy and only seem to be on
sale for a short time each year, probably because they grow so fast once
they start into growth. From the one plant that I bought 2 years ago I
actually potted up about 12 this time making the original £10 investment
a good buy. 4 plants I kept and then one plant went to my Brother, one
to a neighbour and one to a lady at work, but the rest went for sale at
our fundraiser. A couple of weeks ago I bought another Cannas, but this
time a green leaved and yellow flowered variety. It is still very small
at the moment, but starting to grow fast, so I should soon be able to
re-pot it into a large 12 inch pot where it should bulk up nicely, as
the others do each year. The main thing to remember with Cannas is that
they like lots of water and they like to be fed.
At the end of May I also swapped the red leaved Phormium, that over
wintered in my front garden, for one of the Cannas. The other plants
that I kept are in large pots and have been put on my 2 yards to add a
bit of colour in the shadier spots as they don’t mind a bit of shade.
In a few days, when I have a bit more confidence that the Weather has
finally warmed up, I will plant my Tomatoes out in my Allotment. It used
to be that Gardeners Delight was about the only variety suited to
growing outdoors, but these days there are many others to choose from
and even more like “Cherrola,” (Cherry Tomatoes) and “Sun Gold,”
(Yellow) that will grow in a sheltered spot. In a decent Summer, I have
found that both of these varieties do quite well, perhaps because
smaller Tomatoes ripen that much more easily outside than larger ones.
After our recent Fundraiser I finally had the space in my Green-House to
put 4 Tomato Plants in large tubs to grow on for indoors. The Pots were
part filled with re-cycled compost before being topped up with fresh
compost and a few pellets of processed Chicken Manure on top. Last year
my Aubergines didn’t do very well as the fruits developed to late to
ripen in my unheated green house, but this time I have got a better
suited variety called “Moneymaker,” that is supposed to develop quicker
and earlier.
As I sorted my Green-House out at the end of May, with my Tomatoes and
everything, I decided it was finally time to take down, and store away,
my Bubble Polythene Insulation, for the Summer. Oddly, as soon as it
came down, the Green-House felt warmer with the Sun flooding through the
Glass. The Polythene had, to some extent, been shading the Glass, so I
guess I will have to paint on some white, Green-House shading, solution.
Our weather never seems to get any less crazy!
 
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