| IN THIS ISSUE | |
| > | Weather |
| > | Harvesting |
| > | Recent sowings & plantings |
| > | Pests Corner |
| > | Gardening hints for July and early August |
| > | New Products |
| > | Planning |
| > | Village Show |
| > | Other News .... |
| > | Delivery Dates |
Welcome to the July edition of the eNewsletter.
Weather
According to the Met Office June saw plenty of dry, sunny weather, especially in the second half when it became very warm over England. Any widespread rainfall was largely confined to the second week. Mean temperatures were above average in all areas. Average rainfall was below normal across almost the whole UK, with less than 50% of normal in many areas including much of Scotland, south Wales, north-west England and southern England. It was sunnier than normal almost everywhere, and especially so across the south-west where 150% of average was recorded. Provisionally, it was the sunniest June over England since 1976.Harvesting
We are well and truly over the 'Hungry Gap' and into the season of plenty: beetroot, round cabbage, baby carrots, celery, chard, courgettes, herbs, lettuce, rocket, spring onions. The earliest potatoes (Swift and Charlotte) are already finished and we are now lifting Colleen.
The March-planted cauliflower and calabrese were finished last week and the last over-wintered cauliflower variety (Peron) was cut on 10 June.
The peas were excellent but didn’t last long.
The cut and come again lettuce we planted in March have bolted (gone to seed) and we have re-planted from our June delivery. The early May varieties have hearted up nicely and are ready to cut (most of the Little Gem have already been eaten). Although the May heading varieties are not usually recognized as cut and come again types, they will respond to this treatment, especially the red & green Batavia. You can start to take leaves between 2 – 4 weeks after planting, (approx 2 weeks in summer). Take the largest outside leaves, but leave 4-6 leaves minimum in the centre. Always leave the central growing point and break the leaves off rather than using a knife. With rocket you can cut the whole plant off about 1” above ground and it will re-grow, or harvest the leaves singly.
There are small pods on the Royalty dwarf French beans. I expect many of you will have crops ahead of ours, but our garden is surrounded by high beech hedges; they provide shelter from the wind, but also cast long shadows. John recently cut them back hard and was bitten by some nasty flying insect that lives in the hedge. Some vegetables prefer partial shade in the Summer: lettuce, rocket, radish and spinach.
Sue (our Mail Order office person) has a fragrant vase full of Sweet Peas on her desk. (Sue's Sweet Peas Collection).
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The garden is ringed around not with roses but borage, cosmos, pot and French marigolds, tagetes, and zinnias. Last Saturday we had a barbecue and sipped Pimms (well Dubonnet actually) with home-grown mint, strawberries and borage flowers.
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The first Alpine strawberry (Mignonette) is ripening in the pot in our courtyard – I must get it before the birds do. Recent sowing & plantings It's time to make the last sowings of carrots Nantes. You can also continue to sow radish and spinach. Thin out existing direct-sown crops including parsnips. There is still time to order plants from our July delivery. Ideally, leeks should be planted by the first week of July in most parts of the UK. They can be planted later but they won’t reach their full size. The sweetcorn is loving the sunshine and already has tassels emerging. |
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Pests Corner Carrot flies are attracted by the smell of carrot thinnings. Try to thin in the evenings or on a still day. Bury the thinnings or put them on the compost heap underneath other debris. Water and firm the remaining plants after thinning. We cover our carrots with Enviromesh to be on the safe side. Watch out for cabbage-white butterflies. If you are very patient and vigilant you can rub off the eggs every day, as my father does, but we shall cover our plants with mesh. |
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Gardening hints for July and early August
Once chives have finished flowering they need to be trimmed back to encourage new growth.
Tomatoes grown outside need to be tied to 5-foot canes or stakes. Tie the stems to the canes with soft string at about 1 foot intervals (take a tight turn round the stake and tie loosely around the stem so you do not constrict it). Boy Scouts and Girl Guides can use a clove hitch around the cane and tie the two ends loosely around the stem. In a greenhouse or polytunnel tomato plants are usually twisted around strings attached to the structure.
Remove the side-shoots that grow in the axils between the main stem and the leaves. When the trusses start to ripen take off the leaf above as this helps it to ripen and makes it easier to spot ripe fruit. (None of the above applies to Tumbler).
Plants in grow bags and containers need watering little and often (maybe 3 or 4 times on a hot, windy long Summer's day). Soil-grown greenhouse plants can manage with watering once a day in the morning but not on dull days as the fruit may split. Water outdoor tomatoes according to the weather. Start feeding with an organic tomato feed as soon as the fruit start to swell following the instructions on the bottle.
Lift your garlic now, if you haven’t already done so. Handle it gently, so as not to damage the bulbs. Tie it up in bunches, ideally in sunny, breezy conditions. If the weather turns wet, hang it in a greenhouse or conservatory with a good through-draft. If you fancy garlic plaits, moistening the leaves first makes this easier. Once it is dry, store in a cool, dry, frost-free place.
Don't forget to keep up with the weeding.
New Products
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After the great response from our last newsletter, we have obtained some Hessian planting bags which should be ready to order on the website in August. |
Planning
It’s midsummer and you’re relaxing in the garden on these long, balmy evenings. The vegetable patch has never been so productive - nothing to do but harvest… BUT if you don’t plant anything in July, your salads will have gone to seed before the Summer’s over. Not only that, but you won’t have anything to see you through the Winter. With careful planting in July and August you can have fresh vegetables from your garden right through to May next year.
The "Village" Show ~ new for 2010
Over the year we get a lot of customers telling us of their wonderful crops and lovely gardens/allotments. We thought we’d like to share the comments with other customers and the idea of a Village Show followed.
This is just a “fun” show and we hope you’ll join with us – we hope to be able to show to everyone that anyone can grow some brilliant crops – and probably show us “professionals” up in the process.
Your photographic skills are now to be put to the test and of course the chance to win £10.00 gift voucher which can be used on our website (winner for each category will receive this).
Below are the categories you can enter in this year's show.
(a) Largest pumpkin (Jack O’Lantern) – photograph will be to judge size, rather than weight, as this is difficult to judge by photograph – take photograph by with a tape measure around the pumpkin.
(b) Group of 5 runner beans (Enorma) – photograph by the side of a ruler so we can judge length.
(c) Best photograph of vegetable plot.
(d) Best photograph of a herb garden.
(e) Best photograph of tomatoes – either a truss of tomatoes or one single example of a tomato (with the calyx still attached) It would be an advantage if there was a label advising us of which variety the tomato is.
(f) Best photograph of peppers (Bell Boy, Long Red Marconi, Jalapeno etc.)
– either a single study or a whole plant.
(g) Longest cucumber (Marketmore or Melen – the Vega should be quite small)
– take photograph by the side of a ruler.
(h) Best photograph of group of picked vegetables (must be more than 5 varieties – ie beetroot, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers etc., etc., etc.).
(i) Funniest shaped vegetable (this could be a strange shaped tomato, squash, potato, beans etc.)
(j) Best Container of Flowers and/or vegetables (this should be any size container/pot, photograph of the best view).
This is our first year of running this competition so bear with us, we haven't chosen too many categories as a start…… if you can think of any other categories that we should use please advise us so we can add them for next year (click to email new category suggestions).
We will post the categories on the website with the rules over next few day, we look forward to seeing the 'fruits' of your labour and good luck.
Other news ....
The Hampton Court Garden we supplied plants (pictures below) for won a Silver Gilt medal in the Show Garden section:
The Girlguiding UK Centenary Garden
Expert commentary by Phil Clayton and Chris Young, The Garden:
“The most outstanding part of the garden is the vegetable beds. The okra is unusual - you don’t see it very often outside in the UK. Also of interest are the purple podded peas, some interesting chillies and a beautiful medlar tree.”
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Gourd flower |
Chilli plants |
The following dates are the planned dispatch times to you for the plants during 2010 (these may change depending on weather etc.):-
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Currently being dispatched ~ |
July Delivery ~ Cabbages, calabrese, kales, purple and white sprouting broccoli, Winter Cauliflower, headed lettuces, rocket. |
| Collections ~ Clubroot resistant cabbage and cauliflowers; beetroots, Winter cauliflowers, kales, purple-sprouting broccoli, cut & come again lettuces. | ||
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02 - 05 August ~ |
August Delivery ~ Oriental vegetables; Cut & Come Again Salads | |
| Collections ~ Clubroot resistant cabbage and cauliflowers; beetroots, Winter cauliflowers, kales, purple-sprouting broccoli, cut & come again lettuces. | ||
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6 - 15 September ~ |
Autumn Bedding plants |
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20 - 23 September ~ |
September Delivery ~ Spring Cabbage; Winter vegetables and Winter Salad | |
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04 - 07 October ~ |
October Delivery ~ Spring Cabbage; Japanese Overwintered Onions, Winter vegetables and Winter Salad |
Don't forget to let us know if you are going to be away and we will try to fit our deliveries around your holidays ~ email your holiday plans.
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GROWING SYSTEMS ~ Organic Certification UK5 Licence No.
G2428
©Delfland Nurseries Limited 2010