Category: Flighty’s plot

I sowed plenty of sweetcorn Sundance seeds nearly a couple of months ago and more than enough germinated and started growing.  However since then I’ve been losing some and now have only got half the number I was hoping for.  If I don’t lose more, and I end up with some good cobs, I won’t be too disappointed.

I’ve been rather lax with the tomato plants and haven’t been pinching them out or tying them up. I’ll have a look at them over the weekend to see what, if anything, I can do before they get completely out of control.

I notice that there are plenty of flowers showing and even a few fruit.

 

Most of the sunflowers are now showing flower buds and I’m waiting to see the first flower appear, which will probably be this one.

 

The two dwarf ones in the stone feature are growing well.

There was several hours of heavy rain during Monday night which was welcome.  It’s got warmer during the week and tomorrow it’s likely to reach 30 C/mid 80’s F  before thankfully dropping to the low 20’s C/low 70’s F by Sunday and into next week.

Have a good weekend, and take care!

The dwarf runner beans Jackpot are doing well and now showing plenty of flowers. I’ve put a short cane in next to each of these to give them a  bit of support, otherwise all I’ve done so far is water them when needed.

I’m looking forward to seeing, and of course then eating, the pods.

The onions Sturon are really doing well with the biggest now the size of a tennis ball.  I won’t be starting to lift any of these until the leaves turn yellow and topple.

I generally grow the candytuft Fairy Mix seperately to the other annuals so that they don’t get overshadowed by them but as you can see this year the pot marigolds Flighty’s Favourites are mixed in with them.

It looks like being a dry, and warmer, week ahead so I’ll be doing some summer plotting.

Have a good week, and take care!

I kept wondering why so many, mostly orange flowering, California poppies have appeared all over cosmos corner this year.  Back in the spring this area got very water-logged and when it started to dry out I found it virtually unworkable. I’d normally weed then just lightly hoe across the top but this year I forked it over.  Poppy seeds can, and do, lay dormant in the ground for years then germinate and flower when it’s disturbed as this was.

Now I’m wondering what to do, once they finish flowering,  and for next year.  I’ll probably leave them to self-seed and see what happens.  Either there’ll be lots of flowers again or they’ll lay dormant again for a few years.  Meanwhile I’ll grow the cosmos elsewhere.

The two pictures are from the archives,  the top one is from May 2019 and the other one May 2016.

It’s been another unsettled week weatherwise and I’ve been armchair gardening rather than plotting the past couple of days.  Thankfully it looks like being better, and warmer, over the weekend and next week.

Have a good weekend, and take care!

I did very little apart from potter last week , and it’s been damp and dull the past two days so I’ve been mostly armchair gardening.

I sowed the rest of the Carrots Short and Sweet during the week but I’m not very hopeful as few have appeared from the first two lots.

The Cucumber, variety unknown, is doing well and even has a couple of flowers showing.

I had a good look round the flower patches one morning but didn’t find any Cornflowers. I sowed a lot of these and I’m a bit surprised that none have appeared.  I think that I’ll give them a miss next year.

Among the few Cosmos that are now flowering is this one that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be pink or white.

I’m pleased to see how well the Candytuft Fairy Mix are now doing with plenty of lilac, pink, purple, red and white flowers.

I had a look round the plot early this morning as there’s more rain due later, and the week ahead looks set to remain unsettled with plenty of rain.

Have a good week, and take care!

Yesterday I checked the onions Sturon and weeded all round.

I’m pleased to see that they’re doing well this year with most of them already golfball size.

 

 

 

 

The tomato plants are also doing okay and I noticed that a couple of them are showing flowers.

 

 

This is one of the first cosmos flowers.  It looks like there won’t be anywhere near as many as usual this year as a lot of the seeds simply never germinated.

Thankfully the temperature has dropped back to the low 20’s C/low 70’s F which I find much more comfortable.

Today it’s rather dull so I’m having a non plotting day.

Have a good week, and take care!

As forecast it’s been sunny and warm this week with the temperature reaching around 30 C/85 F yesterday.  I’ve been going to the plot earlier than usual, doing (a lot) less and coming home earlier.

The first early potatoes Pentland Javelin have finished flowering but the foliage hasn’t yet started dying back but whilst checking the two rows I found this potato just under the surface.  As you can see it’s surprisingly big for a first early.

I wasn’t going to start looking and lifting any for a couple more weeks but I’m tempted to see if I can find another one this size  for Sunday dinner.

It’s been a really good year for strawberries and I’ve been bringing home more than I usually do, as well as eating a few whilst I’m there and giving some away.

Thankfully it’s cooler today and next week it will be in the low 20’sC/low 70’s F which is much more to my liking.

Have a good weekend and take care!

It’s got sunnier and warmer over the past few days, and looks like reaching over the mid 20’s C/high 70’s F by mid-week.  That’s too warm for me so I’ll be going to the plot earlier, mostly pottering and then heading back home earlier than usual.

Further to my last post the annual flowers have also had mixed  fortunes.  Sadly few, if any, of the candytuft and cornflowers I sowed have appeared. Cosmos corner is rather sparse but in view of the numerous California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) which have grown and flowered there this year it should, perhaps, be renamed.  I’ve not sown or grown any of these flowers for some years so I’m surprised to see them, and so far they’re all orange like these ones from September 2017.

Have a good week, and take care!

 

Earlier in the week I sowed yet more carrots Sweet and Neat as neither of the first two sowings germinated or appeared.

The cucumber (unknown variety) I was given which I planted out a couple of weeks ago hasn’t grown much but it’s doing okay, and thankfully hasn’t been got at by slugs or snails.

In the next few days I’ll be sowing more dwarf French beans Sprite as only six have appeared out of eighteen I sowed three weeks ago.

In complete contrast all nine of the dwarf runner bean Jackpot germinated quickly and are growing well as this one shows.

 

I planted out a tomato Golden Sunrise this week which I’d started off from seed two months ago, and I’d almost given up on a couple of times.  I’ve now got ten tomato plants out on the plot, all except two having been given too me.  They’re all okay, and hopefully sunnier warmer weather will encourage them to grow.  It should do the same for the sweetcorn Sundance.

Have a good weekend, and take care!