Gardening Blog
Allotment Diary
July 1, 2008: high summer arrives
Terry Walton greets the bright blue skies of July and the generous allotment harvests that accompany them
Well hello July! I hope you are going to be a lot kinder to the gardener than your neighbouring month of June. This brought us many frights at the varying weather conditions but most plants weathered the storms and have put on a lot of growth. The plot is choc full and there is scarcely a piece of bare earth in sight.
July is more of a relaxed month on the plot with harvesting at the core of all activities. The work is behind us and the expectation of high summer beckons with hopes for bright blue skies and warm sunny days. There is weeding and feeding to contend with and this fills the gap in the bountiful harvest gathering. Enjoy the month as we gracefully while away the hours ‘potching’ among the plants and taking things at a leisurely pace. Your little patch has reached the peak of perfection.
To me this is hunting time in the garden for it is not only us who are seeking tasty produce to feed on. The pests are looking for somewhere to house their families and have plenty of food at hand. A bit like us really.
But friendly guy that I am, I am not prepared to share the fruits of my labour with these unwanted guests. The aphids are everywhere and love to feed on the tender parts of our plants. This is no more evident than on the tips of my beans and sweet peas. I have two ways of helping the friendly insects of dealing with any of these pests.
The first method I use is my therapeutic way of spending a warm summer's evening. I rustle through the plants carrying a paper bag and when I find a colony of these sap sucking pests I tap the unsuspecting masses into the paper bag. The element of surprise makes them fall easily into the bag. I take these to my pond at the bottom of the plot and there waiting with mouths ajar are all my young frogs who have just emerged from the tadpole stage. They feast on this delicious meal and make short work of devouring the lot. Friendly frog and gardener in perfect harmony.
For the most difficult ones, the ones that cling fiercely onto the plants, I use my second stage attack. Armed with my pressure sprayer, pumped up and ready for action, I direct a powerful spray of water onto these clinging beasts. This dislodges them and they fall to the ground in a cascade of water. They do not swim well and soon perish.
A truly organic control of aphids.
Let’s leave the open space of the plot for a while and venture into the tropical warmth of the greenhouse. The growth is phenomenal in these humid, warm conditions and the plants stand many feet tall. The tomatoes are six trusses high and are nearly pushing the roof of the greenhouse. Now is the time to take action and stop this upward growth and pinch out the growing tip. The plants are laden with hundreds of dark green tomatoes and we need them to channel all their energies into swelling and ripening this fruit. Feed regularly and continue to pinch out side shoots on all but the bushy, cherry types. Keep them firmly tied to the canes and hope for some summer sunshine to ripen them so that they can add to our salad plate.
Vigilance is this month’s buzz word around the plot and the gardeners’ enemies must be dealt with swiftly or they will ruin all our hard work and wreak havoc on our crops. Stop them in their tracks and let them not share our rewards as they have not contributed to them.
My Life on a Hillside Allotment
Terry Walton is a regular contributor to The Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 and has written a book called, My Life on a Hillside Allotment, published by Bantam Press. The book is available from Amazon
