Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Post written Monday May 27
The old French adage"En avril ne te décovure pas d'un fil: en mai fais ce
qui te plaît" (In April, don't take off your sweater but in May going
topless gets better...ok that is a very loose translation but you get
the gist) was completely WRONG this year. We have had to wait till the
last week of May to get some respite from constant cold, blustery days
with frequent showers.
Fortunately there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The poor tomato plants, outside for almost a month were shivering and losing their leaves, but now they seem to be picking up and one even has a first flower. The pepper plants are still on my window sill and only this weekend did I pluck up the courage to bring out the cucumbers, courgettes and squash, planting them under bottles, or plastic. The onions and garlic seem relatively unperturbed by the bad weather, and the spuds, although shy at breaking the ground, are now a respectable height and I hope that in a week or so I will be able to pick the first earlies. The broad beans (Imperial Green Longpod a British variety) are truly excellent however, covered in pretty white flowers so let's hope that the pods are just as good.
We have had nice lettuce, and rhubarb, and I cut down the first 2 artichokes, which also seemed unperturbed by the cold spring. Strawberries are growing but none has ripened yet, and the gooseberry bushes are laden with baby fruit.
The leeks I sowed were a 100% failure. This is the first time I have seen that behaviour. Should I sow more? Maybe getting a bit late, but perhaps by August I may be able to have something worth planting out. Looks like I will have to buy leek plants again this year.
The peas too seem to be a total flop, very poor germination, except it seems for the mangetout (sugar snap) type.
Today too is sunny and warm... ironically I will probably have to go and water, considering all the new plants I set out on Saturday evening.
Fortunately there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The poor tomato plants, outside for almost a month were shivering and losing their leaves, but now they seem to be picking up and one even has a first flower. The pepper plants are still on my window sill and only this weekend did I pluck up the courage to bring out the cucumbers, courgettes and squash, planting them under bottles, or plastic. The onions and garlic seem relatively unperturbed by the bad weather, and the spuds, although shy at breaking the ground, are now a respectable height and I hope that in a week or so I will be able to pick the first earlies. The broad beans (Imperial Green Longpod a British variety) are truly excellent however, covered in pretty white flowers so let's hope that the pods are just as good.
We have had nice lettuce, and rhubarb, and I cut down the first 2 artichokes, which also seemed unperturbed by the cold spring. Strawberries are growing but none has ripened yet, and the gooseberry bushes are laden with baby fruit.
The leeks I sowed were a 100% failure. This is the first time I have seen that behaviour. Should I sow more? Maybe getting a bit late, but perhaps by August I may be able to have something worth planting out. Looks like I will have to buy leek plants again this year.
The peas too seem to be a total flop, very poor germination, except it seems for the mangetout (sugar snap) type.
Today too is sunny and warm... ironically I will probably have to go and water, considering all the new plants I set out on Saturday evening.
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