The rain has just kept on coming causing the inevitable flooding. Fortunately we don't live in an area that is prone to flooding but there has been quite a lot of flooding fairly close by.
I think the rain gods like to play rather cruel games as the rain falling on our part of the world is very much needed in other parts.
We seemed to have been confined to the house much of last week as it has even been too wet to get out and about. It's been cold too.
We only managed one visit to the allotment which as usual was primarily to gather some more vegetables but whilst we were there we managed one or two non-digging related tasks. Not only is it now too wet to dig but we have to vary our route around the plot as our feet are in danger of turning the grass paths into a muddy mess.
I managed to prune the thornless blackberry - I bet it thought it had escaped its date with the loppers this year as normally this task would have been carried out some weeks ago.
I cut out all the canes that bore fruit this year and tied in the new canes. The area around the roots needs clearing but this is another job that will have to wait.
Whilst I was doing that, Martyn cut down all this year's growth from the cardoon that escaped being prematurely flattened by the winds earlier in the year.
You can see that it is already making some new growth but not as much as the other cardoon that was cut back by the winds.
I always find it incredible that each year the cardoons grow from nothing into monsters.
Before we headed home we also cleared away the hazel, sweet pea, support frame that had been situated between the two cardoons.
Surprisingly,despite the miserable weather, the spinach seeds that I sowed in a create in the plot greenhouse have started to germinate. Can you see them?
I intended to sow more seeds in the garden greenhouse but never got around to it - do you thinks it's too late? Maybe I should just go for it as there's really nothing to lose is there.
Finally, last weeks harvest is more or less a repeat of recent weeks.
The parsnips vary - some are as perfect as we can expect and others are deformed although usable.
The carrots suffer from pest damage - mainly from the slugs that are really in their element in these conditions. Careful preparation is required before cooking.
Another problem this year is that quite a few leeks have produced flower stems meaning that they have a hard central core which has to be discarded. This hasn't been an issue before until early in spring when the leeks are coming to an end of their growing season and are ready to set seed.
We cut a Kilaton and a Sabrosa, savoy cabbage both of which are fairly small once the slug attacked outer leaves are removed but they are really solid which makes up for their diminutive size.
That's it for last week let's hope we all get the type of weather that we need this week. Wouldn't that be nice?
This week I am linking to harvest Monday hosted on
Dave's blog Our Happy Acres
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The amount of rain beggars belief and my heart goes out to all affected, including a friend who has lost everything in her business. If only we could export this rain to Australia where it will be desperately needed this coming week.
ReplyDeleteYou echo my sentiments too, Deborah. We may be trapped indoors but at least we are safe and warm.
DeleteIt's been soggy hasn't it. Apparently an excellent year for fungi, which I can well imagine. A touch of frost here last week as well, which instantly killed the dahlias. Ivy leeaf geraniums still going strong though. I am thinking of putting some artichokes in the garden, as much for the bees as for anything else. Your cardoons have reminded me what brilliant plants they are.
ReplyDeleteThere's plenty of fungi on the allotment CJ. We have an artichoke too which the bees love and which would be fat more garden friendly that the monster cardoon.
DeleteYour winter sounds like our summer. Now we just get constant snows. Five to six inches at a time. I guess Mother Nature just wants to remind us whose in control.
ReplyDeleteWhen it snows here everyone panics and things grind to a halt, Bonnie. We are just not equipped to deal with it.
DeleteWe have been told to expect a colder and wetter winter than usual. My sister is expected to have warmer and drier. Guess which of us needs the moisture?
ReplyDeleteNow let me think, tpals 🤔 It seems at the moment that the weather systems are stuck and are being really too lazy to move on.
DeleteYou've got rain, we're going to get snow and ice today. We're having January weather in November, and I had to put on a winter jacket to go cut a few greens from the garden this morning. I've been sowing seeds in the greenhouse despite the cold weather. Like you said, I have nothing to lose really and usually I am pleasantly surprised to get something for my efforts.
ReplyDeleteThe other day I was saying that it was a good job it was rain and not snow, Dave with the amount we were getting. I hope we don’t have any snow for a while, preferably not at all! I hope you didn’t have too much. We dress up like Eskimos when we go to the allotment.
DeleteOh the endless rain, now we have the wind too! Hope you get better weather soon. Love your harvest, go for it on the spinach front, as you say you have nothing too lose!xxx
ReplyDeleteWe just need the Jet Stream to wake up and move, Dina.
DeleteOh yes, we would love some of your rain. We usually have our first rain in October and by mid-November at the latest. My plants would love the refreshment.
ReplyDeleteI’d love you to take some off out hands, Sue
DeleteWell done for achieving something, anything! It's really not inspiring weather! You may as well sow some seeds though, if you're inclined.. you never know, we may not get a terrible Winter...
ReplyDeleteNot sown any more seeds yet, Belinda somehow I’m not in the mood.
DeleteIt's so wet here too Sue in the north west. I have totally ignored my allotment since my fall and am still having problems with my hand so think that it will all have to wait until spring. Good to see seeds germinating 😄
ReplyDeleteSorry your hand is still given you problems, Anna. I did something to my back yesterday trying to clear a bed without standing on the soil!
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