25th July 2020 Featured, Summer

It’s a rainstorm as I write and I am grateful for it. Before today, July’s total rainfall was 29mm/1.2in and after this storm it’s 46mm/1.8in. Still below average. We have been water

12th July 2020 Featured, Summer

It’s speeding up now, but growth has been slowed by the weather here. A cool two weeks until 10th July saw daytime maxima always under 20C 68F and averaging 18.5C 65F, with just 4.5 hours sunshi

27th June 2020 Featured, Summer

June has been warm and with mixed weather, including decent rainfall! of 107mm so far. Rain in June is the best of any month, after the surge of growth in spring. At Homeacres it has rescued my peas,

13th June 2020 Featured, Summer

The weather is cooler and damper than May, but only 28mm/1.1in rain here so far. The soil under growing plants is still dusty – but some of you have had big rain, even too much. “A drippin

30th May 2020 Featured, Summer

May was the driest ever month here, in 47 years of my records. 1990 came close with 4mm rain compared to 3.2mm (0.13in) in May 2020. In the last 20 years, the previous driest May was 2010 with 34mm, s

11th August 2019 Featured, Summer

Writing this in a thunderstorm, our first substantial rain for two months of lovely warmth, over 40mm so far and 46mm in the end (1.9in) in four hours. All soaked in, watering finished for 2019 except

28th July 2019 Featured, Summer

Be ready with seeds of this month’s top sowings; spinach, salad rocket, mustards, pak choi, land cress, spring onions and spring cabbage. August can be a second spring in the garden, when it rains.

1st July 2019 Featured, Summer

Be prepared for everything: picking planting sowing weeding watering pests heat. Give as much time as you can now, for best results later. June here was much less hot than across the Channel. Our aver

15th June 2019 Featured, Summer

Is cool and damp better than hot and dry? Last year we were short of moisture, this year we are deprived of warmth and light. I preferred last year! Mostly you can add water, but can’t add warmth. T

31st May 2019 Featured, Summer, Uncategorized

Summer begins now, but don’t bank on too much fine weather this summer is my hunch. The soil is dry here at the moment and plants look well except for rusty garlic outside: garlic and leek rust is e

4th December 2018 Autumn, Small Garden, Summer, Videos

A follow-up to Small Garden of June, see how summer plantings of beans, kale, beetroot, carrots, leeks and salads have grown. Plus how the outdoor tomatoes are ripening already, early for this tempera

4th December 2018 Small Garden, Spring, Summer, Videos

How spring plantings coped with a cold, wet April followed by a warm, dry May. Clearing spring harvests to make way for summer plantings of beans, kale, carrots, leeks and salads.