This is some text inside of a div block.

min read

July 15th blog: drought & watering, small garden, heat & aubergines, lettuce; new sowings

Written by

Charles Dowding

Last Updated

July 15, 2018

No rain since my last post, just a dusting of 4mm in June so it's now full-on drought. At least the grass does not need mowing, but we are spending a lot of time with a hose, and I wonder what the water meter will read. It's either that or no salads, and increasingly other veg need watering too.

However the garden is looking well, helped by plentiful sunshine. A dry summer is better than a wet one, within reason!

Morning of 15th July

‍

Video thumbnail

‍

Brussels safe under mesh, were interplanted between carrots

‍

Unwatered veg

There is only so much time and water. Therefore I am estimating which vegetables can bide their time, just surviving until it may rain (my best bet is late August). So far I have not watered celeriac, beetroot except new plantings until established, onions until first water two days ago, climbing beans until first water four days ago, courgettes, raspberries, asparagus and most squash.

Onion Red Baron, multisown 21st Feb

‍

Onion Sturon multisown 21st Feb

‍

Shallot Zebrune multisown 21st Feb

‍

Celeriac sown March planted May, not watered yet

‍

Drought soil

The photos say it. Homeacres soil is silt, dense enough to crack open when unmulched.

One apple tree received no mulch and has longer grass around it, taking moisture…

‍

Beetroot nearer to the courgettes cannot compete for water with their thirsty neighbours

‍

Change of mulch for drought

Normally I mulch only with compost, for fear of slugs, also to help soil warm up.

This summer I have kept some crop residues as mulch for new plantings, for example after we mowed the bed of pea shoots, we then planted salads through some (not all) of the haulm. Also I am trialling "digestate" residue from methane production, it's a 'vegan' one of grass and maize called Bloomin' Amazing, though it's not organic.

And I have been using mesh to cool plants - it's cooler than fleece.

Chicories planted through residue of pea plants

‍

Calabrese bed has crop residue to retain moisture until we plant lettuce and other salads

‍

New planting of French bean, after cabbage, mulched with digestate

‍

Mesh as heat protection over lettuce

‍

Small garden

I posted a new video in this series this morning, showing failures as well as successes, I hope you enjoy it. The next video will be on #nodig potatoes, from sowing to pulling.

Small garden 7th July

‍

Calabrese with underplanting of chicory for radicchio

‍

Small garden 2

This garden receives three to five minutes of water every day, by hose from the mains supply.

Runner/pole bean Czar for harvest of dry beans October (or September at this rate)

‍

Last pick of lettuce, intersown carrot, and first tomatoes now ready

‍

Aubergines

So far, the perfect summer for them. Normally we are lacking in warmth... In June our average day maximum was 23C/73F, while so far in July to 15th it is a phenomenal 27C/81F. Average 21.5C.

Outdoor aubergines Black Pearl on what was the greenhouse hotbed

‍

Black Pearl in the greenhouse, plants from Delfland Nurseries

‍

Harvest 14th July 3kg greenhouse, 7 plants

‍

Potatoes

On 12th July we harvested Charlotte and Gourmande, they were going pale and had grown well, plus I wanted to plant leeks in that space. You can see the harvest on my next video: each plant gave 1.8kg/4lb potatoes, and it's the 4th year consecutive of potatoes in this area.

Before filming, photo by Josh Rogers who is creating the video

‍

Pulling potatoes #nodig style, no fork or spade

‍

Tomatoes

Another plant that is enjoying the sunshine, providing one can water. Although the small garden tomatoes have not received much water until recently.

I remove lower leaves only, to keep plants tidy, transpiring less water and to make picking easier.

Greenhouse tomatoes 14th July

‍

Outdoor tomatoes 15th July

‍

Cucumbers

For cucumbers undercover, grown as cordons around strings, I cut off lower leaves as with tomatoes. AT the top they are now looped over the wire, along a little and coming down.

Cucumbers Carmen F1 7th July

‍

Soybeans for edamame

A mystery for me, the first time I tried them. Until a week ago we had given them no water, but now there are some pods swelling. They are so much slower than French beans.

6th July: the April sowing left has more leaf, less pod, is different variety

‍

14th July after some watering, with plum Opal behind, soon to ripen

‍

New plantings

So much still to sow and plant, I so hope my weather forecast is wrong and that we have some rain. Otherwise, more watering.

Chicory just pricked out, endive & beetroot behind

‍

Endive after chard on left, purple sprouting broccoli after broad beans left

‍

After spring-early summer lettuce, beetroot and French beans

‍

Except for onions the trial beds are all planted to second veg, dig bed is on left

‍

Weeds

We have alsomt no annual weeds thanks to no dig, and the dry weather. However wherever there are roots of bindweed, its growth is phenomenal and needs regular removal. The photo is not for weeding though, lesser/field bindweed in grass near to my beds.

Lesser bindweed has pink flowers, hedge bindweed has white flowers

‍

First pick of lettuce 13th July and we have not pulled one weed from this bed since planting 25th June

‍

Lettuce

My most valuable crop, so I look after them. These were sown 4th June.

These lettuce were also planted 25th June and will be picked for the first time on 17th July

‍

They have had both a net against rabbits and mesh against heat, daily watering

‍

Growth

These two photos show the growth in 7 days, also you can see how the potato bed in middle is now leeks. The climbing beans have barely grown however, hence my decision to water them.