Life on The Weald - July 2024

and other distractions

1 July

We had plans, made some time ago, to visit the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford for a matinee performance on 3 July. Guildford is only 33 miles away and about an hour and a half drive. We had planned to make it a day trip - but now we have a Campervan we decided to make the visit a trial outing.  This meant the allotment would be neglected for a few days!

1 July - preparing the campervan

I did manage a brief visit to the plot, however, and managed to pick some cavolo nero.

1 July Cavolo nero

2 - 4 July

We found a very convenient campsite at East Horsley....

Day 1 in the campervan

...and spent an enjoyable couple of days around Guildford

Guildford town centre

6 July 

Saturday was a glorious day and one suited for gardening but we had booked tickets for a theatrical event at Stanmer Park, although we did get a chance to stroll round the park.

Stanmer Park

Teasels in Stanmer Park

7 July

I had bought some kalette plugs from a garden centre to replace the ones grown from seed, which had been devoured by slugs.  I had potted on the plugs and I planted these in the "fruit" cage and covered with bottle cloches, surrounded by a mulch of strulch.  The new "fruit" cage is now the home for brassicas and hopefully safe from the pigeons.  It remains to be seen whether the mesh is fine enough to keep out the cabbage white butterflies.

Purple sprouting broccoli and kalettes

The broccoli had survived the slugs but I noticed there were a number of snails on the plants.  The one surviving kalette plant seems to have recovered well and not affaected by the snails.

The surviving Kalette plant

Purple sprouting broccoli

I also planted out another patty pan squash, picked some chard and cavolo nero and also a few lower leaves off the broccoli and red cabbage and lifted some Red Duke of York -potatoes

Cavolo nero, chard and brassica leaves

Red Duke of York  potatoes

10 July

I lifted the Stuttgart onions.  Some had developed flower stalks (Scapes) which would impair storage.

Stuttgart Onions

The sweetcorn and squashes in the 3 sisters bed were looking good but many of the climbing beans appeared to have been devoured by slugs.

3 sisters bed

3 sisters bed

There had been a delivery of woodchip and leaf litter to the site and I collected as much as I could for repairing the footpaths and areas around the beds and for use as a mulch when I get round to it. In the meantime, I have left several piles around the plot.

Leaf litter and wood chip

11 July

At home the fruit was setting on the container grown tomatoes which will need a good feed with liquid tomato fertiliser.

11 July Sungold tomatoes

11 July Sungold tomatoes

11 July Marmande tomatoes

Some months ago we had acquired a cold frame, in need of repair, as several panes of glass were missing.  We had put it out of the way on a weed infested, neglected part of the plot, pending repair, but it was now taking up valuable space that could be used for cultivation. I removed some of the pernicious weeds from within the cold frame and then laid cardboard on the ground. There were several deep cardboard trays available from the community food project and I thought I could use these, filled with a mixture of manure and compost, as instant raised seed beds in the cold frame. 

11 July Coldframe lined with cardboard

11 July - Cardboard storage trays in place

11 July - trays filled with compost
instant seed beds

Once in place I sowed some beetroot - Boltardy and Detroit -  then surrounded the seed beds with woodchip/leaf litter.

Before leaving I lifted the Rumba onions.

11 July - Rumba onions

Rumba had been advertised as an improvement on Stuttgart but my initial impression was that these were smaller that the Stuttgart harvested earlier.  Both sets had produced a number of scapes (flower stalks) which I had broken off.  This will not unduly impair the onions but will reduce their ability to be stored.

12 July

There is quite a lot of ragwort on the site, otherwise known as "Stinking Willie".

It can be harmful to dogs and horses if they eat a lot but fortunately they tend not to and I don't have dogs or horses on my plot.  Its dangers are greatly exaggerated in my opinion.  It's not a good idea to grow it near stables or where grass will be cut to feed animals but It is attractive to essential pollinators and therefore beneficial on the plot.  I tend to pull it up if it is growing in my vegetable patches but I leave it around the pond and uncultivated areas. It can cause skin irritation, so it is always a good idea to wear gloves when weeding.  I usually pull it up after flowering to prevent it going to seed but it is an attractive plant and is the main food source for the caterpillars of the beautiful Cinnabar moth and the caterpillars don't seem to harm edible crops. It was good to spot several cinnabar moth caterpillars.

12 July - Ragwort (Stinking Willie) by the pond

12 July - Caterpillar of the cinnabar moth

13 July

I lifted the red onions for storage.  Like the white/brown onions some had developed flower scapes. We put this down to the changeable and unseasonable weather that we have had.  I also lifted more of the First Early Red Duke of York  potatoes.

Red onions

red Duke of York potatoes

14 - 16 July  

I planted out some red cabbage plants that had been grown from seed on Sunday 14 which was just as well as the following two days saw heavy rain and we were off to Spain and France in the campervan on the Thursday so there was not much opportunity for gardening that week and then we were away until the end of the month.

Whilst we were away, the record for the world's hottest day tumbled twice in one week, according to the European climate change service. On Monday 22 July the global average surface air temperature reached 17.15C, breaking the record of 17.09C set the day before!  So we were not sure what the plot would look like when we returned.

John Austin

Hove, July 2024