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Alan J Hartley
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Drought
Before The Storms.
We have had a very unusual Spring
and start to Summer this year with it being exceptionally wet at times
and colder than usual at others. This has made everything get off to a
slow start with some things just refusing to grow and has also caused
many things to leaf up later than normal. My Fig Trees in particular
didn’t start leafing up until June, although now it has warmed up, the
fruit seems to be developing early with the trees nearly devoid of
leaves but covered in quite well developed Figs.
The Figs look as though
they are going to ripen a lot earlier than they normally do which should
be at the start of September. I was beginning to think that I had lost
my Pomegranate that is sat in a large Tub on my Yard at home because
that did not start leafing up until June either. My two little Bay
hedges on my Allotment were both cut back very hard but they too are
shooting now with some growth coming from below ground. Several people
that I know had Cannas Lilies outside in the Winter and they thought
they had lost them, but even those are starting to shoot. I have
undoubtedly lost some things such as a couple of Variegated Hebes, a
young Passion Flower Vine on my Allotment and a lovely big Kniphophia in
my garden. However, as one of the TV Gardeners is always telling us we
should take Cuttings of the more tender plants in late Summer so that
they can be over wintered and they will then be available to replace the
main Plants if needed in the Spring. I certainly did this, albeit
unintentionally with one of my Hebes and my Passion Flower Vine as I had
started some young Plants off last Autumn with the intention of putting
them in the Fundraiser Plant Sale.
Many Plot Holders didn’t really start planting up their Allotments until
late May and some even left it well into June before they put anything
in. As usual I jumped the gun and got everything in as if it was a
normal year, although I have to admit some nights were still getting
cold, and even on occasion, quite close to freezing with the temperature
hovering only a few degrees above zero.
After the Wet start to the season it became dry - too dry for a few
weeks making it wrong to Weed. Weeding, or at least digging the soil
when it is dry will rapidly destroy the “Crumb Structure,” and turn your
soil into dust that will then take a lot of attention and a lot of wet
weather to get it back into good growing condition. Unfortunately
though, Weeds will germinate and grow whatever the conditions, so in dry
weather Hoeing is the answer. This will turn the very top layer of soil
into dust, but you are not going down deeply with a Hoe so the damage is
limited. Also in warm, dry weather, weeds will quickly burn up and
disappear after Hoeing.
As May came and went the dry spell continued and I always seemed to be
watering. Some Allotments allow Hose Pipes and whilst this makes
watering easy, it does encourage the use and wastage of a lot of water.
Our site only allows Watering Cans which give rise to a much more
efficient use of water, although we have got several Water Troughs set
up that Plot Holders can dip their Cans into, to fill them. This does
make filling a can a lot easier and quicker and allows for a number of
Plot Holders to use the water at the same time. Having said all that
though, it has been difficult getting freshly planted things to settle
in and get their roots down. Watering encourages the roots of Plants to
stay on the surface which is not what you want. Only very prolonged
wetting of the ground, when the water can penetrate down deeply, will
encourage the roots to act normally, but even then some will say that
any watering makes the plants week and dependant on a regular supply
instead of making them go looking for water and make them stronger, (as
long as it doesn’t get too dry!) I was always told as a youngster to
water the planting hole well and drench the plant after planting, but to
leave it alone after that. Watering the planting hole is supposed to
make the Plant’s roots go down for the Water and so make the Plant
tougher in harsh conditions.
Some years the Summer seems to come and go so fast that I don’t get
round to putting Shading on my Green House, but this year I did make the
effort. It is really only a dilute form of “White Wash,” but it does
keep the temperature down considerably when it gets very hot and sunny.
You can buy little tiny boxes containing a few sachets of powder that
you simply mix with water, but my brother took me literally when I said
I was going to paint the Green House white and put white emulsion paint
on his Green House glass! I guess it will slowly flake and wash off as
the Season goes on just the same as the proper stuff does.
Throughout the late Winter and early Spring I put down a lot of Mulch in
the form of Wood chip and more leafy Shreddings made by a smaller,
domestic Shredder. The idea was to suppress weeds and help the ground to
retain the moisture in case we had another hot and dry Summer like last
year and I think it is paying benefits.
Quite a few Plot Holders are trying out the “No Dig,” Idea that seems to
be catching on with many TV Gardeners. This involves putting down a
thick layer of Compost over a layer of something like Card-Board to
black out and kill the weeds. It is sort of what I am doing with my
heavy Mulching, but I have found that some weeds will come through the
Wood Chip almost as if it is not there. Grass is a particular problem,
at least the extra tough Squitch, or Couch Grass is. However, I think a
thick layer of fresh Grass Cuttings on it should work better than
Wood-Chip. That idea is based on the fact that if you don’t clear up
after cutting the Lawn and leave the cuttings on your Lawn, they will
quickly kill off your Lawn. As the Cuttings are taken into the Soil they
will also release a little moisture and some minerals that may nourish
the soil a bit.
By mid June we had a couple of days and nights with some rather intense,
but brief Storms. They did cause a little flooding, but they certainly
wet the ground giving things like my Broad Beans a welcome boost that
helped swell the developing Pods. They also put some water in the Tub on
my Green House, but I wasn’t hopeful that it would last long. The long
term weather forecast at that time was for more prolonged hot and dry
weather, so I guess I will be watering some things all Summer.
On a different note I don’t know if the Trees and Garden Plants will be
ready for the proposed earlier sale date in August, but most were potted
up weeks ago unlike last year when I only really started potting after
the May Sale. Having said that, at the time of writing this, I am still
potting up some divisions of plants in my garden. Most of the Plants
that I am growing are what you might call of the “Cheap and Cheerful,”
type, i.e.; quick growing and “Tough as old Boots.” Lemon Balm is a case
in point. Melissa Officinalis, to give it its proper name, likes
moisture in the summer months, but does not like to be wet in winter and
it will stand some shade. Lemon Balm is obviously a Herbal type Plant
and it can be eaten, but it is recommended that only small quantities
are put in salads, or drinks, etc as it needs more testing on safety
grounds. It is a perennial that should be cut down after flowering to
prevent it seeding down everywhere. The Flowers do attract Bees and
other pollinating insects. However, it is a relative of Mint and is a
similarly fast grower, so care should be taken over where you plant it
and it maybe best put in a large tub.
Other popular Garden plants that I have been potting for the Autumn Sale
include Houttuynia Cordata, Ajuga Reptans and London Pride as it used to
be called. However with its modern connotations it might be best to use
the Latin Name a bit more and call it, Saxifraga Urbium. It is an
evergreen that likes a bit of damp shade and makes a good carpet of
growth that will slowly cover quite an area with its attractive, stiff,
green rosettes of leaves. Saxifraga Urbium also has very pretty, but
wispy clouds of pink flowers in early Summer.
Not only have I done many Trees and Garden Plants along with a few Fruit
Bushes that I rescued from the Left-Overs of the Spring Sale, but I have
done a few Indoor Plants. I have a lovely big Aspidistra in my Lounge
that had not been divided for a few years, so that got tipped out and
the Secateurs put through it to split it. Many years ago Florists used
to pay £1 a leaf for Aspidistra Leaves, but they seem to have gone out
of favour a bit. However, I am sure that if they take we will sell a
few. Indeed one of the Ladies that I know has already asked me for a
couple of Pots!
Another popular indoor plant that I have growing for the Sale is a
lovely red Oxallis – a member of the Clover Family. I have done them in
past years and they proved popular then, so we can but hope. It is only
a few more weeks to wait until the Sale now so I hope everything grows
well and will be looking nice for the day, but I expect the time will
fly by.
 
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