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This week, weather conditions have been extreme, to say the least! With sustained high temperatures and exceptional humidity, daily thunderstorms have become a common occurrence; these have also been unprecedented in terms of their severity and length.
Daytime temperatures were sustained at/close to 30oC for the first 5 days of the week before dropping back to 250C on Thursday (but still remained above the historical average of 23oC). Night time temperatures have been 15-180C, slightly above the historical average of 14oC. Rainfall has accompanied the thunderstorms but has usually been as intensive short bursts; that said, the rainfall was sustained on Wednesday night with 13mm of rainfall in just three hours (20mm in 24 hours).
In light of the weather warnings issued by the Meteorological Office, the shade netting cover was re-erected over the planter at the beginning of the week and remained in place until temperatures cooled on Thursday. The netting has played an important (possibly hitherto unappreciated!) role in dispersing large rain drops and preventing plants being flattened in intense downpours; it also minimised rainfall impact at the soil surface. The rainfall proved so intense that for a short period (less than 2 minutes) water accumulated on the soil surface of a number of planters elsewhere within the garden - which caused a small amount of perlite to flocculate (effectively to lift and float)! We’ve never seen that happen before…
Pea ‘Half pint’ (syn. ‘Tom-Thumb’) sown in Planter 1 has continued to grow well despite the extremely high temperatures, with the shade netting preventing scorching. A number of small pods have appeared and are in good condition and the plants have continued to flower, albeit not as prolifically as previous crops. When possible, the shade netting was opened during the early part of the day to promote pollination. The plant training rods have been extended to their full height and a second tier of corner-to-corner cord-lines installed to assist in supporting plants.
The quartet of herbs in Planter 2 have continued to be harvested. While both Dill ‘Dukat’ and Coriander ‘Confetti’ have flowered - both retain - and are still producing, sufficient leaf to make their retention worthwhile. The flowers are not being retained for seed production and are being harvested and used (they provide quite an intense kick of the herb concerned) and those of the dill are being used in making cucumber pickle. Parsley ‘Afrodite’ is decidedly low maintenance compared to the other herbs and is in excellent condition. We have tended to grow flat-leaved (‘French’) parsley in the past but am beginning to appreciate the compact form of curly parsley, its strong flavour, and the ease with which it can be finely cut! In addition, when freshly harvested the stalks are sufficiently soft as to be used. The Basil ‘British’ has not been a great success with small, yellow, slightly furled leaves - but we have felt duty bound to try these and they do taste better than they look! It’s ability not to succumb to early damage by downy mildew is all really that can be said in its favour, and it remains our firm view that basil is best grown under cover.
Hearting Lettuce ‘Little Gem’ and ‘Amaze’ in Planter 3 have finally reached the stage where they can be harvested despite the hearts remaining slightly loose, rather than fully compact. Larger individuals are being picked from within each row to, to reduce contact between plants and to allow air movement. One of each type of lettuce is generally picked on each occasion, which together look really attractive. The plants are in excellent condition, such that the outer leaves do not need to be removed when being prepared (this is good as these have the thickest stem and ribs and are also the crunchiest!) The lettuces being harvested currently are not sufficiently compact to be sautéed, but those picked in 4 weeks at the end of the harvesting period should be. Swiss Chard ‘Bright Lights’ have started to re-leaf after being cut back, and the young leaves are sufficiently tender and mild tasting to picked alongside the lettuces and eaten raw in salads. The training has been removed so as not to impede the new growth.
The selection of kales sown in Planter 4 have been thinned to reduce numbers to 12 individuals per row, which is the correct spacing for baby leaf. Kale ‘Emerald Ice’, Kale ‘Nero di Toscana’ (Cavolo Nero) and Kale ‘Midnight Sun’ have all grown strongly but nonetheless have clearly benefitted from the use of the training system to provide support after thinning. This has prevented the stems becoming ‘swept’ upwards which commonly occurs if plants become flattened by rainfall containing the type of heavy droplets experienced of late. None of the features of either Kale ‘Emerald Ice’ (white and green speckled foliage) or of Kale ‘Midnight Sun (crimson stems and veins) are yet to manifest themselves, though they both possess more incised leaves than the Kale ‘Nero di Toscana’. Regular inspections are being carried out to check for signs of caterpillars, the threat from which is diminishing but remains a risk!