AUGUST RESULTS

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August

August has been a very strange month indeed.

It started off with strong winds and torrential rain which caused problems with the parsnips forming bridges again. I have cured this by harvesting a few parsnips nearest to the Snailban barriers. I was surprised at how big and tasty they actually were, given the fact that I would not normally start harvesting until well into October and the first frosts have added a bit of flavour. The heavy rain has caused the snailban to spread a bit but it is proportional to each plot and the trial continues unaffected. I transplanted all the brassica crops this month and also transplanted a row of leeks in each plot. There are still enough leeks in seed beds for two rows per plot but at present, lack of space does not allow me to set these out. The same can be said for another row of French beans per plot, but these will go in as soon as the peas come out. Towards the end of the month we experienced a massive heat-wave which culminated in a huge thunderstorm with some superb lightning on the Sunday of the bank holiday. Not much good for holidaymakers but providing much needed rain for thirsty plants.  

The Beetroot and lettuce re-sown in July germinated in three days as the soil was very warm. It took a little under one night for the snails to wipe out the entire row of lettuces in Plot 1, showing, quite graphically, how effective the Snailban has been performing. There was no predation to lettuces whatsoever on Plots 2 and 4 although I did find a few slugs hidden in the carrot foliage on Plot 2.There has been some minor damage to the lettuces sown on Plot 3 which was caused by a single rogue snail that I must have missed on earlier forays. It has now been dealt with.

 The sad news is, as expected. My hand pollinated delphinium seed germinated on one of the unprotected plots and was doing really well to reach the two leaf stage before being completely eaten overnight. They will be getting special snail ban protection next year.

The pigeons seem to be leaving us alone for the time being, possibly due the fact that it is moulting time. At the moment, the main problem I am facing is the influx of caterpillars that are hatching all over the brassicas. It is difficult to find the time to inspect every leaf and remove all the eggs and caterpillars on a daily basis but an army of nearby wasps is making inroads into the population and doing a very good job of pest control. Sad to say though, unlike this gardener, they do not work in the rain!!!! A fox is also making a nuisance of himself by munching away at the peas and pulling them away from their supports. He is also leaving little messages all over the lawn which makes cleaning the mower a challenge.

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