25th May

Last week we had a couple of scorchers of days, both days the temperature was around 24. Inside the tunnels it was at the top of the temperature gauge, that reads 50 degrees, so we don’t really know what the temperature was.                                                                             So to cool down Erin and Calum, were in the tunnels as I Was watering them,  in these temperatures, they all need watered twice a day.

The overhead irrigation pumps out a lot of water through the sprinklers, and it really soaks the tunnels, and Erin and Calum, but within an hour they were bone dry again.

In the field it was another busy week of planting.

We have almost all of the field planted now, and if this week’s weather is dry, we should be finished, planting in the field, then it’s weed, weed, and weed more.

Last week we planted five thousand Green Kale, three thousand Red Kale and nine thousand Black Kale, that’s now all the brassicas planted and Fleeced.

Last week we also made a start on planting the Squash plants, we now have two thousand Spaghetti squash plants planted, and one thousand six hundred Uchi Kuri planted.

All that’s left now of the Squash plants to get planted, are one thousand six hundred Crown Prince, and two thousand Pumpkins, hopefully we will get most of them in this week.

We also still have the sixty thousand late over winter Leeks to plant; we will have those planted this week.

In the tunnels we had been harvesting Pak choy and Lettuce for the deliveries, with these beds now harvested, we rotovated them again and re planted with mixed lettuce and one bed with mixed salad leaves.

 Last Friday the weather did eventually turn cooler, and very wet, great for the fields as everything was needing a good drink. 

But with the wind came 50mph winds, and I have put down loads of fleece over the brassica’s crops, and courgette and squash crops, so far, its still all ok, but ill let you know next week if it stayed that way.                                                                                           

The Cucumbers, French Beans and Chillies had really shot on with the warm weather, and with the rain at the end of the week we managed to get most of those planted, this week we should finish planting them.

The plan for this week is to get the field all finished with planting, then we can concentrate on brush weeding and hand weeding, and the constant harvesting, and re planting the tunnels.

The weeds will now be on a real growth spurt with all this rain.