7th August

As I was saying last week, I needed to bedform another three beds to finish of planting the purple sprouting broccoli.

For those that have not read last week’s news.

I had beformed six beds, they are two hundred and fifty meters long.

We had sown fifteen thousand winter Cauliflower and fifteen thousand purple sprouting.

The cauliflower we planted a couple of weeks ago, and they took up six beds.

So, I had bedformed another six for the purple sprouting.

But I had made a silly error, I had forgot the purple sprouting gets planted a bit wider than the cauliflower.

It was not until we were in the field with the planter full of plants, and I was changing the spacing on the planter that I realised I would not have enough beds, AAAHHHHH.

But after planting the six beds it rained, and the ground stayed wet.                                      But on Sunday evening, I thought at long last it might be dry enough.

So out I went got the bedformer on and gave it a try, ye ha it was dry enough.

Then it rained again, it was not until Thursday and the ground was dry enough to plant.

So, at long last, that is all the Cauliflower, and broccoli planted, but it was a bit of stop start with all the rain.

Out in the field, this year, we lost all the beetroot, carrots, and squash plants, due to the long very hot dry spell of weather we had at the start of the year.

I re sowed the beetroot and carrots, the squash plants it was to late, even the beetroot and carrots I was taking a chance.

Well, the carrots are through, fingers crossed they have long enough to grow to a nice size.

But the Beetroot is looking amazing, and we should be harvesting them in a couple of weeks.

I might even leave the beetroot until later form now on.

We always sow the beetroot, neeps, and carrots at the start of May, but that usually means our beetroot is massive, sometimes too big, sowing later might give us a better size.

I have re reduced the seed spacing on the planter, to try and get smaller beetroot, but they still grow massive.

So, the long really hot dry spell, has mibbie taught us a lesson.

The courgettes we might be able to sow as a seed direct into the soil, as we did as I trial, replacing a seed in where a dead courgette was, they all grew, but probably not enough time left to produce a crop.

And the beetroot, with us having to re sow later, might give us a better size.

And we might need to change our sowing and planting dates anyway, if May and June heat waves and no rain becomes the norm.