8th July

Last week we managed to plant the eight thousand cabbage and kohl rabi plants in the field.

The weather stayed dry although not as warm as what July should really be.

We also managed to get all the late leeks weeded.

That is now all the brassicas, onions and leeks been bed weeded once, we will go over the whole field once more and that will be them for the year.

The only problem crops this year are the beetroot, swede, and carrots.

The beetroot seed does not really have any enemies, and can grow away quite happily without the need of fleece for protection.

We direct sow all these seeds, and as I have said before we always must fleece the swede and carrots to protect them from fly.

But the beetroot this year are causing us a bit of weeding problems.

After direct sowing them, they can take around a fortnight to germinate and come through the soil.

But I can go in with the camera guided weeding machine early, even before I can see the beetroot seed, because I can use the wheel marks that are left from the seeder as a guide.

And then the second time through I can see the beetroot, then I can set the weeder up nice and tight and get close to the beetroot and knock out the weeds.

But this year with the weather being colder than usual the beetroot has not come up that quickly, and I have not been able to get the weeder set tight.

This has caused a bigger weed bed that usual and the beetroot is not that big yet.

The weeds do not really care if it is hot or cold dry or wet, they just grow.

So, we have been over the beetroot once, but very slow, this week we will do them again.

As for the swede and carrots, there looks to be hardly any, so I have bed formed them out and re sowed them again, and I have covered them with fleece like I have always done.

Some trials I try out work out fantastically.

But this year’s trial of planting these seeds in between the rows of onions and leeks, does not work on our farm.