Violet's Garden Diary

Returned from holiday to find wilting strawberries and potatoes – apparently from only one day’s not-watering. The bag strawberries recovered quite quickly (and had the first few ripe fruits), and the pot had to be soaked in a bucket, which brought out the vine weevils in force by the next morning. Picked off a good half-dozen, and another ten or so from the grow-bag when clearing out the dead leaves just before we went away. I guess that means I will have to re-plant next year…

The potatoes ended up being picked anyway, and they had made a pretty good crop. The space was needed to build the bean-den, which has come out as rather a bean-tunnel, due to space constraints, but is no worse for it, in fact probably better in terms of use of space. The climbing French beans were getting very twiny, the ones that had germinated that is, as less than half came up. Probably worth pre-soaking them to see who is a doer next time. Sowed the runner beans (Polestar) for the tunnel direct, 2 per station. The dwarf French bean sowed outside have not come up at all so far, although most of the small-seeded subjects are doing well.

Also planted out The Pepper, a few of the cucumbers, four or five basils, French sorrel. Ripped out lots of the forget-me-nots. The horrid slugs have eaten most of my new Dahlia, the bastards – they are all dead now, ha-ha. Have had to stake quite a few of the aquilegias, and the thalictrum. Lovely Gertrude Jekyll rose is out, and I cross the muddy hole that is the future pond to smell it. Out the front, the aquilegias are now joined by a good number of foxgloves, and the oriental poppies. Inside, achimenes are taking over the house. The “meadow”, which was knee-high, has had its first proper cut – looks barren and shaved now. Annabelle has planted out her tagetes, and her chamomile is out now, and the bean is flowering, she is most pleased.

Had a good first crop of sugar-snaps yesterday, they have done well so far. Currants are nearly ready, but the cherry has dropped most of its fruitlets, only a couple of live ones left on. The fig is very slow, only just come out in leaf really.

Rockery is a riot, mostly with alliums that are much too big for it, especially moly. I shall have to read the riot act, but maybe after they’ve finished… Lots of lovely goodies as well though, all coming on apace.

Planted out the rest of the alpine strawberries, the first batch of leeks (in the broad bean bed), the rest of Sungold tomatoes. Sowed 4×4 climbing French beans (Sultana) in root-trainers. Tried to plant out the chionodoxa into the grass triangle, which proved rather tricky, as they has grown very long fleshy roots, so it was hard to make holes deep enough and then get them into there without breaking the roots off.

The first new raised bed filled in and raked. Sowed 1m (ie cross) rows of: Mixed salad leaf, carrot Fly Away (x2), French Beans Purple Queen (x2), beetroot Bonnel, proper Russian turnip (Petrovskaya), lettuce mixed Lobjoits Green and Lakeland, rocket, planted out half the Sungold tomatoes (had to cover them with a fleece tunnel, it’s been quite nippy at nights and they are suffering).

Planted out Swiss chard at the end of the second of the new raised beds. Can’t fill it completely yet, because the link-a-bord kits were rather short on dowelling.

Found a monstrous number of leatherjackets while clearing space for the raised beds, almost more than the slugs. Maybe they are still the cause of damage to the raspberries?