Maggies Blog June 2011

May has been disappointing month, and although Kent and the South have had dry weather, we in the Midlands are back to wet and cold weather. The delights of a British spring!! I have been hardening off my leeks, runner beans and summer bedding in the hope of getting it planted out during the bank holiday but it has been so cold this week I have left it all in the greenhouse for now.

Once I do plant the runner beans out I will again be Using a Burgon & Ball patio planter in my daughters back garden so that she can enjoy just-picked fresh green beans! Just a few plants, climbing up poles, are enough to give her a good supply through the summer. if I grew no other vegetables, I would always make room for runner beans. There is nothing quiet like the taste of freshly picked beans, the shop bought ones cannot compare with them.

The tomatoes in the greenhouse are growing well, and as the first trusses have formed, I have started to give them a weekly feed. The tumbler plant, as the name suggests 'tumbles' down from the pot, but the other upright varieties need the side shoots nipping out, and also need the support of sturdy cane.

The asparagus bed has continued to crop well, and I will continue to harvest all the spears until the longest day (21st June). I do not pick any more after that date, but leave the ferns to develop and the roots to recover. In the Autumn after the first frost has turned the ferns brown I will cut down them down at just above ground level and give the bed a good feed with a general fertilizer. This ensures a good crop the following year.

The berries are forming on my blueberry bush so i will be putting a Planto Fleece jacket over it soon. The birds just adore blueberries and if the bush is left as it is I will not get on berry off it as the birds will have stripped it as soon as the berries start to turn. I have found that outting on a fleece jacket prevents the birds from getting to the fruit, and another advantage is that it keeps the shrub warm, which ripens the fruit earlier.

I started the peas off this year by spreading them on damp kitchen paper, and leaving them in a light position in the kitchen. Once they were sprouting I planted them in rows in the garden. this gave them a good start and meant there were no gaps in the row where seeds have failed to germinate, They are now climbing up some garden netting which I have erected over the new plants. This will give them plenty of support and will make harvesting the pods easier.

Happy Gardening!!