Tuesday September 26, 2006

Things are getting smaller...

Well as most of this years crops are now gathered in, I can asses the effect of this years weather on this years produce. Apart from the heatwave the main problem has been the lack of rain in the the soil which is usually dry in this part of the UK but has not had any significant moisture in it for most of the summer so shallow rooted plants have suffered. The stuff that was harvested early seems to have been affected less - as you would expect, shallots, garlic and onions. All are smaller but not significantly so. The potatoes have been affected the worst, same number of tubers but a fraction of last years crop. The bin above is the full crop. That bin was full last year . The leeks are about half the size they should be but if we get some rain now and it stays mild they will catch up I think. Beetroot did ok, but as I only had small rows with a few plants it was easy to give them a good soaking once or twice a week. My first attempt at a pumpkin resulted in one healthy fruit slightly smaller than a football. As one might expect courgettes did very well and everyone I know who had a garden was asking everyone in sight "do you want some courgettes". The sweet corn another first also did well despite the lack of water.

So what to do to minimise the effect of dryer/hotter summers ? Well for onions you can plants autumn crops so they grow a bit in the autumn then overwinter and are harvested earlier. Potatos I could plant just early croppers but you have to protect them from any late frosts you might get. Another idea will be to plant the crops further apart to allow them a better chance of getting a decent amount of moisture.

Eagle eyed among you will have spotted my left foot in the bottom left of the shot...