Soilman

Onions have done well. This warm weather we’ve been having is making them grow super fast.

Unfortunately, the garlic (very kindly donated by Patrick at Bifurcated Carrots)  is showing early signs of garlic rust. See the yellowing leaf tips of the plants (on the right). Patrick’s a mine of information about rust, but he too says he’s seeing warning signs of the disease.

Can’t say it’s any great surprise – I get rust every year – but I never get used to the disappointment. Just once I’d love to raise a pure, clean crop of fat garlic bulbs untainted (and unstunted) by rust.

Sigh.

Everything’s bursting at the seams, desperate to get out on the plot. I’ve got sweetcorn, French beans, courgettes, squashes, pumpkins and gherkins all jostling for space in my crappy mini-greenhouse.

But I daren’t put any of them out. Too dangerous; we often have late frosts in the second half of May. Last year a -3C frost blasted everyone’s early potatoes on May 21st.

So I’m stuck with everything until June 1st. I have pots in every nook and cranny of the house and garden, and am considering which body orifices could be pressed into service to provide more space…

I’ve got a theme going here: Vegetables Under Tunnels. Seems a shame to stop just when I’m getting into the swing of it.

These peas are getting a head start under nets because birds always eat my young seedlings. Which is very odd, because I’ve yet to read a gardening book that mentions this problem.

Slugs and snails? Yup – known issue. Pea and bean weevil? Definitely. Mice eating seeds? Absolutely.

Birds eating seedlings? Say, what?

Apparently this a problem only suffered by Soilman. And yet it’s a serious, regular, annual issue – not a one-off freak event. Birds scoff my young peas if I don’t cover them. ALL THE TIME.

Does this make me an utter weirdo/freak/sadster/born victim?

I knew they’d get big, but I wasn’t prepared for this.

The Jerusalem artichokes are about 8ft tall, and still growing. I’m told they’ll flower soon, but I’m not holding my breath: the UK weather has been beyond awful. Even by our low, low standards.

To be honest, I don’t know when to harvest them, or how to know they’re ready. Never grown them before.

Anyone out there got any top fartichoke expertise to guide me?

(PS Any hints for reducing the wind effect would also be most welcome. It’s like castor oil without the follow-through.)

After weeks of cocking about and cocking it up, herewith the all-new Soilman allotment website.

Well, it’s not THAT new; regular visitors will recognise the colour and design threads common to the old site. I’ve worked up this new look to give more space for pictures and videos. I was getting cramped by the old 350px measure.

Also new is that I’ve switched to WordPress, which I’m still learning. So do let me know if anything doesn’t work, or if there any browser display issues etc.

Please note the new URL, ie www.soilman.net. The old site and email will work for a while yet, but do please update bookmarks and links etc.

I hope you like it as much as I do!

Great to get a decent harvest. When we came back from a few days off, this was waiting.

No hope of eating it all fresh. Most will have to go into the freezer.

Not that I’m too bothered. One of the wonderful things about growing your own veg is eating it out of season as well as during the summer months.

I feel positively Scrooge-ish about my thrifty ways.