Whitefly 070616In the greenhouse, we will be keeping a very close eye on our plants. Whitefly has appeared in abundance on the leaves of our pepper plants and, although they still look really healthy, we are taking action to nip the attack in the bud.  Last week we sprayed them with Insect Killer Spray and hung up more yellow sticky traps. This week we will treat the plants to a garlic smoke treatment which will help keep the foliage strong and able to resist attack.  It will also help to get rid of the whitefly.

We have had a lot of tidying up to do after a week of awful weather last week. On the coast of East Anglia, we suffered a week of horrible storms, torrential rain, strong north winds and very cold temperatures.  All of the jobs we had planned for last week were put off as we decided to leave our precious plants sheltering in the greenhouse and cold frame. The soil was so saturated that it was unworkable.  The forecasters promise us a return to summer in the coming week, which should mean we can get back on track.

Our tayberry bush and blueberries, grown outside the fruit cage, have now nearly finished blooming and started setting fruit. We will drape bird netting over them, supported by poles, to make sure the birds don’t steal our much awaited harvest.

We will be sowing more salads, spinach, carrots, rocket, chard and peas this week. This will help keep a succession of crops going in the garden all season.  I always like to have a supply of new plants ready to pop into any gap that harvesting may leave behind.