This week we are going to be planting out broad beans for autumn harvesting. We have never grown them for autumn harvesting before and are very excited to see how they perform. We have a large space where our disastrous onions and garlic grew and that we had originally earmarked for our leeks. Given our white rot problems we couldn’t use it for leeks so we decided to give autumn broad beans a try. The little plants arrived on Friday and are ready to go into the ground. Here in Stephanie’s Kitchen Garden, broad beans need to be protected with a chicken wire frame and covered by bird netting to stop the resident pigeon and mouse population from snacking on them.
Our squash plants are now working their way up their obelisk supports and we are continuing to tie them in as they grow. The same will apply to our sweet potatoes which have started to put on some real growth. Our first courgettes and tomatoes are ready for harvesting and we are already picking good amounts of beans to send into the kitchen.
As well as harvesting we will also be continuing the watering as we have now been six weeks without rain and still none is forecast. Here’s praying for a storm to refill the water butts and give us some welcome respite from the watering can!
Our apple, pears, peaches, plums and nectarines are beginning to swell and we have already harvested a few apricots. In the last few days wasps have started to arrive in the garden signalling that it is time to put up some traps to stop them from destroying our crops. We have problems with wasps most years and have tried many solutions over the years. Our home-made honey traps are by far the most effective form of pest control that we have used. It’s also a great way to recycle your plastic bottles.
Our squash plants are now working their way up their obelisk supports and we are continuing to tie them in as they grow. The same will apply to our sweet potatoes which have started to put on some real growth. Our first courgettes and tomatoes are ready for harvesting and we are already picking good amounts of beans to send into the kitchen. As well as harvesting we will also be continuing the watering as we have now been six weeks without rain and still none is forecast. Here’s praying for a storm to refill the water butts and give us some welcome respite from the watering can!
