Summer Pruning

 All cherries, peaches, plums, greengages, damsons, and apricots ought to just be pruned in midsummer to keep away from contamination by a staggering contagious sickness known as silver leaf. Plum trees don't need as exact pruning as apples and pears, yet they actually benefit from introductory preparation and the diminishing of old wood to guarantee they produce however much natural product as could be expected.

Summer pruning for natural product trees (timing July to September)

Pear, apples, and quinces in predominate/semi-bantam rootstock need summer pruning. This is the fundamental strategy for pruning for confined structures like cordons, espaliers, fans, and pyramids in any united rootstock. Summer pruning permits daylight to age the leafy foods great editing the next year. The essential standards for summer pruning pear and apple trees are the accompanying:

• Eliminate upstanding, enthusiastic development totally

• Scale back new shoots (laterals) more than 20cm (8in) long developing from the primary stem to three leaves over the basal bunch of leaves.

• Scale back new shoots developing from existing side shoots (sub-laterals) to one leaf over the basal group

Try not to prune when it is dump  and remember to clean your secateurs. 

Do not believe what they tell you!

 My Stihl cordless battery brush cutter stopped working and I was told that I had to buy a new motor at the cost of £133.14 plus vat plus postage.

I took it apart and cleaned all the build up of dust in the motor, put back together. It worked.

I have had it for 12 years and it is a wonderful tool. 

Get out there:

 Being out in the garden and fresh air, like everything else in life, you must work for it and because of that some folk would rather keep on enjoying their old miserableness day after day and year after year.Not much can be done for these people.

 

Some people will not want to bother, just perfering do the “same old” and moan and moan.

Watering

 

Watering I just use the ‘Mark 1 finger in the soil damp meter’. If it’s dry a couple of inches down, time to water.  I find do find the best time to water is late evening. This will give the water a chance to soak in, before the sun is out, which will evaporating the water off.  If possible, avoid watering in the heat of the afternoon. Just to remind, Apart from seedlings, please don't fall into the trap of giving a light sprinkling every day to a parched plot. The water stays on the surface and the plants develop shallow and vulnerable rooting systems. Far better to give a good soaking when needed so the water goes down and the plants develop a good root system. Know your crops, as regards watering: Water Melon need more water than Beet Root!

Watering Potatoes

 

Watering 

There has been dry spell so I’ve been watering a fair bit. One of the crops that really benefit from regular watering is the potato.

Main crop potatoes do not need don’t need a lot of water for the first four weeks but after that they need between an inch or two of rain each week. This depends on the weather of course, more water being needed in hot sunny weather than cool, cloudy periods.

So it is a good idea to give some water to them a couple of times a week. You will get a better crop.

What to do with leeks going to seed !

 Because of the warm weather, my leeks have started to go to seed. Rather than waste them, I dig them up, wash them and put them in the freezer for later use.

They should be used up within three months of freezer.

The frozen leeks can then be used as soup.

My soup recipe is as follows:

Three medium size leeks and three medium potatoes.

I steam them for ten minutes and pop them in my blender, heat up and eat with bread.

Keep it simple and waste not!

What you cannot do!

 If you have taken on a new allotment and you are find it to much, do not give up, just keep it simple.

What you cannot do, don’t do.

I find a simple plan of potatoes, leeks, onions, garlic, cabbage and some soft fruit means that you do not have to spend hours at it and the same time get some food off your plot all the year round without too much stress.