The weather couldn't really make its mind up on Monday. There were enough heavy clouds about to suggest some heavy showers were likely but through the morning we only had a few spits and spots of rain so we decided to go and cut the grass at the allotment.
There hadn't been any obvious damage from the windy weather but one or two things on the plot don’t seem too happy and are a little disappointing.
These are our first planting of broad beans Witkeim Manita and they don’t look too happy. Surprisingly they had a major setback following a frosty morning a week or so ago and are also been badly nibbled by weevils. The two things together are stopping the beans making any progress at all. They've now had a liquid feed and a spray with our garlic spray to see if that will deter the weevils.
Next in the firing line are our first sowing of peas Carouby de Maussane and whilst these germinated after any frosty mornings weevils are doing their best to eat the new leaves away to nothing. The peas have been given the same treatment as the broad beans and I'm hoping they'll get on and do a bit of growing.
Speaking of nothing that’s exactly what’s left of our carrots. They’d germinated nicely last week but the mild nights and perpetually damp conditions have proved a haven for slugs and the seedlings have been devastated. The only option will be to re-sow all the varieties. Fortunately I think I’ve enough seed left to replace all the rows without buying any more.
As if it isn't bad enough trying to keep our precious plants protected from pests and diseases someone has trampled on our new raspberry bed that was planted up last autumn. This may have been done by our new plot neighbour who we haven’t seen yet but if he/she has trampled on our plot they're not off to a very good start.
Whilst I'm blogging about things not looking too promising our plum and greengage trees seem to have some sort of pest infestation too which is stopping the new leaves opening.
This is a typical branch of our greengage with the leaves looking as though they are withering away and about to fall off. Perhaps a dose of the magic garlic solution might help.
To finish off today’s not so good cropping news on a more promising note the calabrese and spring cabbage bought from Marshalls earlier in the spring as plug plants are looking really well and with a bit of luck they will provide us with some early summer greens well in advance of our home grown plants which are growing on nicely in the cold frame.
The one thing you can be certain about growing your own is that there will be some setbacks along the way but then that’s the challenge of growing your own.
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Sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your broad beans...That's one vegetable that does well in my little garden...Hope all comes well in the end....
ReplyDeleteWe don't normally have any problems either Ana. A backup crop is planted just in case.
DeleteVeg gardening is a bit of a roller-coaster ride sometimes!
ReplyDeleteWe must be on the way up now Mark.
DeleteMy broadbeans are all notched too. It would be great if the spray works. I await your findings.
ReplyDeleteI had environmesh over my broad beans (to protect them from the cold until I needed it for the carrots). The tunnel was open at one end but it did occur to me that the more enclosed plants were less notched than those in the open - until I moved the net. Now they're all notched . So maybe a barrier method would work . Next year I'll do a comparison test.
Sue told me that the RHS reckon covering broad beans reduces the damage done by weevils. I'm not going to argue with such knowledgeable sources. It would be good if the garlic spray worked. I've a few more beans ready to plant out as a test.
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