Sunday 18 July 2021

Sunday

 Good morning, everyone.  It's very early Sunday morning and I'm wide awake which is rather a nuisance.  It's still dark so I can't tell how the day will start but the forecast is very good so that's lovely.  Yesterday was warm and sunny with a gentle breeze - absolutely delightful, it was.

Yesterday was a gentle day.  I got the washing done and dried but couldn't be bothered to iron it in the evening, so that's on today's list of Things To Do.  

After lunch, Beth arrived and we set off down the allotment to work and chat.

We dug up two potato plants and got these which we thought was a pretty good result.  I've taken about a third and Beth had the rest - she has Alex to feed and I will be away for a couple of days. 
If the rest is as good, we will have plenty of potatoes over the summer.








Very sadly, the tomatoes at the allotment have got blight so we had them all up yesterday.  Eight plants.  However, they weren't happy where they were and weren't doing nearly as well as the ones at home.  We noticed that on the next door plot, his tomatoes also looked suspiciously blighted and that he had cut all the tops off his rows of potatoes so we suspect he's having the same problem.  We had a good look at our potatoes and they look OK but we might cut off the tops anyway, as a precautionary measure.  What do you think?
It's been so very wet, I'm not entirely surprised, but we haven't been troubled with blight for several years so it's an unwelcomed surprise.
My home tomatoes seem OK but I am keeping a very close eye on them now - I washed my hands very thoroughly when I got home.  There are now three ripening tomatoes, one of which might be ready to pick today - a sungold which are my favourites.

The broad beans are nearly finished.  There's probably one more good picking and then they will come out which will leave quite a gap.  I could plant another row of dwarf French beans or - oh, I don't know, I must look up what can be planted now or take a trip down to the garden centre and see what they have,  Any suggestions?

Beth and I had a great long chat together - we always do at the allotment.  It seems to encourage confidences.  Because she now works, the only time we can get together is Saturdays and Sunday and recently I have not been around at weekends.  We were there for over two hours and really didn't do that much work.  We dug the potatoes, picked broad beans, pulled rhubarb.  Beth went home with all three plus a bunch of sweet peas while I just had potatoes.  I also managed to strim all round and we watered, of course.

Today is a day to myself.  I have the aforementioned ironing, the usual houseworky things and allotment.  As I got the strimming done, today I will  just run the mower over the grass which should do it for the coming week.  Apart from that, it's just watering, unless I start on the potato tops.  We plan to do that on Wednesday though, as Beth has compassionate leave, and there's no sign of blight on them right now - at least there wasn't.

Finally, I want to get completely packed and ready to leave for Dad's early tomorrow morning.  John's travelling down today but for him it is a day's driving.  There's a lot going on tomorrow with regard to the house.

So that's my day - it sounds busier than it is really going to be and there will be plenty of time to relax in the sunshine and just chill.
Hoping you have a great day too.  xx


16 comments:

  1. Good morning, Joy! Those potatoes look great, and I hope you get to enjoy many more over the summer. I'm now dreaming of freshly dug potatoes, boiled and eaten simply with butter :)
    Have a lovely day. Xx

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    1. I've just cooked a few to make a tuna potato salad. So delicious!
      xx

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  2. Sorry to hear of the demise of your tomatoes but at least with gardening there is always another chance next season. You must be pleased with the spuds they look lovely.

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    1. They are delicious and, yes, we're delighted. It's the biggest crop we've ever had and if the rest is as dense - we will be so please.
      xx

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  3. I recently did a column on blight…I have written a little newspaper column off and on since 1999. I maintain the blight is in the tomatoes when purchased…plants…as to seeds I have no clue…my daughter in law and I purchased them this year at the same big box store…blight…they were growing in pots side by side…frankly have grown tomatoes most of my life and never heard of or had it until 2014…then I blamed the soul…who knows for sure…we live in Florida and it surely was not the wet….however in WV and Ohio and Indy perhaps…

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    1. I sincerely hope not as I bought them all from the same place. Eeek!
      xx

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  4. Fingers crossed the dreaded blight doesn't get to your potatoes! I saw on Vivi's Youtube video from yesterday that she sprays her tomatoes with aspirin to hold off blight. Worth a watch. I've also got a huge bed that needs to be filled that's due to the total failure of my peas, beetroot and spinach. Suspect the soil needs some work but it was left abandoned for the 6 weeks while I was off my feet. But that's gardening for you!!

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    1. I've never heard of that. I'll see if I can find the clip.
      Ah, found it, thanks. I will watch it through.
      xx

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  5. I can taste those potatoes!

    I do hope the rest aren't affected by blight, and a shame about all the tomatoes. Does the blight affect the soil in that you won't be able to use it next year or am I getting mixed up?

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    1. It's not wise to plant things affected by light the following year. We were planning the potatoes there in 2022 but not now!
      xx

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  6. There's nothing like freshly dug potatoes. Boiled and smothered in butter mmmmmmmmm

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    1. Maybe a bit of butter but I love them just as they come, to be honest.
      xx

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  7. Sorry about your tomatoes. Early on in the season, I saw some fungus starting to show on a few leaves and was able to stave it off with some homemade concoction that included baking soda and liquid soap. It worked and my plants have been putting out a good crop of cherry and grape tomatoes. No blight, thankfully.

    As for veg to start in July, I noticed the Gardener's World website had an article on that very subject. Certainly a better source for you than anything I might recommend. :)

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    1. Thanks, Mary. I will take a look. xx

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  8. Hope Sunday goes well for you and will be thinking of you in the busy week ahead.

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    1. Thank you, Debbie. Not looking forward to tomorrow but it all seems to be in order.
      xx

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