Barry Cuff takes a look back at what happened on his Sturminster Newton plot last month
Water – Halfway through the year and we are seriously short of soil moisture. The last three months have seen low rainfall in our area. We rely on the well on our allotments, which thankfully has not run dry nor is it likely to, even if this very dry spell continues into July.
Pumping to supply the seven raised 330-gallon containers and troughs has been carried out 14 times this month – most plotholders use the water wisely, taking care not to waste the precious commodity. However no amount of watering can replace a decent fall of rain.
Potatoes – They always need a lot of water, so during the month each 18 foot row has been given 30 litres on two separate occasions. At the beginning of the month we used the last of our 2024 crop of Caledonian Rose which made good chips and roasts. We started digging the new crop (Maris bard and Jazzy) mid-month. The Jazzy gave excellent yields per plant, and as a new spud were as good as any Jersey Royal.
Brassicas – Immediately after planting out they have to be protected from pigeons by a net cloche. We now have the following: one row of Red Drumhead cabbage, which have outgrown their cloche and are not being attacked by the birds at present. The Brenden Brussels sprouts (planted on the 1st) are doing well.
Cheesy and Cendis cauliflower were planted on the 14th and Ironman Calabrese on the 29th.
Direct sowings – beetroot and carrots, at regular intervals.
Plug trays – We have sown Aureo cauliflower, Vertus Savoy cabbage, Claret purple sprouting broccoli and Navona romanesco, all for planting out in July.
Harvest – Broad beans completed on the 15th, and the plants put on the compost heap. Garlic on the 27th (excellent yields of two varieties). Picked our first courgettes on the 26th, and the first greenhouse tomatoes on the 29th.
Salads – We love our salads! Beetroot was pulled as required. We always have lettuce as we make successive sowings between March and September. Spring onions and radish as required. Jazzy is always a good salad potato.
In the greenhouse – All the tomatoes are doing well. A few of the sweet peppers have sun scorch but are usable. We are now shielding the fruit with newspapers on the sunniest days: greenhouse temperatures rose to over 45º on the hottest days in June.
Fruit – It’s been an exceptional year for our strawberries which finished cropping on the 25th. We’ve also had good yields of blackcurrants, whitecurrants and gooseberries: Val has made around 30lb of jam. We picked our first autumn raspberries on the 20th June!
Peas – These are short due to lack of rain. Hope to pick the first week in July.
Other veg – Cucurbits, sweetcorn celeriac, French and runner beans all need some decent rain, despite being watered every day.
Weeding – We are using the hoe and hand weeding. Our worst weeds are gallant soldiers, bindweed, fat hen, sowthistle and many-seeded goosefoot.
Biodiversity – A few of our ‘special’ weeds are now in flower and attracting the bees – moth mullein, opium poppy and weasel snout. We spotted a wasp beetle on the broad beans and a young adder was found on an adjacent plot. There seem to be fewer butterflies than usual.
