17th August

Last week I was on about the courgettes had slowed down as the temperatures had dropped by around 10 degrees, well this week they have shot on again with the temperatures up again.

This is one crop that really likes the temperatures around 20.

In the tunnels we planted another two thousand lettuce, two varieties one red and one green plus direct sowed more oriental mix.

And out in the field I bedformed more ground, and we planted another batch of beetroot this will be the last beetroot getting planted in the field, it was ten thousand so that will keep us going right up until the frost gets them.

We still have the purple sprouting, over winter cauliflower, Romanesco cauliflower and broad beans to plant in the field which should be next week.

Rab got the blocking machine going again this week and blocked another two thousand lettuce, five thousand spinach and five thousand Ruby chard, these will get planted in around two weeks’ time in the tunnels, when they get planted we will block the same again which will probably be the last of these for the season, but we will decide that when we see what the weather is doing, you never know we might get another batch squeezed in.

Most of the bed weeding in the field is finished, we are now just going over any beds that are a wee bit weedy, then that will be the bed weeder back in the shed for a well-deserved rest until next year.

At this time of the year, I can no longer get through the crops with the camera guided machine and brush weeder as the crops are too big.

So, I put the grubber on the back, this machine sits much higher and is above the crops, it has long spring-loaded legs with arrow shaped small ploughs these dig into the soil and just break up the soil and any weeds that still fancy growing.

It does a great job, especially if it has been as dry as it has been, when it has been so dry the ground goes hard, this machine airiates the soil, and really helps the plants.