20th July

Another week of roasting weather, the tunnels are hot.

The wee Fergie vintage 135 is not happy rotovating and only manages about half an hr and is heating up and asking for a break.

So, we are trying to do any tractor work first thing in the morning, even at night the tunnels are still too warm for it.

We have hit a wee break with no salad bags, well not enough for everyone, the heat has made the lettuce shoot, usually we can get three to four cuts of the lettuce before it shoots, and we mix this with the oriental mix, but with the heat sometimes sitting at around 49 degrees in the tunnels, the lettuce is shooting after a couple of cuts.

And the oriental mix we only get one cut, but this is normal, so we have continual sowings so we can cut it weekly, but they are shooting.

We have two new batches of lettuce almost ready for harvesting, and more oriental mix almost ready and re sown, so fingers crossed we are back on track.

Even the plants that like the heat, cucumbers and tomatoes, have slowed down producing fruits, when the tunnels are so hot, they slow down, and we don’t actually know how hot it really is the temperature gauge stops at 49.

Out in the field, the courgette plants are looking fantastic, with loads of flowers and courgettes forming, again we are struggling to get a great harvest as there has been no rain, I can’t remember the last day they had a proper soaking.

But the main thing is all the crops are looking great, and the field ones can survive no problem as they are all established, it is a bit more problematic if we get this sustained head and dry just as we are planting.

When the rain comes, and it will, the crops will shoot on, the leeks, onions and carrots the main crops are almost ready for harvesting, a wee bit of rain will shoot them on.

Last week we blocked another fifty thousand seeds, these are for re planting the tunnels and over winter crops for the fields, the germination has not been the best, and again the extra warm heat we have been getting is the problem with that, so we will need to re do some.

Framing is full of surprises and challenges. most usually weather related.

But the plants are hardy and established out in the field so they will be fine.

The tunnels have struggled the most with the extra heat the create, which makes the plants shoot, but they can be re sown and the seeds come on quickly.

But it is fantastic weather to be working in.