Frost - ColdSnap app

I made a useful discovery on the Allotment Vegetable Growing website (visit here) of an App for Android phones, which will give you a frost warning for your chosen location, by monitoring weather forecasts for you. (I would also have to say that the author is most patient and helpful, as I made a silly error in setting it up, which he quickly resolved).

You can find it through the Android Market on your phone or here ColdSnap!

You'd think in June I wouldn't be worried about this in southern England but the air temperature here last night was down to 4.5C - nearly cold enough to get me rushing out to cover my potatoes.

View across to potatoes

Looking across the broad beans (peas to the right) towards the other greenhouse with three potato beds in front. They looking flourishing, despite the dry weather (it just means the potatoes won't be swelling in the soil as much as I'd like).

Fruit Patch

A while back you may have seen the post about re-doing the fruit patch, well here it is now, with the raspberry canes moved through 90 degrees (in the right foreground), behind them blackcurrant bushes, behind those, gooseberries and beyond are some strawberry plants.

Of course with all that space round them, I couldn't resist placing a few spare tomato plants could I?

Rain

Finally woke to some rain for a change, having hoped for that for weeks. Not that it is a wondrous amount, but welcome nevertheless. I am sure the autumn planted onions will benefit most, I don't water onions as I think it just encourages roots up to the surface, so they really need the rain, they look healthy enough, just not swelling much.

Poppies

We recently went to Normandy, to visit the sites, history, cemeteries and memorials from Operation Overlord, D-Day. Poppies are of course associated with the battlefields of the First World War, but every time we saw them in Normandy, they seemed fitting also.

When we got home, what did we see in Mrs Soggy's flower border, but our own poppies in flower, here they are for you to enjoy too.

Seed Order

I placed my seed order last week, a bit later than intended, I was too absorbed in sorting out the fruit patch.

Here is the main list, the letters in brackets are the codes on the Organic Gardening Catalogue

There will be a few other things to get, mainly from Pennards - that especially means my seed potatoes, which I shall get at the Potato Day, this weekend. (There is a lovely article about our Potato Day here).

BASIL Lettuce Leaved (HBBE)

BEETROOT Boltardy 15g (BEBO1)

BEETROOT Cylindra (BECY)

BEETROOT Moneta (BEMO)

BROCCOLi Purple Sprouting Early (BRPO)

BROCCOLI Purple Sprouting Late (BRPL)

BROCCOLI Rudolph (BREX)

BRUSSELS SPROUT (Late) Seven Hills (BSSH)

BRUSSELS SPROUT (Mid) Igor F1 (BSIG)

CABBAGE Christmas Drumhead (CBCD)

CABBAGE January King (CBJK)

CABBAGE Marner Lagerrot (Storing Red) (CBML)

CABBAGE Myatt's Offenham (CBON)

CALABRESE Green Sprouting (CAGS)

CARROT Amsterdam Forcing 15gr (CRAM1)

CARROT Flakee (CRFK)

CARROT Resistafly F1 (CRRF)

CLIMBING BEAN Barlotta Lingua di Fuoco (FBLF)

CLIMBING BEAN Neckar Queen (FBNQ)

COURGETTE Segev F1 (COSE)

CRESS American or Land (CSUS)

CUCUMBER Melen F1 (Mini) (CUME)

KALE Dwarf Green Curled (KADW)

LEEK Bandit (LKBA)

LEEK Swiss Giant, Zermatt (LKZE)

LETTUCE Amorina (LEAR)

LETTUCE Bedford (LEBD)

LETTUCE Belize (LEBZ)

ONION Crimson Forest (ONCF)

ONION Ramrod 10g (ONRM1)

PARSLEY Italian Giant (PSIG)

PARSNIP Gladiator F1 (PAGL)

PEA Rapido Petit Pois (PERA)

PEA Sugar Pea Norli (PESP)

PEA Sugar Snap LARGE (PESS)

RADISH French Breakfast (RAFB)

ROCKET Esmee (ROES)

ROCKET Rucola (ROCK)

SWEDE Helenor (SWHE)

TOMATO Alicante (TOAL)

TOMATO Ferline F1 (TOFE)

TOMATO Sweet Million (TOMN)

Fruit Patch Makeover

Most of the fruit bushes were on the patch, as we inherited them when we moved in here 8 or 9 years ago. Despite care and pruning, their production has dropped, so all the blackcurrants and gooseberries have come out, as well as the strawberries from this bed.

The raspberries will be pruned and moved, they are currently lying east-west, they will change to north-south, to get better sun distribution on all plants. The new gooseberry, blackcurrant and strawberry plants will also line north-south.

In the wheelbarrow are some of the old fruit bush roots and perennial weed roots I have been forking out of the ground, nearly half-way across now. In the bags I have compost to work into the soil, and out of shot, some bags of well-rotted horse manure, which will also go on. That lot should ensure good drainage and enough material to prevent drying out in the summer, as well as plenty of nutrients - blackcurrants especially, as you cut them right back, take up a lot of food.

I have yet to decide on the varieties to plant, all suggestions gratefully received! (Blackcurrant and gooseberry please)

Growing Advice Cards

I am a member of Garden Organic (used to be HDRA) and have just spotted on their website an excellent facility for getting advice, in handy card size - if you print them out - with key information on Planting, Growing and Eating, including suggested varieties. I am not sure if it's exclusive to the members' area, but it's not expensive to join. have a look on their website here.

Potato Day Leaflet

Topical tips and Potato Day

I have updated the column on the right, with a few tasks for this time of year.

Also hot on the presses is information going out about our Potato Day next month.

This will be our 4th Annual Potato Day, which, as a horticultural society, we organise for gardeners, with Pennard Plants bringing over 60 varieties of Seed Potatoes and with information available on type, cultivation and disease resistance for each one.

It is on Saturday 12th February 2011, 10:30 to 3:30 (with brunch and drinks all day), at Drimpton Village Hall (for SatNav use DT8 3RF).