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CHURCH AT KIRKBURN
850TH ANNIVERSARY
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http://www.churchatkirkburn.org.uk/page45.html 1 of 2 doug the digger (46) sep ‘07 14/9/07 12/11/08
Or an everyday story
of a country bloke
of a country bloke
It’s never difficult to start off my articles for the magazine. The weather is a subject that interests everybody, and especially gardeners. This year we really have had a lot to put up with. March and April were drought like - plants of all kinds due to the unseasonable hot weather came on by leaps and bounds. We paid for our pleasure in June and July with the pouring rain for almost the whole month of July. The fact that the floods were phenomenal nationally is well known. In this area we did have some problems but in this article I am more concerned about the effects on growers. It’s fair to say that the pouring rain made gardening difficult. Up till mid-June conditions were fairly reasonable, in fact I was able to put my plants for the sale mainly in 3.5 inch pots into pot carriers which I put out on the lawn from more or less the third week in April. The weather accelerated the development of plants so much that for the first time in my life, I think, my mind was concentrated on delaying growth rather promoting it.. I had 22 pot carriers full of pots and it was a real pain moving them every morning and evening to stop them ruining the grass- I felt as if I had a permanent bend in my back. Then came the rains. One of my greenhouses flooded and remained so for about 8 days (I grow tomatoes in bottomless pots on compost on polythene, so it was impossible to get it away given the concentration of water and continual rain) the worst side of one of the greenhouses which took the brunt is now paying me back - I have lost 5 plants so far and I expect the remaining 5 will go. There are tomatoes on the plants which I have picked and put to ripen those which are fit, but I have got a fair bit of blossom end rot which is not surprising since the watering has been more than a little erratic. I’m hoping that the other side of the house will not succumb. I did get my autumn sown broad beans picked later than expected (mid June) They were very nice and I have a stock in the freezer for later. My courgettes just won’t grow (every year so far I have had a glut, so I am bit disappointed) I was pleased with my early potatoes - again they were a bit later than expected. They were bagged up towards the end of June after washing and drying in the greenhouse. My autumn sown onions which had looked really good in the end were a disappointment. A fair few bolted , which I have never known before, and the usable ones disappointed me. After the rains we finally got a spell of sunny weather. It was very welcome but we had a lot of wind with it. As a consequence my garden has gone as hard as concrete and there are cracks everywhere. This has disappointed me as well because last back end I must have dug in at least 30 bags of composted horse manure. Looking back to last year’s September article I was moaning then about cracks in the garden, so at least that part of our annual weather has been consistent. Well, it’s always a challenge, and as I say every season, it’ll be different next year.
I have grown the tomato, variety SHIRLEY for many years now and have always been satisfied. It is known for the weight of its bottom truss which always needed tying to avoid a splitting branch. This year the problem seems to have become worse with higher trusses also succumbing to bending badly. This season the trusses seem to have been longer and to grow away from the main stem at a really acute angle which puts much pressure on the stem of the truss. I am wondering if selection over the years has not worked well for this variety and I am toying with the idea of trying to find a new favourite. If anybody has experience similar problems I would be interested to hear from you (either drop me a line - I will publish your note unless you don’t want me to, or give me a ring). Similarly if anyone has a variety which works
I have grown the tomato, variety SHIRLEY for many years now and have always been satisfied. It is known for the weight of its bottom truss which always needed tying to avoid a splitting branch. This year the problem seems to have become worse with higher trusses also succumbing to bending badly. This season the trusses seem to have been longer and to grow away from the main stem at a really acute angle which puts much pressure on the stem of the truss. I am wondering if selection over the years has not worked well for this variety and I am toying with the idea of trying to find a new favourite. If anybody has experience similar problems I would be interested to hear from you (either drop me a line -