June 2008 – Old diary entries

1st June

Planted out 6 x Sungold tomatoes in the 'tomato greenhouses' in large bottomless pots in 2 x growbags against the plot shed. Planted 4 x Sungold tomatoes and 2 x Tumbling Tom tomatoes in the bean bed. Planted tagetes amongst them. Planted out 4 x courgette 'black forrest' on cane teepee. Planted out 4 x cucumber 'tasty burpless green' on cane teepee. Covered with cut-off squash bottle cloches. Planted another full row of sugarsnap peas. Covered with fine wire mesh this time. Lee sowed 2 x rows of carrot 'chanteray'. Thinned 'nantes' carrots. Planted 13 dahlias in the plot flower bed. Used plenty of horse manure in the dahlia, tomato, cucumber and courgette planting holes. Bought 2 gardman tunnels from Askett Nurseries. A polythene one and a fleece one - £12.99 each. Placed over the existing and newly sown carrots.

3rd June

Planted out 5 x Salvia Patens in the garden

4th June

Planted the following tomatoes in containers in the front garden: 4 x balconi yellow, 5 x balconi red, 3 x tumbling tom.

5th June

Removed runners from the strawberries and took the cloches off the sweetcorn plantlets.

6th June

Planted out Gaillardia Arizona Sun (perennials)  in the back garden and also in the flower bed at the plot. 

7th June

Really warm but randomly cloudy. We were 7hrs up the plot today and got burnt! Lee's Mum and Dad came over. Bought lawnmower! Planted coriander and basil seeds, half a row each where the failed chives had been. Planted half row salad mixed niche (T&M) and half row of oriental salad (T&M). Sowed a pot each of oregano and marjoram (Simpsons Seeds). A few of the peas have germinated. White clematis now smothered in flowers. Clematis 'Pink Fantasy' has 2 or 3 flowers. Sweetpeas have a few flowers each.

8th June

Really hot today!! Planted half row of the following: oriental mustard (T&M), Sky rocket (T&M), Purple Pak Choi (T&M), White Pak Choi (T&M), Radish. Went to Pyrton Nurseries, didn't buy anything. Could possibly have put the pumpkin and squash out today but decided to leave it till next weekend.

9th June

Really hot again today. Watered.

11th June

Watered. Sowed one row of Beetroot 'Red Ace' in the salad bed. It rained tonight.

12th June

Flowers appearing on Cerinthe, Dusty Miller and the red geum. Clematis 'Pink Fantasy' has a few flowers but hasn't climbed very high or done very well this year.

14th June

Planted Tithonia out in the garden.

15th June

Planted out 7 x butternut squash 'Metro' and 4 x Crown Prince - plenty of manure in the planting holes. No cloches used. Bought some plants for hanging baskets, a packet of Tender and True parsnip seeds and 12 off calabrese plants (cv not known). The plants for hanging baskets weren't very good, we'd really left it too late this year. Planted up the baskets and Lee planted 8 x calabrese plants in the brassica cage. Dug up 2 Arran Pilot haulms! 880g of potatoes. Had for tea - delicious! Put sulphate of ammonia around runner beans, courgettes, cucumbers and squash. Sowed some Nantes and Autumn King carrots in Big Whiteys tyres in a mix of compost and sand.

16th June

Visited Mr and Mrs O's plot to give them the remaining 4 x calabrese. It's looking miles more bountiful and ahead of ours. Felt sad. I think it's because our plot is just so darned exposed.

18th June

It was incredibly windy tonight. We worried about the tomato houses up the plot, but they were OK.

19th June

Everything seems to have put on a spurt of growth! Took the chicken wire off from around the runner beans and tied them into the canes. Saw Rowley and he said the beans are probably yellow because of the high winds. Picked 10 lovely strawberries, very yummy!

21st June

Lee finished off the first raspberry cage. We were meant to be going to see Tuung tonight in London but so engrossed in the plot that we didn't go!

23nd June

Lee made the second raspberry cage.

24th June

Dug up more Arran Pilot potatoes and harvested quite a few strawberries.

25th June

Sowed one row of parsnip 'Tender and True' in the squash bed. This is really late to be sowing them, so this is an experiment (turned out to be the best parsnips of the lot!). Sowed another row of beetroot 'Red Ace' in the salad bed. There hasn't been any rain for days, we've been watering most nights.

28th June

Went to 'The Plant Specialist' nursery in Great Missenden. Bought the following perennials: Mathiasella bupleuroides; Potentilla 'Ron McBeath'; Potentilla 'Helen Jane'; Astrantia Major 'Roma'; Hardy geranium 'Rozanne'.

29th June

Planted all the perennials we bought yesterday in the garden.

30th June

Helenium 'Moorheim Beauty' is coming out nicely this week! Buds are appearing on geranium 'Summer Skies' at last! Flower appeared on hostas.