July is often known as the month where gardeners can reap the awards of all the hard work earlier in the year, and I’m glad to say that this is true of our allotments this month! With most of the month spent in a heatwave, the few individual days of rain have been much welcomed and provided a growth spurt needed for plants.
There have been huge crops of strawberries and blackcurrants, in addition to peas and courgettes. Broad beans are ready for the picking and tatties are being dug. Also autumn planted garlic is now ready.
Globe artichokes are looking magnificent, providing structure and drama to plots, where they haven’t been harvested, and under netting brassicas and carrots are growing well. Courgettes have welcomed the recent rain and the plants are producing bumper crops (any good recipes anyone?)
Wild flowers on the plots encourage bees and sunflowers, dahlias and lilies fill the allotments with colour.
Onions, a favourite staple crop across all plots, are growing well and runner beans are in flower with the promise of great produce to come.
Some gaps are appearing where tatties are being pulled, quickly filled by allotment owners with salad crops for a quick growing season and harvest. Also winter brassicas have been planted….
Also all this lovely weather has encourage one intrepid allotment owner to plant a grape vine - so watch this space!
Let’s hope that August brings more of the same weather as July, as we have one eye on this season’s crop in addition to planning and planting for the winter and into spring.