Garden

[ewt]

Potatoes are very happy though they need more soil.

Peppers (sweet and hot) and aubergines are very slug-eaten, but still growing. The peppers have got flowers on now so hopefully there will be actual fruits. Aubergines, can't tell.

Sweetcorn in the front might actually make corn! Amazing. Butternut squash is going rather slowly, it should be trying to take over the whole front garden and this is not what is happening, I'm confused. I'll give it more time and see what happens though. Soya beans completely decimated by slugs. Damn slugs.

My tomatoes and physalis did get a little carried away with the whole 'transpiration' thing - should have watered them a little more I think. Never mind; I think they'll live, and at least they don't have blight which would ruin the entire crop.

I've now taken off the badly-affected leaves (and many of the others, too; tomatoes do not need as many leaves as they produce, and having too many increases risk of blight) and given them a drink; I'm going to take the one in the hanging basket (meant to be a tumbling type, but so far it is doing no tumbling at all - I am confused!) down and soak it in a bowl of water as that's particularly tricky to water, and get water bottles stuck in the soil to get at the roots of the raised bed tomatoes a little more easily.

I have a volunteer potato plant. Would anyone like it? I don't want it in that bed, and I already have my own stack. It looks healthy enough. If you are coming to help with clothing clearance anyway, I have loads of pots and we could put it in one for you easily enough.

Strawberries seem to be about done for the year; there are a few hanging on still. I'll have to do a little more maintenance on the strawb patch as it is looking a little haggardly. Some of the plants are sending out runners so I'll try to get those in pots to pass on to people, but that will wait until next week probably.

I know you can buy copper tape (at great expense) to slug-proof things. Is it possible to buy a metallic paint that contains sufficient copper to deter slugs? I'm thinking copper-painted fabric would be a good solution here.

Potato stack needs more soil, which is too heavy for me, bah. Also it needs the flowers picking off so it doesn't try to fruit.

Need to make a watering list for mstevens. Also general weeding, the bindweed is getting rather too bold. Priority goes to growing things that I'm going to eat,t though; if I can keep those beds mostly weed-free I don't mind the rest so much.

Hedge needs trimming. hairyears? Anyone else? This is something I cannot do because my elbow will kill me if I try, and since the hedge is in the front it's kindof important in terms of making it look like we care about the property.

Front garden needs weeding, and this I do mind because the neighbours will complain if I don't fix it. The dill that I was hoping would self-seed itself in the bed where it was planted last year has self-seeded itself in some of the cracks and crevices instead, so I'll try to let that live, and the Chinese chives can stay, but the rest has got to go. Also the bin men will not take away anything that is not physically in the (small) bin, which is a little ungracious of them I think. I'd mind less if the council would provide us with a proper bin for free but they won't, or not last I checked anyway.

Right. Enough of that; I'm meant to be sorting through clothing...