Much poopedness after a day in the sun !

Absolutely scorching day. A full 9-5 shift in hot sun meant I fell asleep on the sofa at 7pm, woke at 11pm, crawled into bed and woke at 5am ...... so why don't I feel rejuvenated and ache so much ? lol

Got loads done though ....... and here it is.


I used nearly a whole butt of water Thurs/Friday last week so figured I needed another one. They've still not got the 15% discount plugged into the computer but nice Mr Checkout man didn't even question me and rang it though immediately. I must have looked as if I knew what I was talking about ....... moral of the story ...... talk with confidence ! Sited it right next to the other one, nicking a bit of the communal path. Every little helps! Took the two hoses up and filled both butts. Going to cut some small holes in the lids and turn them upside down to protect against evaporation and collect any rain we do get. Not had any substantial rain since I got the first butt and the surface of the soil is dust !





We have a gate ! Well not so much of a gate as an arch ! This one fitted together without all the huffing and puffing that the last one took. Going to put my runners (only got about 4 plants) and sweetpeas up the arch. Gave it some support with 4 reinforcing poles. Second bean trellis (with the fleece) in the background. Planted up Brittle Wax climbing beans in there but the sun was so hot they wilted almost immediately, hence the protective fleece. Hope they've picked up overnight. The Gigantes beans in the first trellis coming along nicely. Planted some nasturtiums between the beans. The ones at home are taking off, so I hope it's not too late for them.




Courgettes are coming on a treat. I lost one of the first two due to it not being pollinated but the second one is doing just fine. Odd that, since there was no male flowers out at the time. Plenty more flowers on their way. Mine still look far superior to any that I can see around me. Moral of the story ..... start them off in pots and get them to a good size before transplanting ? My smaller ones are still much smaller, so I'm sure a bit of pot boundedness forces them to grow upwards !





Sowed a third row of beetroot direct, next to the existing two rows. Apparently our friend in Ayr likes them, so will have someone to give them to.






The OH took a car load of carrier bags to the dump and started weeding the second half of the lottie. Got to get the leeks in and I think I will have enough space for the squash I've still got sitting at home. The trouble with getting the lottie so late is that I hadn't banked on having the extra space this year and haven't got much else started. Got a load of Blue Lake beans to go in so I'll have another bean trellis to make, may ring the changes and try a wigwam or two. Going to plant some Lemon Zest calendula inside the arches but apart from that I've run out of bedding plants too. There are still a few new broadies to get in and if this weather keeps up, may try a couple of chillis/peppers outside. I've got plenty so will be prepared to sacrifice them if the poor weather ever returns.

May take some of the fruit bushes in buckets up there too, just to get some room in the garden.

Will do some more raking and bashing today as well but I'll do that first, by the time the end of the shift arrives, I just don't have the energy !

Apparently we get really bad evil carrot root fly on the site. Was talking to one of the Johns who knows his stuff. He has individual cloches over each carrot and plants in compost holes. He was telling me about the site in years gone by, all the plots were separates by hedges which didn't allow a good flow of air so meant the soil was quite stale. It's not so bad nowadays as it's a lot more open. His leek bed looks like he's rolled it before dibbing the holes. It looks like set concrete, it's so flat. Not sure mine is going to look anything like his but I like the idea !

My new hoe is just the dogs danglies. Lots of little tiny weeds just decapitated in one push/pull. Must get some edges to the beds made though as it scoots all the earth over the paths. The bottom end of the lottie has far more stones that the top end, so am creating stone paths round the back of the beans. Not very easy to walk on though but once their trodden in they should be ok.

So that was that for the day. Got a nicely toasted set of shoulders and think it will be more of the same today. Can't wait for a decent hour to get up there.

Happy days people, happy days.