'Dank days -----'
Sitting, or rather, lying, here in the conservatory on the 'eco micro-holding' (small organic smallholding) listening to the rain splattering on the roof - June and the first half of July has been a sodden time here in the UK midlands, as elsewhere in the UK - and writing these few words on the laptop, with good mates Pip, Tills and Tizz lying in here too, a body could be forgiven for thinking it's winter-time. The lanes hereabouts are semi-flooded, though not nearly as drastic as the flooding in some parts of the UK, and everywhere just seems to be 'wringing wet', not, of course helping the veg growing a lot. The peas have given up the ghost and the more 'exotic' veg varieties such as celery are pretty obviously not liking these conditions an awful lot.
'Easy beansy-----'
On the other hand, stuff that doesn't mind 'cold and wet' too much has thrived - the broad bean crop, for instance, is bountiful. Quite a big patch is grown here - they're cheap to grow (home-grown nil cost seed and nothing else spent), they're easy to grow (just 'shoved' in the ground with a spade, as seed all together under an old windscreen in mid-Feb, planted out as plants 4-5 weeks later, generally giving an early crop then usually untroubled by pests (mainly blackfly). They require little tending, often not having to have even one weeding, for instance, they freeze brilliantly and also make a good contribution to on-going soil fertility (as legumes, fixing nitrogen from the air into the ground and then with the haulms and stalks providing a decent amount of compost fodder). Being an early crop, they come in when there's not a lot else about, and then freeing ground for a 'catch crop' (a second crop in the season, generally providing medium-size, tasty leeks here over the winter period).
The other crop that seems to have done surprisingly well considering the wet conditions is the spuds (potatoes). The disease associated with wet growing conditions, blight, is normally a bit of a problem here, but this year varieties were chosen which scored well on blight resistance, and it seems to have paid off, with the small blight patches being taken up and a major attack so far (fingers crossed) avoided. Could be hopefully then quite a crop, water shortage definitely not being a restrictive factor.
'Septical-----'
Other micro-holding tasks haven't been too demanding recently - a bit of hedge trimming, the odd bit of weeding and the biggest, recent job, clearing and cleaning the septic tank soakaway channels. Amazing how 'clogged' up these can get over time, often seemingly just with earth. Quite a satisfying operation then, to clear them out and watch the overflow liquid run into the now-clear channels, knowing that it should then work ok for the next few months. The two tanks themselves have operated fine on the biological basis, never having had to be then physically emptied over the last thirty years. Good for the ol' 'freerange spirit of independence', and for that freerange economic, frugal, even approach, avoiding thirty years of mains drainage charges, mains drainage being, unusually perhaps, also available in this country area.
A bit of a flurry looms, though, with the winter veg plants needing to be put out, if the rain will stop for a bit to be able to get on the ground. The two main types are purple sprouting, a form of broccoli and curly ('cottager') kale. The former comes to fruition usefully in the Feb to April period and is a very tasty quality veg, especially if just picked before its use. The latter is by tradition one of the most 'run of the mill' veg types even though it's mean't to be one of the most nutritious things to grow and also is posibly the hardiest winter veg - in the very cold winterr berfore last, it was virtually the only veg to survive the very hard weather, for instance. Mixed together with swede tops, spinach and spring greens (second cutting) it makes tasty winter greens with a 'bite' to them, which can then be picked right through the winter. Late carrots and turnips (Milan puple top with their 'peppery' taste) need to be sown direct into the ground, and spring cabbage (spring greens) seed in pots in one of the glass houses (to be then planted outdoors Sept. time).
The other job will be to put leek plants out on the broad bean ground as soon as the beans have been picked (except those to be saved for next year's seed) in about a week's time. Other micro-holding processes continue merrily on their own way, with the logs packed to the gunnels in the woodstore in the grandly entitled 'micro-holding logistics centre' hopefully busily drying away even in this drippy wet summer.
'Birds and bees----'
Can't be a great summer presumably for either the birds or bees. It's noticable here for instance, that when there's some decent weather, the birds don't hit the supplementary feeds put out for them - fatballs, wild bird seed and peanuts - but they sure do when the weather becomes inclement. With so much rain the flowers are suffering and not lasting so what with that and miserable conditions the poor bees must be having a pretty hard time. Half of the mini wildflower 'meadow' planted in the spring has collapsed as well, no doubt due to lack of strength in the flower stalks due to the wet weather.
'Security matters----'
Hard for the byestander to understand why such a fiasco on the security front at the forthcoming London Olympics, considering the amount of time there's been to plan and get the act together - ? Why, also, weren't the forces used to do the job in the first place ? Be a lot less costly ? Ah, but then no 'bundles of dough' to then be made -? Perhaps, though, that's the problem -eyes more on the pots of dosh than on the ball-? Could explain why so many things seem to go belly-up these days - ?
Crikey, never rains but it pours.
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