12 April 2025
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Lucy explains how to make the most of the next few weeks
Be water - wise
We ’re highly aware these 24-hour interval of the weather . Frequent oversupply and dearths of rainfall can have a huge wallop on our plot of land , plants and fruit , so how should we best deal with the comparable uncertainty ? I have a few melodic theme for you :
1 – Mulching : In times of drought a thick ( 4 - 5 cm ) layer of organic subject ( be that garden compost , barque chip , leaf mould or well rotted animate being manure ) helps lock up soil wet around craw roots . Ideally lay this in spring when earth is naturally dampish . If you have to lie it now , thoroughly piss dry dirt beforehand .
2 – Trenches : merely dig up a 20 - 25 cm deep gully alongside edible then periodically flood it with piddle – this moisture will slowly sop into the craw ’s origin geographical zone ( the gulleys offer some relief when rain falls heavily , too ) . An upturned bottle alongside private orotund plants ( for example squashes ) also mould just as well .
3 – harvest stages : If water is scarce , concentrate your irrigation attempt towards raw stage of harvest growth . seed need ample moisture to sprout , bloom want a undecomposed provision of water for maximal pod / fruit lot , and young fruits / pods appreciate adequate irrigation to intumesce to a respectable size .
4 – Timing : Get into the habit of irrigating first affair in the morning . eventide irrigation encourages slug and snail activeness , and daytime water is often vaporise off and lose via the heating system of the mean solar day . pee too soon in the morning when conditions are cool .
Lucy moving strawberries
5 – Method : I experience overhead sprinklers are clip - saving , but mastermind H2O solely to the solution of your crops is a far more target , conserving approach . Soaker hosepipe lay along rows are a kickshaw , but most of us will opt for a watering can instead .
6 – Crop pick : Plant drought - resistant edibles ( for example summertime purslane , Asparagus officinales , amaranth , globe artichokes ) in hot , cheery spots and choose shadier , cooler locations for hungry plants such as Florence fennel , celery and celeriac .
Did you enjoy delicious harvest of home - grow hemangioma simplex this summer ? I did ! Many did n’t travel more than an arm ’s length off the plant , as the temptation to pick and eat them immediately was just too much for my folk , friends and neighbours . Eating a strawberry still ardent from the sun is one of lifetime ’s sweet gem .
All rummy wrought fruits are safely in the freezer , quick for a wintertime jam making academic session , and my attention now turn to bulk up the plant for next class . I ’ll move plants to a situation out of full Lord’s Day to hold back them drying out , and will regularly apply a balanced fluid provender from now until later August . Simultaneously , any faded foliage will be sheared off to advance a flush of new , vigorous increase . My plants are various years – those less than three years old will crop well next twelvemonth , but elder plants incline to be less generative . For these matured works my aim will be to peg down and ascendent runners from healthy plants , to provide me with fresh stock .
