Ups and Downs

Apologies for not posting for a wee while - there just don't seem to be enough hours in my days. So here is a wee update on what's happening.
Over at the tunnel, the tomatoes are continuing to grow apace - they don't look the best as they are quite badly heat stressed, due to the very high temperature today when I couldn't get across to open the tunnel doors until late afternoon / early evening, but they are healthy enough and continuing to put out trusses. They are currently fed every second feed with tomorite and a comfrey tea alternately. I removed some of the lower leaves this evening as I have done every year I have grown tomatoes - more energy into top growth and it also aids ventilation to the plants.

Next we have the aubergines which are looking really healthy -especially as last year their leaves were reduced to lace by earwigs and it took them a long time to recover. Behind the aubergines ( to the right in the photo) are the Stenner runner beans which have now all started to wrap themselves round thier canes and are heading skywards, and dotted along the back of these canes are some baby cauliflowers, with some Jalapeno up against the tunnel wall.

This next photo shows the first planting of cauliflowers - the idea being that once the cucumbers clad their frame, they will provide some shade for the curds (similarly the runner beans will provide shade for the second sowing of caulies.

The last photo from the tunnel shows the current state of play with Medwyns Giant Marrow - it's beginning to get up speed and I am gently wrapping it round itself with bent wire hoops securing the stems. It has the required two fruits set as I mentioned before, but one of the original fruits dropped off (????) so I let another one start to take it's place.

Other than that, the chillies are starting to show their first flowers, I have now harvested 11 of the 12 Hispi Cabbages - one remaining and I started taking central heads off the calabrese this evening, as well as picking another Cucumber Petita and some courgettes - oh yeah and a couple of punnets of strawberries from the bed outside.
At home in the garden, the potatoes are putting on a huge amount of top growth - the shaws are now at least 4ft high - lets just hope tht this translates into some good tatties below ground, The Casablanca have flowered ( a small white flower with a yellow centre) but the rest are still reaching for the sky.
The Sweet Candle seem to have regained their composure after I lost one to something unknown and are growing well, as are the parsnips. Mt beetroot are concerning me a wee bit as they seem to be getting away ahead of themselves and may need to be lifted well in advance of my local show - though I may eneter them in the Sutherland County show on 23rd July), when I also hope to enter two Carmen Cucumbers. The Snowball turnips are having a bit of a growth spurt, the broad beans are now not only flowering but also finally setting some beans. My shallots have been poor doers this year. I only have sixteen left in the ground that are still growing (albeit very slowly) - the rest seemed to go over all at the same time. There is no sign of secondary growth so I shall leave them in the ground as long as I can to see if these reamaing specimens will get any larger. The Festa red lettuce is looking very nice too. My Show Perfection peas were unfortunately devoured by sparrows within hours of being planted out and have never recovered, so these are a non starter this year.
In the greenhouse the leeks are still growing though I have the three of them in 5 litre pots and the roots are clearly visible at the bottom of each pot. If anyone can advise whether or not to leave them in this pot or pot them on again into a largere pot I'd be grateful as this is the first time I have grown leeks other than for culinary use.
The Dwarf French Beans are now all in 5 litre pots and seem to happy in them - first flowers were produced yesterday and the plants go out in the morning and in at night.

Been busy recently

Have been busy recently with work - it's that time of year I suppose, and actually travelled down to Glasgow to help my mum and Jim sort out their garden over the weekend.
On the home front, things are progressing apace, all five varieties of potatoes (Casablanca, Kestrel, Winston, Maxine and Harmony) that are being grown in polypots are showing the tips of their shaws, those shallots that were deemed worthy have been thinned down to four bulbs with the thinnings being used in the kitchen, the broad beans are starting to put on some growth of the vertical kind, the carrots and parsnips are growing away steadily now and the beetroot has been thinned to one plant per station. In the greenhouse, there are still some young tomato and cucumber plants for clients, but of my own stuff, the next two Carmen cucumbers are just showing their first true leaf, the courgettes has two true leaves each, the Stenner runner beans have just germinated, the first batch of dwarf french bean The Prince have been potted into their large growing pots and the second batch sown into 3" pots tonight. The lettuce Festa, the turnips Snowball and the second batch of beetroot Pablo have all just germinated. The one pressing job is to pot on the chillies and Capsicums - tomorrow night hopefully - unfortunately I have paperwork to catch up with tonight.
Over at the tunnel, the brassicas are growing pretty darn quick - too quick in some cases I think, so I may have to make another sowing of cabbages and caulies at the weekend. The onion sets (Setton) in the raised beds are doing really well and are on target for harvesting at the end of July. The tomatoes seem to have settled in are are now beginning to grow away, the aubergines are looking fine and healthy, the first cuke is not doing a lot at the moment but I am not too worried - previous years have taught me that they are slow to get going then absolutely fly when they decide to get started. And the rhubarb is just awesome this year!! and I have already got myself another 4 blue barrels for next season so I might grow more parsnips, and try long carrots and long beetroot too - it's getting a wee bit of an obsession now - wish I could devote more time to it this year but I can only do what I can do.
It was the May meeting of our local gardening club (of which I am secretary) last night and we were treated to a very amusing and informative talk on how to stage exhibits for showing, both flowers and vegetables. More than a few valuable tips were passed on to the assembled audience, as well as recommended varieties that work up here - most of the well known show varieties but also the favoured onion for the onions from sets class seems to be Hercules, and the favoured broad bean is Inperial Green Longpod. For onions from seed, these guys recommended Marco as opposed to Tasco. So thanks must go to JK Ross, John McKay and also to Wattie McBeath, a local exhibition grower who joined them. John brought along a cell pack of a dozen Celeriac plants (variety "Brilliant") that I got hold of at the end of the night, however by the end of today there were none left for me!! However JK is going to pass me a few spare Pendle leek plants that he has so that's another new show veg I shall be dabbling in this season.