News from the farm
01/09/26
Gardening in a heatwave
Wow, what a challenging summer it's been. I've lost track, but was that 5 heatwaves back to back and almost 2 months of no rain? It felt like it was never going to end but thankfully the weather has finally turned. We've had several days of rain now and the plants are looking relieved.
One of the hardest parts of growing in these conditions is not knowing how long it will last. We had no idea how long our water supply from the bore hole was going to last. We would discuss delaying sowings and transplants hoping that next week would be a better week for it... but that better week never came. So we carried on with our plan and hoped we wouldn't get too many losses. I don't know how we managed to get 4 beds of carrots to germinate when they desperately need to be kept damp, but we did!
Some plants did suffer, things like lettuce, brassicas, squashes aren't designed for the kind of heat we experienced and it raises some questions about how we may need to change what we grow over the coming years to match our changing climate.
Sorry I haven't been able to keep up with the news updates, but like the plants, us humans were struggling. There was a lot of problem solving and anxiety around how to navigate this period, and that on top of the physical demands of coming in every day to keep everything alive took it's toll. I'm pleased to report, like the plants we're bouncing back now the weather has changed.
-- Amy
Some good news
I think it's about time we share some good news and tell you what we've got to look forward to over the coming weeks!
This week, the french beans are back. We're growing 2 varieties this time, a purple as well as the green. Again, we've managed to grow these in the tunnel alongside another crop, this time the beefsteak tomatoes. They're looking really good and should provide us with a harvest for the next few weeks.
From next week, we should have lots and lots of carrots to put in the boxes too.
Winter Crops
We're starting to see the promise of our winter crops. The leeks and brussels sprouts are looking really good - we'll be starting to harvest them soon.
Although the winter squash plants haven't started to die back from all that stress, it does mean we can see just how many squashes we'll be able enjoy over winter.
We've been busy getting new plants in the ground for winter as well, we've got beetroot, salad turnips and winter radish all planted in the tunnel. Outside we've got lots of fennel, cabbage and daikon radish. We've just sown our spinach and soon will be adding pak choi and mustards to the list for cooking greens. So there's lots of variety to come.
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