2021 - What I did today

Heavy rain was forecast and that's what we had, especially this afternoon. Cleared all the tomatoes from GH No 2 and emptied the tomato pot compost onto the beds, which are getting deeper every year. I feel a sowing of carrots and beetroot coming on, with Bijou mangetout behind them. Maybe try a few DFBs too. If you don't try, you don't know.

Very wet again this morning so I sowed seeds in shelter in the GH. Filled modules with Bijou Mangetout, Tom Thumb dwarf peas and 4 different Broad beans - Super Aquadulce, Sutton, Bunyards Exhibition and Wizard Field Beans.
This afternoon, it dried up a bit so I attacked a Sweet Chestnut tree, that I'm sure I never planted. When I first found the little sapling I was quite excited - now its about 20' tall and casting shade over the mini-orchard trees. Its never had any nuts - so it going to go. I've pruned off all the low branches, needs something bigger and better than secateurs for the next stage.
Pulled up more Montbretia and accidentally pulled up some Pineapple Mint - now turned into cuttings and rooting in water. Since Pineapple was the flavour of the day, I cut down some Pineapple sage and turned that into cuttings too.

Today I emailed Gardener's Question Time to ask them for advice on stopping red spider mites taking over my greenhouse again next year. I've never submitted a question before, I hope it gets read out sometime!

Today I emailed Gardener's Question Time to ask them for advice on stopping red spider mites taking over my greenhouse again next year. I've never submitted a question before, I hope it gets read out sometime!

I haven't got those but I seem to have fungus gnats all year round  turn my back and bang they are there. I also had a few tomatoes with white fly on last week...so today I've made a start on cleaning it out. It was very wet, lots of rain so I could t use the jet wash. Just scrubbed it out with soapy water and bleach. Will give it a jet wash when I can empty it. 

How often do you clean it?
Are there any ladybird/bugs etc that you can introduce to control them?

Today I emailed Gardener's Question Time to ask them for advice on stopping red spider mites taking over my greenhouse again next year. I've never submitted a question before, I hope it gets read out sometime!

I haven't got those but I seem to have fungus gnats all year round  turn my back and bang they are there. I also had a few tomatoes with white fly on last week...so today I've made a start on cleaning it out. It was very wet, lots of rain so I could t use the jet wash. Just scrubbed it out with soapy water and bleach. Will give it a jet wash when I can empty it. 

How often do you clean it?
Are there any ladybird/bugs etc that you can introduce to control them?

I cleaned it when I replaced the broken panes this spring just gone. All except for the grapevine stump that was just starting to grow in the corner, and which was obviously where the blighters were hiding, ready to spring onto my cucumbers, melons, DFBs and French marigolds as soon as my back was turned.

I hear there are some predatory midges or some such I could try if they do come back, but maybe there are preventatives or fumigation tricks I can use.

Sown sweet peas & potted up 3 strawberry runners.

A sunny day today so it was an outside day. Collected all pots, modules and trays from various dumping spots around the garden and turfed out the contents of the storage box to put them in. Finished the job just as it started to rain, dodged the drips coming in, very pleased with getting everything in the box only to notice a bunch of trays and modules I'd missed

Today I emailed Gardener's Question Time to ask them for advice on stopping red spider mites taking over my greenhouse again next year. I've never submitted a question before, I hope it gets read out sometime!

If you get any interesting advice from them let us know. Last winter I washed our GH with Jays fluid and then fumigated with sulphur candles but still got major infestation. .They made a mess of my cucumber plant though I still ended up with enough for us and a few to give away from just the one plant. But they more or less killed my aubergine plants From 6 plant i got 2 smallish fruits. I've bought a small bottle of a spray that I tried on some aubergines and the cucumber. I didn't get it till early September. It seemed like it could help if applied early on but not for a well established infestation. My problem is I can't see the b...ers!

It's not cheap and they don't say what is in it. I suspect it is a soft soap of some sort.

I'll try it again next year if (when?) they reappear.

https://www.nematodesdirect.co.uk/28-sb-...nvigorator

Today I cleared out a lot of decrepit tomato plants. Normally they carry on till the first frosts get them but this year they have been got by a mixture of botrytis and tomato leaf mould. Also, for a few weeks now, blight has been spreading throughout. You don't usually get blight in greenhouses but early on I had a plant that had several leaves looking like blight so I pulled it out and didn't see anything else till we had a few really wet weeks when i saw some minor infection. The problem was I'd let the plants go rampant and it was not possible to get on top of it. Still, got enough stored to last till 2022s crop.

More heavy rain today so I've sown some seeds in GH No 2 - where the tomatoes were last week!
Carrots - Nantes and Paris Market
Turnip - Sweet Bell.
Also, first signs of germination in the sweet pea department (that's my bedroom ) First ones are Old Spice Mixed (sow by Sept 2020). They're the youngest ones I sowed.