It's been a Scorcher

Hello Everyone,

Well, it has been a scorcher this past week and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. It is the best time of the year, for me, and to be given a few days of unbelievably hot weather the back end of April and historic temperatures for the beginning of May is a joy. It did make working in the Greenhouses and Polytunnels a challenge…nearly forty degrees in the Greenhouses and over thirty five in the tunnels! We made hay while we had those warm days last week but we are now back to average temperatures as the work continues…

The Walled Garden

The garden did need lots and lots of watering these last few days. Bob noted that the temperature did feel even higher on entering the garden through the gate. (Reminder to self…get a thermometer for the Walled Garden to record the difference inside and outside the garden). The bushes and trees were definitely thirsty. 

The grass around the Orchard was given a really good cut. Somehow the trees look grander after a fresh mow and they certainly did. 

We had some good news, well it is to us who are patiently waiting for the Greenhouse build to begin. There is a wall to be built at the front of the greenhouse which requires bricks which resembles the original back wall of the Walled Garden. (This wall is the back wall of the Greenhouse). The bricks will be arriving this coming week. They took some sourcing and needed to be confirmed as correct by the planners and English Heritage. Job done and we wait with excitement. 

The Farm

As you can imagine this has been a thirsty week for plants and gardeners. Priority has been the watering during the extremely hot days. The Greenhouses were watered little and often, outside areas were sprayed and the tunnels either had the ground level or overhead systems on, depending on the crop. 

All the Tomatoes are now in the tunnels. The task of tending them will be at the top of the ‘list of things to do’. But this is a good sign. The Summer Fruiting Crops are being put in situ…Summer!

The French Beans are out (see photo) with more jute netting in place for this beautiful bean to climb. They were put out on Thursday morning…a really hot day but a job well done. 

Another lot of Broad Beans have been planted out into a growing bed in the Pond Field. This bed is right next to the Peas, mirroring Polytunnel five which also has Peas and Beans. 

Everything has gone into second gear for growing. The weather was ideal last week for fast growing. Seems great, except that we do not want a stop start system of growing. This can sometimes place a vegetable into a state of shock, stopping growth altogether or make everything grow all at once and crops are lost as they go to seed early. We did our best to care for the vegetables, constantly monitoring, looking and watering. It is a challenge but one I enjoy as it does make you really look at the plant, care for the plant. We now know that the vegetables survived but we also know that so did many tiny green and black flies! Onto the next challenge…find the ladybirds to tackle the greenfly. 

Another way to check on the crops is to cut the grass. We do have a cutter which goes on the back of the tractor to carry out this task. It gives me a chance to go all over the fields and see what is going on at above eye level. The Orchard Trees are now quite big so sitting on the seat of the tractor allows me to see the trees from a higher viewpoint. Some trees are spectacular now they are large and in full bloom. Some still need a little TLC. The Plum trees were never pruned properly in the early years…totally our own fault. We are going to try and correct our earlier mistake so increase production. 

The soft fruit area is also good to see from above. We are able to assess if weeding needs to be carried out in areas…yes is the answer, particularly in the large Strawberry patch. The Rhubarb patch is requiring attention as I noticed the seed pods growing, however, as you can see from the top photo the seed heads have been cut and it looks like a bumper crop. 

I really enjoy this job, mainly because I enjoy seeing the result. The Farm looks great after a grass cut and I can write yet another ‘things to do list’. 

The Farm is looking great, even if I do say so myself. I realise a blue sky helps but so does a lot of graft from the Crew and Bob and I. 

The YouTube Channel 

How to grow Asparagus is the offering this week on the channel. Feel free to be nosey and take a peek at how we are doing. The film is quite recent…taken just days ago. However, with the heat of the past week we have moved on really quickly so, keep watching to keep up with what is happening at Freyja. 

Well, I am now going to consult the ‘list’ and see what’s next…

Take care,

Ann