For the first time in 15 years the garden has not produced a single tomato. Welcome to climate change gardening. The conditions this year have been the worst on record. The combination of incessant rain and little sunshine or heat has made the summer seem more like fall. These damp wet conditions in a sheltered …Read More about September: Empty beds
Weather
Summer extra
Gardeners are known for reading the weather. This is becoming more difficult these days with strange swings in the weather. Belgium presently has a late summer heatwave, due to last another week before temperatures drop by about 10 degrees. This end of season extra heat is ideal for finishing off tomatoes presently green, so good …Read More about Summer extra
Waiting for the storm
Belgium has just endured its hottest heatwave in 200 years of records. Next will be thunder and lightning and heavy downpours. While the fruits in the garden are now ripening nicely, though rather suddenly, the coming drop in temperatures and blustery conditions are not ideal for finishing crops. Gardening in unstable conditions is the new …Read More about Waiting for the storm
Summer showers
Most gardeners look forward to a bit of summer rain, the farmers certainly need it, but in recent summers this rain comes hard and fast and damages a lot of young flowering plants. It is worth trying to erect some shade covering over vulnerable plants to break up the downpour. The saturation of the soil …Read More about Summer showers
Struggling with chilli peppers
It is annoying that the best specimens of chilli pepper this year are growing on a bedroom windowsill in the house. The weather so far this year has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. The month of May was the driest and warmest on record followed by a 10 degree plunge in temperatures …Read More about Struggling with chilli peppers
Potting up
Tomato seeds started now should germinate quickly, between 5-10 days. They are best started in separate pots or modules as the roots of the small plants can be difficult to dis-entangle when transplanting. Potting up the small plants is about giving the plant growing space in step with its growth rate. Tomato seedlings grow quickly …Read More about Potting up