Hello from the gardens, and welcome to June's grower's report.
My garden reports are starting to sound like weather round-ups!!!!!!!
However, as avid growers, the weather can dictate our schedules, scupper our plans, and stop or accelerate plant growth. And it did just that several times this month; firstly, we had to cancel our inaugural volunteer Saturday as the winds were so high and the rain horizontal. After that, conditions were good for planting out and caring for our fruit and veg. We had a reasonable garlic harvest from one garden where they had overwintered in a polytunnel; however, the garlic in one of our outside gardens was sadly hit by allium rust. Allium rust is a fungal disease caused by the fungus Puccinia allii, which affects plants in the allium family, including garlic, onions, leeks, and chives. You can see in the images small white or yellow flecks that develop into bright orange pustules on the leaves, which can reduce plant vigor and bulb development. These plants were just starting to swell; however, you can still eat these as wet garlic, as they won't store.
As we moved into the last part of June, we were then hit by another heat wave, seeing temperatures in many places reaching 30°C. This meant that all transplanting had to stop, and we concentrated on creating shade for salad tansplants and keeping both ourselves and the plants hydrated. Thankfully, we now seem to have the usual Cornish dress for all seasons weather, and planting and top dressing of all beds has begun in earnest.
We have also lifted some lovely new potatoes; these have been shared between the garden owner and Truro Nourish Hub, who have used them, plus garlic and broad beans that processed earlier in June for a cook-up for a youth and a family festival this. Here's a link to see what a great organisation they are: https://truronourishhub.co.uk/
We had a great last Sunday in June at the Truro Volunteer Day chatting with passers-by about all things veg and volunteering. We had some interest from people wanting to volunteer and some very welcome and gratefully received donations to help us further our project.
We are still on the lookout for garden tools of all shapes and sizes, so if you or anyone you know has any that you don’t use that are getting in the way, we will gladly find them a new home. You can contact me at [email protected], and I will arrange a mutually convenient time to come and collect them from you.