27th JULY –
CENTRAL PORTUGAL
The thermometer remains
well above 38 degrees most days (topped 41 degrees last weekend) and the
forecast is for a continuation of similar conditions well into September. The
garden is slowly becoming brown with patches of well watered green. At least the use of containers has reduced
the water consumption (by some 75% over ground planting) and allowed controlled
feeding.
Tomatoes are looking
very good in their large wine tubs. Cherry ‘Toms’ (Yellow, Red and Black) are just
starting to ripen and taken on specific colours. ‘Cucha’ Plum variety are ripe
and being consumed. ‘Crystal F1’ and ‘Money Maker’ have large trusses of pale
green tomatoes which will start to ripen in the next week (at least one benefit
of ‘Wall to Wall’ sunshine from dawn to dusk), ‘Coeur de Bu’ are still very green but getting larger by the
day. The rate of ripening does not seem to affected by the way in which the
plants have been trained. ‘Fan’ and
‘Spandral’ (similar to ‘Fan’ trained but plants are allowed to grow freely on a
vertical surface without training on supports) are ripening just as quickly as
those plants grown in traditional ‘Pyramids’. Maybe the weather conditions are
re-writing the ‘Gardener’s Manual’ in this sector as well as with most other ‘Inherited’
garden folk law.
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| Cucha plum tomato |
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| Yellow Cherry |
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| Cuor di Bue (Ox Heart tomato) |
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| Red and Yellow Cherry - spandral trained tomato |
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| Cristal |
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| Fan trained black cherry tomato |
Sweet Pepper
‘California Wonder’ and a mixture of Chillis (Piri Piri, Ring of Fire, Jalepeno,
Tabasco and Cayennes) are well forward this year - still all green but very
large. Sweet Peppers should be ready to start cropping in the next fortnight
(and hopefully until late November).
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| California Wonder Sweet Peppers |
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| Cayenne Peppers |
First Aubergine eaten
yesterday and the plants (four to a tub) are all full of lush purple fruits or
vibrant violet flowers, expecting a long productive season with lots of ‘Moussaka’
and ‘Ratatouille’. Both freeze well which is not the case with the uncooked
fruits.
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| Looking forward to many shiny Aubergines |
Cucumbers - still
finding full size green ‘prizes’ hidden in the leaves. Just planted another
forty lettuce plants yesterday in
various colours, to keep regular supply
of leaves going until late September. Planting
this amount every six weeks throughout the year ensures continuity of supply
all the way through the winter months . They are fully operational and ‘lapping
up’ the halcyon growing conditions.
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| Newly planted lettuce |
Zinnias are stately in
their myriad of wonderful colours ranging from pale cream through terracotta
and vibrant reds to regal purples and exotic mauves. Geraniums are prolific in
colour and flower (seed sown in April now in full flower, ten seeds planted ten
plants flowering – great fertility or was it just luck this spring). Still
waiting to be overwhelmed by the profusion of Cosmos plants which currently, although some 2metres high and verdant, are
refusing to flower. (Not just the cheap local seed but some very expensive
Thompson & Morgan seed bought in UK seems to be completely ‘blind’).
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| Head Gardener's favourite Zinnia |
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| Head Gardener's second favourite Zinnia |
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| Such a range of colours |
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| A gathering of mixed Zinnias |
The perfect weather
conditions, the willingness to water and feed, make these ‘Summer Times’ just
wonderful for the Gardener. Flowers everywhere, climbers climbing, Roses
blooming, broad leafed trees giving favourable shade (Fig and Catalpa have the biggest leaves; even have a Tomentilho and Avocado looking
sensational – wonder when they will finally ‘fruit’ possibly 2020).
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| Lovely red climbing rose. Like most in our garden it has no name |
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| Indestructable Passion Flower |
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| Yellow Campsis - scrambling everywhere |
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| Plumbago climbing - its blue competing against the blue blue sky! |
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| More roses |
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| First figs |
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| Avocado tree - grown from a stone planted by a friend |
The clarion tone of the
Head Gardener’s bell - fluids at last to the rescue of a rather limp ‘First
Assistant Gardener and Carrier of Water’
must dash slowly –
see you soon
Stuart.
