Stuart's Garden: HEAT + WATER, EQUALS START OF CROPPING

27^th 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.

Cucha plum tomato

Yellow Cherry

Cuor di Bue (Ox Heart tomato)

Red and Yellow Cherry - spandral trained tomato

Cristal

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).

California Wonder Sweet Peppers

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.

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.

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’).

Head Gardener's favourite Zinnia

Head Gardener's second favourite Zinnia

Such a range of colours

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).