Here Comes Summer

I am starting to see the results in my modest little vegetable plot. We are able to enjoy fresh spinach, spinach beet, rocket, snowball turnip and peas. The dwarf beans will be ready by the time you are reading this and the tomatoes will not be far behind.

The big task now (apart from enjoying the fruits of our labours) is to ensure that everything gets adequate water, and, of course, when you water your plants you will also be watering weeds . . . so keep on top of the weeding

I have talked about irrigation in the past, but I feel that it is worth re-enforcing some of the main points:

Except for grass, it is better to water in the evening, allowing more water to soak into the soil and less to be evaporated away in the heat of the sun.

Lawns are best watered in the early morning. In this way the water is still applied before the sun gets up, but the grass is not subject to hot and (localised) humid conditions for too long, which encourages fungal diseases.

Ensure that the water goes where you, and the plant, want it – the root-zone. It is no good just dampening the surface of the soil. Infrequent but heavy watering is much more effective than little but often.

In my small garden I am able to use the traditional method of small irrigation channels to ensure my vegetables get the water where they need it. The even smaller, flower garden flourishes on an infrequent soaking. In a future column, I will look at some of the watering systems that are commercially available.

Apart from maybe sowing the odd quick-growing row of salad crops, I do not intend to plant much more until the worst of the summer heat is over. This is a sentiment shared by our organic farmer friend, Minas Petrakis, who also has planted everything that he intends to until September. He has a busy enough summer keeping his current crops watered, weeding and selling his produce at his holding in the organic market on the old air base in Gournes.

Flowering now:  Jacaranda mimosifolia

The beautiful fern tree is one of the most beautiful of flowering trees.

Originating in South America, it thrives in hot conditions and doesn’t require (or appreciate) lots of water or fertilizer, and reaches a height of about 12 metres.

The fern-like leaves provide a light, dappled shade in the summer, but slowly drop during the winter. The flowers are followed by seed pods.

The only downside to this tree is that some people regard the fallen flowers, seed pods and then leaves as messy. A small price to pay for the glory of its flowers and the shade it provides in the summer.