We had enough rain in the first week of June to properly wet the soil and enable us to prepare more ground for planting and sowing, so we had a busy week after that, getting as many plants into the ground as we could.
Since then, we've had a lot of heat, plenty of wind and very little rain, just a few mm here and there which does nothing when the ground is so dry.
This weather means that the leafy crops and salad leaves are not doing so well. Kale is a cool weather crop and is the first to struggle in hot, dry weather. But the polytunnel crops, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and peppers are thriving, although in small polytunnels, even some of these don’t like the extreme heat. And in the fields, the courgettes, squash and sweetcorn are growing fast. We’re always amazed how courgettes continue to grow with so little rain.
We were very happy to finally get a picture of a turtle dove in the feeding area in June as well as one close to the small field corner pond. We’ve not heard any calling (purring) again this year and presume the one pictured is nesting elsewhere and just feeding in our fields.
And in the packing shed, the swallows have fledged, but they are still flying in and out to say hello (or maybe to rear another brood?). They were very happy when Martin mowed off an old patch of lettuce, filling the air above with clouds of aphids and other insects.
