[Oliver]

The poly has been getting REALLY HOT in this weather, over 50 - well its a wonder the mercury has not shot out the top of the thermometer. Regular water on the paths keeps it a bit cooler, but not much. The tomatoes in the poly are really suffering only one 'Ildi' is showing signs of going pink.
3 Gradeners' Delight - one has one truss with 4 fruits on it (last year 5 trusses with 25+ each) and the other two plants have Nothing! They are for the chop.
Peppers and aubergines seem to like it. Water and feed the others regularly at about 6.00

The Streptocarpuses in the unheated (!! ha ha) greenhouse are really suffering so the 'best' ones have been moved into the house which is very cool and the others have been moved into the shade outside. Must keep an eye out for ants and aphids and if it looks like rain, they will have to go back inside pronto! They have been moved outside to tempt the rain :shock:

She spends rest of the time in a reclining chair in the shade under the tree drinking lots of elderflower cordial, until 5.30 when watering starts ... Her arms are below her knees now :shock:

[hermon]

my arms are starting to get a bit muscly who needs a gym?!

[Jake]

I find running the water over my wrists while I fill the can up helps a lot.

Other than that I just do everything really slowly. I'm worried about going to the plot tonight though. Didn't make it at all yesterday and only early morning the day before. Hope its all ok!

[GrannieAnnie]

My tomatoes are not too bad, some have loads of fruit on and are beginning to change colour.  Luckily we have no hosepipe ban, so the hose goes down there everynight, but we do have a water meter!!!  But we also have a septic tank, so that brings the charges down a lot.  I'd hate to go back on mains drainage!!!!

The chillies love the heat, as do the melons, but I had to take the aubergines out as they were dying every day, even watering them in the evening wasn't helping, but now they are outside, they are coming along nicely.

I've taken some pics and will put them on the general photo album first.  Also a pic of those yellow brandywine Oliver, tell me if they are the same as yours were

[Oliver]

yellow brandywine Oliver, tell me if they are the same as yours were

Yep, just the same, but a diffrent colour. I have taken a look at your pictures - Lovely. You have the green-finger touch alright!

[Heather_S]

Well I'm happy, my cycad palm is growing nicely... my agaves are growing nicely... oh and my banana seeds germinated and are half an inch in a day!!     Been looking at a tropical seed website today, imaginating all the exotics I could be growing... Might be able to get away with not having a propagator if I order quick!

[GrannieAnnie]

Not exactly green fingered Oliver, more luck than judgement I think, but I hope my Dad would be a bit proud of my efforts.  I was a bit of a disappointment when I was a child and had other things on my mind rather than helping him on his lottie.

I am so pleased with what I have got this year though, my brassicas last year because OH had told me not to tread down the soil he'd rotavated, were awful.  The caterpillars got most of them, no matter what I tried to do, and the rest grew to about 4 foot in height and no hearts, but this year I didn't listen to him!!!!!!

Every time he gives me advice now, I just say yes dear and get on with what I want to do!!!! lol  He told me not to put my potatoes under terram, but the ones I tried the other day, gave me a better yield than the trenched ones!!

Oh well, he means well (I think!)

[Oliver]

tread down the soil he'd rotavated...... {and}  The caterpillars got most of them ... {and} Oh well, he means well (I think!)

She always firms up the soil after digging.
1) Brassicas need to be firmly planted, they don't like rocking around in the wind. She stakes her purple sprouting too.
2) Caterpillars - they do an egg patrol every day - look on the underside of the leaves for little collections of eggs (like tiny yellow or greyish barrels groups together). These are rubbed off.

It appears that once a butterfly has laid some eggs on a leaf no more are laid on that leaf (something to do with the scent), so once the eggs have been removed hopefully no more eggs will be laid. However, the egg patrol goes on. Last year they were picking large caterpillars off the purple sprouting, this year they are trying to get the eggs before they make caterpillars. The purple sprouting does recover to make edible shoots next year, but it looks pretty sad before it does! Cabbages and caulis are a dead loss, so best catch the eggs before they hatch , or put those plants under very fine netting.

3) he is a man, afterall!  

[GrannieAnnie]

I was doing caterpillar patrols Oliver!!!!  Maybe not every day, but mostly.  I must say, I can't remember if there were any caterpillars on the same leaves as there had been before.  If it happens again, I will remember to look!!!

I kept spraying them too, but mostly with homemade stuff being lacking in finances, but with over 70 cabbages plus the other stuff, and working, it got a bit tiring.  Getting lazy in my old age I'm afraid!!!!

[noshed]

I definately think it's worth 'planting' a small plastic bottle next to plants in this drought. My pepper plants have done much better with them - the ones where the foxes dug the bottles up haven't done as well.
It definately seems to improve the flow of water to the roots.

[GrannieAnnie]

I usually do that with my tomato plants in the greenhouse, but not this year, It'd take me a long time to swig 117 2 litre bottles of pop, even if it is the low calorie stuff!!!!