No Fun

Can someone please have a word? All this rain has meant that I have hardly visited the plot. There are trays of plants in the cold frame waiting to be set out while plants on the allotment are going a bit haywire with precious little sun and only a daily shower to look forward to. Still, things aren't all that bad up north compared to the nightmare flood conditions in the rest of the country. Having spent 13 hours on the motorway on Friday because of the flooding of the M5 I have had a brief taster of what really heavy rain can do.

The forecast for the rest of the summer from the Met Office doesn't offer much hope for sunny days ahead: 'Indications for the remainder of summer favour average or drier than average conditions over central and southern Europe and wetter than average over parts of northern Europe. This suggests that in the UK a trend towards average rainfall is more likely for southern regions, while average or above average rainfall is more likely in the north.'

A walk on the wild side

The rainiest June on record has meant that the lottie has been tending to itself of late. Yesterday, a brief break in the weather allowed a trip out to check what the garden has been up to. The onions seem to have responded to the wet weather pretty well and are looking a good size even though crowded by weeds. Last year I planted too closely, didn’t water them and they ended up as tiddlers. The shallots and courgettes are looking sorry for themselves but the broad beans and potatoes have lapped up the water and some of the tatties are whoppers.