AUGUST UPDATE
Time to update with a few pictures to show how things are doing.
The sunflowers have really reached for the sun. Blooms are forming nicely.
Behind the sunflowers the corn is hiding and we may have some to eat soon.
Off to the right the scarlet runner beans have gone crazy. I didn't want them to try
to grow 20' tall like they tried for last year so I nipped the end of the vines when they
got up to about 4 feet. That did what I hoped - it encouraged the vines to send out new
shoots at the leaf nodes and those shoots have developed lots of blossoms and now those
blossoms are forming hundreds of beans. We are already having trouble keeping up with
the supply by giving them to friends, but when the current 2" babies develop next week
we will have more beans than ever before. All from eight (8) seeds !!!
The tomatoes have really come along with the hot weather. The ones in the picture are in the
greenhouse, were kept pruned of sucker shoots, and the tomatoes are lovely size.
The 2 plants I put outside next the the greenhouse were left un-pruned but they got to such
a tangle I had to start pruning at least some of the suckers shoots off. They are hard to see
in all the growth, but one of the plants have in excess of 30 tomatoes on it. They are decent size
but not nearly as big as the ones shown above. One other plant outside (not shown) is doing very
well, has a number of tomatoes on it and we are wondering what variety they are as this was a
volunteer that must have been a seed in compost or ??? Anyhow, it just appeared as a sprout
and even half covered by the bean vines it is groaning under the weight of the tomatoes on it.
This is the latest batch of peas. Fourth planting! First one was in the greenhouse, then two plantings between the runner beans and the tomatoes next to the greenhouse. Good production off the second planting but the third one which was on the other side of the wire support from the second planting seems to have been held back by the growth and shading from the beans.
I thought I was going to be smart and put a row of beets in between the beans and the peas but that sure didn't work out. They ended up in total shade and didn't like it, didn't grow more than a couple of inches of tops. Once the peas were gone and I trimmed some of the bean leaves back and gave them a drink of fish fertilizer they have started growing again. Going to be a while!
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I am rather disappointed in my greenhouse covering. It was vapour barrier with UV inhibitors to make it last in the sun. Well, it is starting to break down from the sun. And the greenhouse we left at the old house 3 years ago looks like it is still holding up and we had used it for a number of years before we moved. Must have been a different batch of plastic or something.
So - in the spring I will be looking at replacing the plastic.
I considered using coroplast sheets - more expensive but should, repeat should, last longer.
Problem is, not only is the plastic itself expensive but I would also have to put something like
1x3 cross slats on the rafters to support it. More expense so maybe I will try for a different
brand of that 6 mil, UV inhibited, vapour barrier.
* * *
That's it for now!
GG
