Fishing or Weeding

I did not get everything done at the lottie that I wanted to at the weekend. I still had a 100+ Leeks in the back of the car. There was no Tour de France to distract so straight after tea I went up the lottie. I had the place to myself. The heat had gone out of the day and there was a gentle breeze wafting across the plots. I set about the Onion bed with fork digging out the weeds. The soil was dust dry so It took no time at all. Since I was on a roll I hand weeded the other onion rows. The lack of water has taken a toll on the onions. There is a crop but it is going to be poor. Half a plot yielded a full wheelbarrow of weeds. That is a measure of the lack of weeds. I am not complaining though. I dug up the three rows of Garlic. They were paper dry and as with all the other oniony type plants the bulbs were not that big. I got the hoe out and gave the area a good fettling. The weeds are trying for another flush. The light sprinkling of rain has woken them up. The dry soil and hoe has cleaned the area.

I got my long plank and dropped it where I was to plant the Leeks. With the plank as a guide I started dibbing the Leeks. The soil was so loose that the dibber went in right up to my knuckles on the tee bar dibber handle. That's about eight inches. However the fine soil fell back into the hole as soon as the dibber was removed. I ended up stuffing the Leeks into the dibbed holes in the a quick stab as the dibber came out. At least the Leeks will be in deep. I planted about a 100 Leeks. These are the ones that will stand for the winter.

I got the Secateurs from the car and set about pruning the Grape vines. I read that when the vines start to set the fruit that a portion of the top growth should be removed so that air and light can get at the grapes but also that the plant would put the effort into growing grapes and not leaves. It sounds right so I had a go. I tied in the best leaders to the guide wires and trimmed off about a quarter of the branches. I obviously left any branch that had a embryonic bunch of grapes. I filled the wheelbarrow with cutting. I was pleased to not that one of the Red grape vines had set fruit. Had I not been going on holiday soon I might had taken the leaves to make that Greek dish of stuffed vine leaves. I had it once and it was lovely.

I had the radio on listening to Huey Morgan from the Fun Loving Criminals. I like him. He is very L.A. and refreshing change to the usual rosta of radio herberts. It was a very still evening with just the Toads shuffling about. There was a very red sunset that lit up the clouds a bright pink. A that was my clue to start watering before the light went completely. A dozen or so trips to the trough was enough to soak the newly planted Leeks, re-soak the brasicass planted on Sunday and a good splash on the climbing French Beans. I had the offer to go fishing on the canal this evening but I was glad I got he Leeks in and trimmed the vines. The new brasicass needed a watering and the weeded onion patch looks good. It will be nearly three weeks before I see the lottie again. I am considering harvesting the Peas before my hols but quite when I am going to fit that in I do not know.