June is the month when you can start to reap the benefits of all the hard work put in during the winter and spring. All the digging has been done. All the seed sowing and rearing of young plants is completed. The last frosts of the year are long gone.
Plants are now growing vigorously with the warmth and long hours of daylight. Unfortunately, these conditions also encourage the weeds to grow and it is important to keep on top of them otherwise they can overwhelm the plot. That being said, however, this really is the time to sit back and savour the fruits of your labours.
I’ve just started lifting the first of the new potatoes .A variety called Pentland Javelin which are one of the earliest potatoes and have never let me down. They take about 13 weeks from sowing to when they are ready to lift. I always look forward to these first earlies because their taste is incomparable and can’t be duplicated in shop bought varieties. I have two other first earlies to look forward to. A variety called Winston which produces quite large tubers, and a variety called Charlotte which I am growing for the first time. That’s the other advantage of growing your own in that you can experiment with different varieties to see what does well and not so well.
June is the time for picking the strawberry crop and what a seasonal treat they are. Last year the returns were poor and I replaced the old plants with a variety called Elsanta. This year the yield has been excellent and their taste compared to those shop bought Spanish rubbish is unbelievable. It is important, however, to protect them from the birds and lay down a bed of straw to lift the fruit off the ground to keep them away from the slugs.
The other crop now in full production are the broad beans. These were sown directly in the ground in October and then they are consequently well advanced when the warm spring weather arrives. You therefore get a much earlier crop than by sowing in the spring. This is a variety named Aquadulce Claudia which will withstand any bad weather during the winter. The important thing with broad beans is to pick them when they are young because left too long on the plant they will get tough. At the moment, however, they are as good as fresh peas.
Talking of peas, it won’t be too long before they start producing as well as the French and Runner beans. So, on that note I think I will sit back and watch them grow and look forward to serving them with a dab of butter. Can’t wait.
Enjoy your allotment.
Geoff Garrish
