Pre-holiday overview

Long Carrots. Foliage looking strong on most specimens although at least 2 stations have succumbed to some form of pest or disease.Rain and winds battered them in June but they seem to have come through fairly unscathed.

Stump carrots. No problems.Foliage looking good

Parsnips. Foliage suffered in winds of late June and several large stalks broken. This will affect ultimate size.

Large onions. Still growing strongly. Biggest is 4" dia.

8oz onions. No problems now although 3 were lost to white rot a few weeks ago. Will probably start to reach harvesting size while I am away!

Shallots. All in trays on sawdust ripening. Good shape but only 9 are larger than pickling size. Should have good entries in pickling classes however.

Tomatoes. 6 plants up to top of the string with several good looking trusses on each. Later plants are struggling to catch up and may not make decent plants in time.

Cherry tomatoes. All growing outside this year. Slow due to wet, cold June but usually pick up quickly during July and August.

Potatoes. Winston foliage looking very poorly...perhaps due to waterlogging. Amour,Kestrel,Nadine and Maxine all growing very strongly. Needs spraying against blight.

Cucumbers. 5 planted but 1 died within hours! No other problems. Marrows. Planted 3 weeks ago but have not strated to climb yet.

Courgettes. Planted several weeks ago but very little growth made. As with marrows I expect these to suddenly take off.

Runner beans. Planted in last 2 weeks only. No problems so far. Better fence erected.

French beans. No problems so far especially with 'Prince'. Only had one seed germinated from 'Purple Speckled' so more stock will have to be purchased next season.

Beetroot. Just been thinned out. Mangold fly attacks a problem again.

Celery. Looking good so far.Taking off collars and examining more regularly than usual.Leeks. Biggest ever. Some sign of leek moth caterpillar damage but otherwise no problems.Cabbages. A few slug holes but no sign of caterpillars yet. Rhubarb spray seems to be working.Large variety 'Brigadier' looks as if it could be exceptional. Kilaxy struggled at first but appears to be ok now.Caulis. Planted in pockets of ground alonside leeks and Tasco onions. Foliage ok so far.Some have been lost presumably to cabbage fly despite powders being applied at soil level. Really need more ground to be able to grow successfully.Brussels. Green brussels 'Brilliant' as expected. Red brussel 'Rubine' lookes very good.Peppers. Plants are all in large pots and appear in good health.Aubergines. In pots in greenhouse.No fruits showing yet but quite a few flowers.Lettuce. 2 trays of seedlings will be planted after holiday as and when space becomes free.Peas. Complete non-germination.Old seed.Radish.First sowings will be made this week then successional sowings at 2 week intervals.Pumpkin. 3 plants planted but only one looks any good. No pumpkin set as yet. Will only grow some smaller fruits for the 'any other veg' classes.Swiss chard. Poor looking plants.Okra. In pots in greenhouse. Plants look better than last year. Don't like to be too wet.Hot peppers. In pots in greenhouse. Plenty of flowers.Purple carrots. Foliage looking good. Will be interesting.Purple caulis. Foliage good. Grown as novelty only for the trug class but may try them against their white counterparts if any are ready. Should make the judge earn his corn.Long beetroot. Only growing 6 stations in a spare drum. Some mangold fly attack. Will probably use for 'any other veg' class where round beetroot are specified in the schedule.Heavy carrot. 4 large pots with carrot grown for weight only in greenhouse. Impossible to tell if they will be any good but seem ok so far.Longest beans. Growing specialist strains of runner and french beans for length only.Runners are ok so far but french ('Yardlong') beans appear to be suffering from some form of chocolate spot disease.Dahlias. Cuttings were very late again and growth is very slow apart from 'Jomanda' which seems robust as usual.Fuchsias. Poor summer had helped in as much as low light levels had resulted in lush looking foliage.