Measure for measure

This hot weather is making planting out virtually impossible as I've spent the whole weekend filling water butts and watering the plot. Even the roots growing in sand have needed watering.....not surprising really given that sand is so free draining. I have even lost one long beetroot and a couple of parsnip seedlings look decidedly frazzled......but they were growing under a pane of glass I'd forgotten to remove before this scorching weather came along.

An essential job is to keep shallots watered, albeit with a potash feed to aid ripening. I also dish out the soil around the base of the clumps. This serves two purposes....it allows the shallots to swell downwards as well as other directions and should lead to better shaped, rounded bulbs. The second purpose is you can ferret out any small stones that could puncture the skin as it swells. You can see my smithyveg non-patented metal gauge ready to hand. The prongs are 48mm apart which is the diameter I am going for this season for no other reason than I wasn't able to accurately get to 50mm on our works' bandsaw!

I was more successful with the 30mm pickling shallot gauge however. Not so far for some of these to go now! I intend to harvest the individual bulblets as soon as the reach size rather than harvesting them all at the same time, in order to give me more uniformity in my selections.

The whole bed of shallots is looking goooooood! My Vento 8oz onions have now been planted next to the shallots. And the plastic tubes are for more carrots.....I'll just fill with some sieved soil and a few nutrients and sow a 'Favourite' variety for a local show in October. A bit slap dash but.....

I intend to keep all of these Sweet Candle in my enviromesh protected frame on standby for Malvern and Westminster!