Killer sheep

When I told Dave Thornton a few months ago that I intended to grow my 250g onions in some wooden planters, filled with Levington M3, he told me it was a stupid idea and that I would never be able to get enough moisture to them. Well thank God I never listened to him as without them I would not have any onions to an acceptable standard this year. I made them out of offcuts of wooden planking with old compost bags stapled to them, black side facing out to protect the wood for several seasons to come. The main idea behind my thinking was to ensure I got some onions through the season without them succumbing to white rot, something that I have to accept as pretty much inevitable in my infested soil. However, as moisture hasn't been a problem in this washout of a season I've got my first crop of Vento swelling, all of them looking pretty uniform and I'm guessing about 2 or 3 weeks to harvest.

I also have these Setton (sets) which are also starting to swell......

When you compare them to these Setton grown in waterlogged ground you can see the difference. The ones in the ground are a pale imitation of those in the planters, the foliage being quite sickly looking and the bulbs have barely started to swell. Some have also gone to seed. I always expect about 60% to succumb to white rot but that's if they don't rot off in the boggy ground first. On this occasion then it's Smith 1 Thornton 0. I shall be making more of these planters over Winter and growing them all this way in future.

If you can escape blight then the potato is one crop that revels in plenty of moisture and I should be harvesting these Maris Pipers for the kitchen in a couple of weeks time. Despite the recent deluges i'm keeping a close eye on the show spuds in bags, as they can still dry out if you're not wary. Just because it's been pissing it down for several weeks don't assume your bags are getting drenched too, as the dense potato foliage can stop rain getting to them. As my spuds were planted late and have only just started to get going the compost in the bags is as wet as the surrounding soil and so Mother Nature has done the hard work for me. When the haulms are a foot high or so (as mine currently are) it's critical to make sure you water them well, as this is when the tubers are forming and most susceptible to scab if the bags are dry.

Yesterday was the best day weather-wise in ages here in the Midlands so instead of taking the opportunity of a day in the garden I thought 'sod it' and we decided to have a day's walking around Derwent and Ladybower dams in Derbyshire, made famous as the training ground for the Dambusters. The museum was open and it contains quite a poignant tribute to the air crews who carried out the raids, many of whom never came back. There is also a superb display of charts, diagrams and photos about the making of the dams at the turn of the 19th Century. Well worth a visit. However, we are both suffering a bit today as we first hiked up to Alport Castles into the wind, a dramatic rock slip that has left a 100' high rockface and rock stack, seen here behind Leesa with the brooding plateau of Kinder Scout in the background. This was just after we'd finished our packed lunch surrounded by glorious countryside, cut short because Leesa was convinced one of the many inquisitive sheep in the area was about to kill her because.....and I quote....."it's looking at me funny! Tell it to go away!"