IT’S said a British summer consists of two fine days and then a thunderstorm. This year even that stark assessment attributed to Charles II (or sometimes George II) is proving optimistic.
After the glorious spring, it’s been downhill all the way bar the odd hot, sunny day. Cool and grey with torrential downpours pretty much sums up the weather since.
Not that many weeks ago gardeners were rubbing their hands in glee at the thought of an early harvest (never mind the ground was so dry watering was a daily ritual). Now they’re wondering if they will actually get to enjoy the fruits of their labour.
Come the school holidays and Sue Adamson and Judy Summerson would have expected to have picked and eaten their first runner and French beans. The tomatoes shouldn’t be far behind.
But at The Journal allotment at the National Trust’s Gibside estate, while there are plenty of vibrant orangey-red flowers on the runner beans, there are no signs of any tell-tale pods.
The French beans are faring no better, while the tomatoes in the greenhouse are still small and green
Sue, Gibside’s community kitchen gardener, and Judy, a National Trust volunteer, are already swapping green tomato chutney recipes.
The pair are the brains and the brawn behind The Journal allotment, which takes pride of place in Gibside’s walled kitchen garden. It is they who planned and planted the 9mx4m plot earlier this year and who have kept it watered and weeded.
They’re not disheartened. Judy says: “Gardeners will always find something to grumble about.”
And there is a lot to be pleased with but August is traditionally harvest time, when you enjoy the benefits of your endeavours, consume what you can and pickle, preserve and freeze what you can’t for the lean winter months ahead.
“This is the best time of the gardening year – when you reap the rewards,” Sue says. “You have worked hard in the spring, sown everything, watched it germinate and grow and now is the time to eat it.
“But it’s all rather slow this year. We had a very dry spring and now the rain has finally come, we haven’t had the temperatures and the sun to go with it, at least not consistently.
“We have actually had to close the doors at night on the greenhouses as the temperature has been dropping to around 7C.
“We would expect to be cropping during the summer holidays but while some things are on track others, like the beans and the tomatoes, aren’t.
“I suspect we are going to be making a lot of green tomato chutney this year.”
Sue has no doubt the runner and French beans will come right in the end. But cropping later won’t mean they will be cropping longer. Nature will see to that as the nights really begin drawing in and the temperatures start dipping lower than they are now.
It’s not all bad news, however. The strawberries did well in July, the potatoes are holding their own, while the peas are going strong.
And there is still plenty of work to do from weeding to bug control – although not so much that you can’t sit back and enjoy what little sun we have been getting.
As Gibside’s walled garden is organic, pest control is very much a hands-on affair. “We have cabbages in the plot and I am pleased to say we are keeping on top of the caterpillars and eggs,” Sue says. “We pick them all off by hand which is a daily job,” she adds with a wry smile.
“There’s also dead heading of the flowers to be done. The flowers aren’t just there to look nice they serve a purpose as they attract the bees, especially the Echinacea, which helps with pollination.”
Both Sue and Judy are enjoying tending The Journal plot. “It has helped to focus us and ensure we keep on top of things,” Judy says. “It has also served to remind us that gardening is not an exact science and that things don’t always go to plan.
“But it’s the unpredictability of it all that keeps it exciting.”
See The Journal allotment for yourself at Gibside, near Rowlands Gill, Burnopfield, Gateshead, NE16 6BG, tel: 01207 541820, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/gibside Open daily 10am-6pm.
GIBSIDE GARDEN EVENTS
August 28: Propagation Masterclass, 10.30am-3pm. Join the gardening team for a hands-on workshop to discover the secrets of successful propagation. Tickets £20, including a seasonal lunch. Booking essential on 01207 541820.
September 3: National Gardens Scheme Open Day, 10am-6pm. The head gardener will be on hand to chat about Gibside’s garden restoration. Free event. Normal admission applies.
JOBS FOR AUGUST
Harvest peas, runner and French beans
Continue harvesting potatoes
Harvest the first baby carrots
Pick and eat, preserve or freeze the raspberries and loganberries
Continue to harvest salad crops.