Last week, had an assignment to do and what with the weather not being brilliant, didn’t get up to much gardening. Thursday was stressful - the assignment had one question on the topic of medicinal plants - the plant in question here was coca which I have no interest in at all. Assignment was submitted not fully answered with 2 minutes to spare.
With that out the way until next month (2 assignments due on the 21st June), I could concentrate on gardening. Yesterday, I went down to the allotment. I nearly cried. The joys of fresh lettuce leaves (Belize, Aruba and Rubens Red Cos) and potatoes for salad at the beginning of the month (picture below) soon faded.
First thing I checked was the overwintered broad beans. My last check of them saw a few bean pods setting, plus a bit of chocolate spot on the lower leaves. Now, the leaves looked like:
I grabbed Hessayon’s book - looks like the brown spots are surrounded by a yellow circle. I thought Halo blight for a moment. I was still quite sure it was chocolate spot (a Botrytis fungus).
One book I have says that overwintered broad beans are more susceptible to chocolate spot. Another book says that chocolate spot is rarer than blackfly on broad beans. As for Halo Blight, I couldn’t find any mention directly under broad beans. I find little comfort in that though. I hope I get a crop of some sort.
Some of the spring sown broad beans are also affected, especially the late March sown ones in the bed adjacent to the overwintering. They aren’t looking great even though they have outgrown the weevil notching. No flowers yet so a while to go to any sign of crop.
Then, I checked out the brassicas that I had planted last month. I was not a happy bunny.
Cabbage whitefly aphid things have found most of the brassicas I have planted out. They look yucky and the leaves they are on become deformed, possibly discoloured with a virus.
Some of the brassica seedlings were wilted, even though we’ve had quite a bit of rain recently. Cabbage root fly larvae despite the puny 3″(?) collars designed to stop the rootfly (pictured above as background).
Then, there are seedlings already infected with white blister (not surprising as the purple sprouting broccoli which is being harvested, has it - picture above is of one of the flower heads which is distorted badly due to the disease).
To top things off brassica-wise, cabbage whites have already started laying eggs - I squashed the eggs I could find. With all those problems, I pulled up and binned the worst affected.
On the UP-side, one lot of peas is in flower, the lettuces are doing nicely, and the shallots are starting to divide. Most of the alliums in general look good, though have a touch of rust on. The potatoes look good.
Most of last month’s soft fruit purchases are doing well. The Tayberry has already set fruit.
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