Nature Blog by Jenny Bourne

Plotholders are resorting to a range of strategies to reduce the pressure on our ageing pumps during these drought conditions: watering early morning or late evening; only watering needy plants; watering the soil not the plant and covering bare soil to maximise mulch and water retention. I use plastic bottles or upturned plant pots for target watering the roots of squash, cucumbers and tomatoes (recycling, sustainable) and here’s a really good example of this among my near plot neighbours tomatoes:

With temperatures currently up in the high 30s many of us are going up to water first thing in the morning and late into the evening, very busy yesterday at 9.00pm! Watering strategies need to conserve energy as well as water, as our pumps are struggling with the additional pressures. I’m only watering the greediest plants and new seedlings, so Pollinator Patch is looking very sad, with wilting and browned perennials.

No rain, parched plants and yellowing grass in parks and on the allotments – we’re all hoping the water pumps keep going and water levels don’t drop too much. Temperatures are due to rise even higher next week to the low 30s; at least Wimbledon players seem to be coping with it! But for us in the fields it’s hard work keeping on top of watering and it’s only the really needy, hungry veg that we’re targeting – cucumbers, courgettes, squash, tomatoes and also the French climbing beans.

We’ve got a white tail bumblebee nest that’s been made in the ground just in front of our shed entrance – very exciting! On 9 May I first noticed a small hole, about 1cm diameter, with bees flying in, some with back legs laden with pollen and climbing back out of it, passing each other like planes at Heathrow.

Jem Negus, one of our RPA qualified beekeepers gave a talk about beekeeping on Sunday. A good crowd turned up in the sun to watch Jem demonstrate the make up of a beehive and to find out about what beekeepers do during the year, what goes on in the hive and swarming.