With pestilence, war and raging price rises I certainly feel pretty constrained and more than a little worried. We all need a release. When I say go wild, at my age that means having dinner 30 minutes later, so I am not proposing revolution.
What’s more some wildness can do some good to address climate change as every garden can be made a little bit more nature friendly and we need to aim to live life in a more sustainable and less wasteful way. If we all do a little bit, it can add up to a lot; don’t be put off, do what you can. So, let a little wildness in, be a bit less tidy and provide hiding places and food for those beetles and bugs which then support so much other wildlife. No need to go mad, just relax and let nature do the rest.
So, having dealt with climate change, it’s time to get on with things. It’s summer and there’s plenty to do, nature doesn’t take a holiday, even if we do. As well as harvesting the early summer vegetables take a bit of time to think what you may like to sow in succession to keep the crops coming in the autumn. It is not too late. Indeed, for winter crops June is a good time to sow or plant out. Some may end up a bit on the small side but nothing beats your own veg for flavour and satisfaction.
Salads, beetroot, carrots and peas can all do well and extend your culinary summer a bit and you could consider growing new potatoes for Christmas, particularly if you have a greenhouse. David Betterton extolled the benefits of using plug plants to just raise the plants you need and save yourself some work. Typically, I am going the other way and using seeds. Not because it is easier, it is not, and adds quite a bit of faff but it is cheap.
It is my poor results from planting onion sets that has prompted me to try and grow them from seed and I’ll see how it goes. I do not want to put anyone off using plug plants; there are no hard and fast rules – gardening remains more of an art then a science so just do what works for you.
I wonder if things would have been different if Mr Putin had an allotment?
Happy gardening!