Bank Holiday blues

Why is it that our Bank Holidays seem to be doomed to experience dismal weather? With monotonous regularity the storm clouds begin to gather on the Friday evening...and then they keep us waiting for the next two days! For most of this past weekend we seemed to be on the edge of a storm, and while many parts of the country had it really bad, we had some rain but nothing dramatic and no thunder and lightning (at least not that I was aware of). Monday, the official holiday, was dull and gloomy all day, with occasional rain, so not a day for enjoying the garden. Fortunately I only had a few small tasks to do.

For instance, I put up some 7-foot bamboo canes for my cucumbers to climb:

The cucumber plants have already grown a lot since I planted them, and before long they will need that support.

The biggest of the three plants is the courgette "Defender".

The "Maskotka" tomatoes in my tall wooden planter have flopped over now, as planned, and I have given them some gentle guidance on deciding which direction to grow in, by pushing in a few short sticks.

Tomatoes "Maskotka"

My idea is to have two plants trailing down each of the long sides of the planter.

Several of the tomato plants have flowers on now, though no fruit setting just yet. This is "Losetto", which has the luxury of protection inside the big wooden coldframe:

Tomato "Losetto"

Likewise, flowers are beginning to appear on some of the potato plants, which is a sign that tubers are probably forming down below the soil.  This is "Nicola", one of the Second Early types.

Potato "Nicola"

The Runner Beans haven't needed any assistance with finding their poles. It always amazes me how they work out which way to lean! I suppose if you were to watch a time-lapse sequence, you would see them thrashing about in ALL directions until they found something to attach to.

Runner Bean "Scarlet Emperor"

I'm sure they will find it easier to climb this year, having the rough-surface of those Hazel pole to cling to.

Most of my vegetable plants seem to be well established now, so I have been giving away some of my spares, like tomatoes and beans. These two fine specimens of "Ferline" were the last to go:

It was a wrench parting with them, but I'm glad they went to someone who will grow them, rather than ending up in the compost bin. Just for the record, I have 23 tomato plants now. I think that's enough!