Heatwave!

After 6 weeks or so of cold wet weather, we now have a heatwave, temperatures hitting 27C outside and considerably higher in the greenhouse.

The prolonged cold weather meant that many seeds simply didn't sprout, and most of those that did sprout were still quite small. They simply weren't big enough to survive the sudden heat. The greenhouse heater came too late to make much difference to the small seedlings.

We've lost our pumpkins, our 3rd sowings of cucumbers, most of the sweet peppers, some of the chillies, half our brassicas and probably a lot more too. Most of our veggies are outside now, but still in pots.

The cold wet spell made it difficult to dig the ground - not that we had much to plant out anyway. Now we have the heatwave and it's far too hot for me to do much digging or planting out. I can manage a bit early morning and a bit more late evening when it's much cooler.

We also have the hosepipe ban. We've had no rain for a week and the water butts are mostly empty now. Most of the veggies are in pots still, so need daily watering. Carrying buckets of water down the garden is hard work, but it's keeping me fit! I'll get the soaker hose set up this week. Of course, this is only any good if we get the rain to refill the water butts.

The weather forecast for next week looks better - it'll be warm and we should get some rain, probably thunderstorms. At least it'll save me a bit of watering.