This week, I have been mostly thinking about Cucurbitaceae. It was clear from last week’s newsletter that they were troubling me. This week, I have all but admitted defeat.
I posted this to Instagram with the caption “What’s wrong with this pitcure”. Mostly, I got the right answer for the wrong reasons. It would appear that people have been reading blog posts again! This is not the place for that discussion, but…
From top right, clockwise, we have
Plot 1: Potatoes
Plot 2: Roots
Plot 3: Salsa
Plot 4: Greens
Plot 5: Peas and Beans
Plot 6: Pumpkin family
Potatoes, Beans and Roots are clearly all doing great. Salsa and Greens are actually also doing great, but it’s hard to see because these plots are flipping massive and the photo is taken from quite a long way away, and quite high up.
But, the Pumpkin family bed really is every bit as awful as it looks. I’ve lost about 60 pumpkin plants. This is something of a shame, because 60 pumpkin plants in full bountiful health will deliver at least a tonne of vegetables. Almost all of which go down the throats of the pigs. We are definitely not self sufficient in pig food this year.
The reasons for the failure are twofold.
Climate change.
Not sufficiently adapting to climate change.
Thanks to the massive failure, I am pretty sure I know what I can do better next year - in subsequent years. I know it is easy to believe that I frame everything in the context of climate change, but it is real, and it (or my insufficient flexibility in the face of it) is 100% the reason for no squashes, pumpkins, gourds and courgettes this year.
I will blog about it. Today, I’m putting in another massive order for goddamn pig food.
Let’s have some happy pictures.
That should do it for now.
With any amount of luck, and a decent amount of sunshine, there might be the suspicious of a colour other than green next week. Will we have our first red tomato? Who ever said gardening wasn’t exciting?
Merry pirate love to you all,
Your
Pirate Ben
(apologies for the tardiness of the newsletter. I like to have it out to out to you all in time for Monday morning coffee, but the fact that it was Monday seems to have avoided my consciousness this morning!)
9 euro? Is that the donkey fare?
Those potatoes are awesome looking...I really need to figure out how to come for a visit - maybe even offer up some physical labor... Keep up the most excellent work you are doing - it makes a difference!