Where there's a willow. . .
We've got lots of tidying to do in the kitchen garden now – the sweet peas were looking tatty and had mildew, so we have taken them out, and its time to cut back the willow archway and screen. We’ll probably root prune it this autumn to restrict the growth a bit – its very vigorous and has grown a lot this year.
Black willow aphids have attacked one part of the screen – normally you wouldn’t try to get rid of them, but their honeydew was attracting lots of wasps, creating a problem for visitors sitting on the benches nearby and walking along the path. We also have ornamental willow for weaving, and these aphids can spoil the bark of stems, so a dose of insecticidal soap has been applied a couple of times over the last week or so, and seems to have done the trick.
Keeping up with the courgettes is an ongoing task – there is always at least one that gets away and assumes zeppelin proportions, but its really important to pick them to keep production going. Also picking mini-cabbages, lots of runner beans, salad leaves, and trying to remember to write down things that have done well, or otherwise, for our records, in between running to shelter in the shed from torrential downpours!