Life on The Weald

and a few distractions - August 2025

Tuesday 1 August

The heatwave continues and the first day of August registered as the hottest day of the year, with the temperature in Hove reaching 27C.

Fortunately our area is not affected by a temporary hosepipe ban as we are less dependent upon river and reservoir levels than some nearby areas. In the evening, Sylvi gave the plot a thorough watering and picked yet more blackcurrants and blackberries and I planted out some perpetual spinach and Boltardy beeetroot seedlings - not the best time in this hot weather but they had reached the right size for planting out, so there was little alternative.

1 August - black currants

Monday 4 August

We removed the fleece tunnel from the Brussels sprouts which had outgrown it and put up some stakes with netting to protect from birds.

Tuesday 5 August

With the hot weather and lack of rain, the water level in the pond was very low so I topped it up from the water butts on the plot (these had been filled from mains water several weeks earlier so, by now, should be chlorine free). I weeded the Brussels sprouts that I had netted the day before, lifted some beetroot and picked some courgettes, French beans and sweetcorn. In the greenhouse the chillies were looking good and beginning to ripen.

5 August - Aji red

5 August - courgettes, beans and sweetcorn

Wednesday 6 August

I visited the plot but it was sweltering - far too hot to work, so I left and sat out in the sunshine at a beach cafe with old friends from Greenwich.

6 August - crotchety old pensioners from Greenwich

Thursday 7 August

By contrast, Thursday was cloudy and overcast. Sylvi picked loads of blackberries and sorted out some worm compost to add to raised beds. I filled the water butts that I had emptied to fill the pond. We did a bit of strimming to tidy up the place and collected a couple of bags of woodchip that had been delivered to the site. There were still some Charlotte early potatoes in the ground so I lifted a few to see if they were OK. I feared that they might have been eaten by slugs or wireworms but fortunately they were mostly fine. A few had begun to be damaged by slugs, so I will have to lift the remainder soon.

7 August - Charlotte potatoes

At home I was still picking handfuls of Sungold tomatoes every day.

7 August Sungold and Ruby Falls tomatoes

There was also Rhubarb Gin to be strained

7 August - Rhubarb Gin to be strained

After straining, the rhubarb which had been soaking in Gin for a few weeks, was still good for cooking with....

7 August - rhubarb after straining

...but the gin was ready to be bottled.

7 August - lovely pink rhubarb gin ready for bottling

Friday 8 August

The chillies, grown from my son Damien's seeds, would soon be ready for harvesting

8 August - Aji Red

8 August - Aji Red ripening

8 August - Santa Fe

8 August - Aji Limon

There were also tromboncino, and courgettes to be picked

8 August - tromboncino

8 August - tromboncino and courgettes

One of the tromboncino didn't seem to know that it was supposed to grow downwards!

8 August - a turn up for the books!

Sunday 10 August

We weeded the large cages where brassicas were growing and Sylvi cut back more brambles. The tree that we had planted for granddaughter Letty still looked stunted and rather pathetic, but this year was laden with fruit.

10 August - Letty's apple tree

Similarly, our plum trees (unknown variety but best for cooking rather than eating) were overloaded with fruit - and most of it pest-free.

10 August - plums

At home, I managed to find time to bottle the Rhubarb Gin.

10 August - Rhubarb Gin

Tuesday 12 August

In the garden the Basket of Fire chillies were beginning to ripen - they start off green or purple then turn red.

12 August - Basket of Fire

And our true Quince tree, Serbian Gold, was laden with fruit. It was a two year old bare root specimen which we had planted 3 years previously and this was the first year that it has produced fruit.

12 August - Quince Serbian Gold

The beefsteak tomatoes were looking good...

12 August - Tomatoes beefsteak

...and the Physalis (Cape Gooseberry) was in flower

12 August - Cape Gooseberry

When the heat had died down in the early evening I visited the plot, only to be followed everywhere by our friendly fox! I suspect that someone on the site is feeding it.

12 August - our resident fox

Thursday 15 August

We were picking tomatoes and courgettes almost every day and this evening I marinated some of the cherry tomatoes with olive oil and lemon juice and fresh herbs and then stuffed courgettes and roasted them with Halloumi cheese.

15 August - Tomatoes in marinade

15 August - Courgettes prepared for stuffing

15 August - roast stuffed corgettes with Halloumi

Sunday 17 August

The Aji Red chillies were beginning to ripen.

Monday 18 August

I weeded around the purple sprouting broccoli and placed slug collars around them to help prevent snail attack, from which they were suffering. I removed any snails I couold find and then sprayed the plants with a garlic spray (as I'm told this will deter slugs and snails). I also spread some coffee grounds around each plant, as a further snail deterrent.

18 August - purple sprouting broccoli

Tuesday 19 August

I spent most of my time on the plot strimming as the grass was growing very fast. I harvested a few large cucumbers.

19 August - cucumbers

Wednesday 20 August

Everything was very dry so I spent some time watering with the hose. I also put a mulch of wood chip and coffee grounds around the currants. The yellow courgette plants were continuing to produce new fruits/

20 August - courgettes

Thursday 21 August

My 81st birthday so I took a day off from doing anything energetic!

Friday 22 August

Over the past two days. the courgettes had grown and there were more cucumbers to harvest/

22 August - Courgettes and cucumbers

Sunday 24 August

A bright sunny days and the quinces were looking healthy in the sunshine.

24 August - the Quince tree

So I sat in the garden admiring the quince tree and the dahlias and then picked a couple of beefsteak tomatoes.

24 August - a dahlia

24 August - beefsteak tomatoes

Friday 29 August

One of the beefsteak tomatoes was doing funny things, in that one half ripened and the other hadn't! I picked it, nevertheless, and hoped that it might ripen indoors.