Yes, the midgies have started! Not a pest for the veggies but they definitely restrict gardening activities. The last two weeks have been really busy, and we have gone from frost and snow to boiling sunshine. The weeds have been biding their time, ready to sprout from innocent wee seedlings into ernormous trifids, which will smother the crop, provide cover for slugs and provide the proverbial seven year's worth of weed seeds. The hot weather has been the perfect time to get the hoeing done to keep the weeds in check.
Here are the tatties in the field, all earthed up. The ground got so wet with the heavy rain that came last week that it was quite a few days before it was dry enough to do this and by the look of it will need a second going over to knock the weeds out completely.
The outside tatties are coming on well, but compare to the early ones coming on in the greenhouse in pots! It has been so hot in the last day or two they needed shading to prevent them from wilting, and lots of watering. The flowers are just starting to form, so it won't be long before it is worth having a look to see if there are new potatoes ready to harvest!
It goes without saying all the wee veg plants still in pots and modules have needed watering every morning this week. They dry out very quickly in the strong sun and don't have much of a root system so at best will remain stunted and at worst will shrivel up. Now the forecast is for rain and cold weather again! That is something that small tender plants won't enjoy so guard against overwatering.