What is it with the weather this year? Crappy long cold winter, no spring to speak of and every time you think summer has finally started the forecast is for a solid week of thunderstorms, cloud and rain. Where's my sun?
My poor salad leaves (spinach and red & green oak leaves) are taking a hammering, they were planted 4 weeks ago so they should be ready by now, yet they are so far off it. At least them being splattered with mud should deter the ever present swarms of whitefly, well here's hoping anyway.
Speaking of salad leaves... a lesson in growing pak choi in containers.
Wrong way:
Firstly, mixing water retaining crystals in with the compost might have proved a good idea if we'd had a decent amount of sun instead of all the rain and cloud. Secondly not thinning them out in such a small pot, I think it's probably essential even though it's says not to on the packet if you're using them as cut and come again salad leaves. Thirdly, a bigger pot, wider and shallow I think is the way forward.
Right Way:
Planted at exactly the same time, these have obviously done much better. A wider and shallower pot and grit mixed in with the compost to help with drainage. No water retaining crystals in this one. I will thin these so that some of the plants can go on to mature to full pak choi cabbages, well that's if I can keep the levels of whitefly down who have already started to munch their way through some of the leaves.
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