We have had to protect our new greenhouse from the extreme heat of the last few days (Camborne, our neighbouring town was the hottest in the country overnight 21.4C which is a very pleasant day time temperature but far too hot for sleeping!) and our baby lettuces are doing very nicely.
We love the colour combination here of the orange begonia, purple aquilegia and yellow poppies.
I love this:
utesmile
May 29, 2026 at 4:30 pm
With this heat we need a lot of water for our seedlings and plants!
mybeautfulthings
May 29, 2026 at 6:39 pm
Indeed we do – it’s a full time job caring for all these young plants! 🙂
Ark
May 27, 2026 at 7:32 pm
We are still getting day time temps of around 20-22c but the cold is definitely on its way. Not looking forward to our Highveld winter.
The lettuce at our spot appreciate a bit of chilly air.
It is one of the veg I struggled to grow for some reason but this year, after letting several go to seed then flicking the seeds so they dispersed I have hundreds that have germinated all over the place!
Mother Nature can be fickle at times but when she gives… Oh boy, does she!
mybeautfulthings
May 28, 2026 at 9:06 pm
20-22C are my comfy temperatures. I’m not one for much heat. Are Highveld winters particularly harsh?
I love that flicking the lettuce seeds resulted in an enormous harvest! 🙂
Ark
May 29, 2026 at 7:58 am
Celeste also prefers temps around the low 20s and of course the cooler weather makes it easier for the crew when it comes to baking and icing.
The lettuce were originally in a long wooden raised bed. When one bolted and went to seed I would give it a gentle flick or little shake as I walked past. Within a month or two we were inundated! Once the seeds had germinated I patrolled the immediate area with a thin sliver of wood, pricking out and transplanting as many as I could find.
These days I’ll bet I could give Charles Dowding a run for his money on the amount of lettuce we have growing.
We are fortunate there are no rabbits in the vicinity! 😊
mybeautfulthings
May 31, 2026 at 7:51 pm
I’m with Celeste. Doesn’t she find it rather hot much of the time where you are?
I love how you created a forest of lettuces! You are lucky having no rabbits. There are lots in the field behind us but they haven’t yet found how to get over the wall. It’s a different matter at Roots where they’ve been working hard to rabbit proof areas of the garden. They are hungry little creatures! 🙂
Ark
May 31, 2026 at 8:38 pm
For the business, once the temp pushes 25 plus it can become tough going, especially with ovens on for much of the time. But the really high heat only lasts for two months maybe three max and it isn’t every day.
However, because of the extremes we all tend to ‘forget’ how cold winter can get. It’s a bit ‘parky’ as I type.
Since getting the high raised beds up and running even snails seem daunted to make the climb.
And yet, they are not completely full proof. This afternoon when my son popped round for a visit we were inspecting some chilli plants when we noticed quite a few of the mustard spinach were riddled with holes! Crickets. What can you do? Everyone has to eat, I guess. 😊