Thursday 30th March I spent most of the morning helping renovate the raised bed on the 'Disabled' Plot but had some time afterwards on the plot. I set about sowing my first row of peas this season as the autumn sown row had almost disappeared and sowing in gutters has not been very successful for me in the past. I started by raking back the horse litter mulch from the strip cleared and dug over by my grandson last week. While doing that I teased some of the mulch between the plants of the broad beans next door to keep the weeds down. Having cleared a strip next to the row I was able to scoop out a trench heaping the soil beside the trench. I trod the base of the trench flat and scattered 3 packets of Douce Provence seed along the strip. I normally use 2 packets for a 10 foot row to allow for disease and mice but the seed is cheap from InExcess and just outside it's 'sow by' date so germination may be a bit low. I then sprinkled paraffin along the row from my shampoo bottle to deter the mice. Slug pellets may also have been a good idea! Once I had raked the soil back over 2 inches deep I was still left with a trench which was a little deeper than planned at 2/3 inches - probably because my grandson had dug the strip so well it was too easy to lift out too much soil. It only needs less than an inch to help watering later in the season. I rearranged the mulch and made a final scattering of paraffin and fertiliser to finish off before I was summoned home for lunch.
Monday 27th March Having taken my grandson home yesterday I came down to the plot for my normal Monday session. I started by lifting the strip of landscape fabric I left to warm the soil for sowing my parsnips and other roots. I sowed Gladiator F1 seed I got from Tuckers seeds through the Association. I sowed a few seeds at 5 or 6 inch stations then added some radish seed to mark where the parsnips are as they often take a while to germinate. When I had tamped down the soil in the drill with the head of the rake and watered the row, I sowed a row of beetroot, Detroit 2 (Crimson Globe), at about an inch between the large seeds. Each seed is actually a cluster of seeds so they need to be spread out thinly. With the row tamped down and watered I moved on to digging the path next to the summer raspberries to remove the wayward roots. Slicing with a spade along the row cuts the roots off so I can use the fork to turn over the soil and tease out the fine roots. I managed half the path before my back suggested I leave the rest for another day. Before harvesting I removed the net tunnel covering the broad beans which had had time to harden from being in the greenhouse and drew a bit of a ridge over the emerging potato shoots. I have just read that one should plant 'Earlies' late and 'Lates' (Maincrops) early. The argument is that Earlies have a short growing season and are hit hard if cut back by a frost. Maincrops, with their longer growing season, can cope better if caught by a frost and will grow on afterwards. Too late for this year but worth thinking about! I then gathered a couple of (misshapen) parsnips, a couple of leeks, a large amount of purple sprouting, and some Swiss chard. I also had to pick quite an amount of forced rhubarb as it was lifting the water butt base I am using as a cover. There was so much that a nearby new tenant got half as there was too much for myself.
Thursday 23rd March
I returned with my grandson to get as much done before he goes home. He set about finishing off digging in the green manure while I tied in the blackberry next to him and hoed my onions and garlic. It was rather damp so some of the weeds would probably survive but hopefully most will die. I shall have to repeat the hoeing or hand weed later but there will be less competition for the onions. It is said that onions are really sensitive to bring crowded by weeds. As I finished I realised that the garlic and onions on the other side of the plot were in an even worse state but would have to be left until next time. Meanwhile my grandson got busy digging over the strip where I plan to plant my first row of peas before it was time to go home. Tuesday 21st March The arrival of my young grandson for a short holiday means I have some help around the house and plot. Several years ago, as an older teenager, he helped me change plots, carrying most of the materials across from the old plot. He seems to really enjoy working at a task and works me into the ground! He set about digging out my compost bin and transferring it over to the next bin. Meanwhile I dug over a strip behind the greenhouse and planted some Jerusalem artichoke tubers. Most were a donation from another plotholder but 3 were from a packet bought from Stewarts at £1 per tuber. Since eating the tubers gives me, and most people, excessive wind, I will not be harvesting them. The six foot high top growth should shade the sun from the end of the greenhouse during the summer, dying down in the autumn. I was raking the manure off a strip on the legume patch ready to show some peas when I noticed a black cloud approaching with streaks of rain hanging underneath so we packed away hurriedly while I harvested his favourite greens, kale. We climbed into the car just as the reason started and got home just as hailstones began hammering down.
Friday 17th March
Having not made it down to the plot for my usual Thursday morning session because I had some home commitments, I made a special effort to visit this afternoon. With the weekend forecast for rain and the Saturday rugby meant I was unlikely to make it down except for the Working Party. I had scraped the mulch clear of a foot wide strip so forked over the soil before using the bulb planter to create 30 deep holes into which I dropped the toilet roll pots containing the plants and firmed them in. A few drops of paraffin on each plant to put off the mice and the net tunnel protection as I had not hardened them off as much as I would like. Fortunately there are no frosts forecast. The autumn planted onion sets are mostly growing on well, apart from the Radar sets, but so are the weeds so I spent a little while hoeing between them. I did plant them with enough space for the home to go between them but as they swell it may not be enough! I also used my bill hook to cut the Ryegrass green manure ready to dig it in next week. I then set about digging out the hump of soil in front of my greenhouse door. I have caught my head on the top of the door several times because I had just crossed the hump and not got low enough so I need to level the approach to the doorway. I managed to deal with a barrowload but realised it is such poor quality soil, originally from below the old shed that stood where the greenhouse is now, that I need to spread it out as thinly as I can. I offered one of my blackberry plants to one of the new neighbours (I hate to waste them) and was very grateful to be offered in return a young blueberry plant she had brought from the nursery she works at. It will complete my row though I will need to net them well if the blackbirds are not going to eat them before I can harvest them - as they did last summer! By the time I had done all that it was getting late so I harvested a few things. The row of cauliflower is doing well. I cut a huge one for myself and another good sized one for the neighbour who gave me some parsnips last week. I hope he finds it in his shred before the rats do. As well as the cauliflower I harvested a large number of Brussel Sprouts as they are beginning to blow. Next to them in the brassica tunnel the row of Purple Sprouting has begun to crop giving me a lovely bunch to take home. My five very small curly kale plants were beginning to run to seed so I picked off the tops hoping they will branch out and provide a further crop. Finally I dug up a couple of leeks and a (tiny) parsnip. Before I left I did a tour of the site expecting to be the last to leave. There was one vehicle outside a plot so I planned to leave the lock ready to lock but as I completed my tour that vehicle got ahead of me so, once again, it feel to me to lock up for the night! Monday 13th March
I got down to the plot after 3pm this afternoon so set about getting on with the work, after putting out the notices saying the rescheduled Working Party is on next Sunday. I started by raking clear a strip in the horse litter mulch next to the broad beans ready for planting the next row which is currently growing on in my greenhouse. Then I began digging one of the paths next to the summer raspberries only the first spit showed that raspberry roots had spread through to nextdoor. As he was there I asked if I could dig over the strip his side (he has been ill and would find it difficult). I finished up digging more than I thought and found lots of raspberry roots and also lots of bindweed roots. Once I had cleared his side I did the same on mine, well, as best as I could. (It's almost impossible to remove all the roots. Only time will tell how well I have done it!) There were tons of raspberry roots that had spread out from the parent plants. As I have said before, they had better crop well this year or I will replace them. Having dug over half the pathway and collected a while bucketful of roots and shoots, I decided I needed a change so I moved over to digging out my bean trench. The strips either side of the bean patch were covered in weeds so I forked out the dandelions and nettles and then loosened the annual weeds and raked them to one side. Digging the trench out, I found the soil was dark and crumbly. The work of the last four years obviously has had an effect. With a clear deep trench I dropped the weeds in and followed them with the top layer of uncomposted material from the full compost bin. By the time I had returned the soil back on top there was a huge ridge even though I had trodden down the compost material. I hope it settles as I don't want my beans growing in a raised bed as keeping them watered will be a problem. Saturday 11th March Today I wanted to plant my early potatoes and prepare for moving my brassica tunnel by transplanting the tiny cabbages to the new brassica patch. However, before that I emptied a bag of paper shreddings and the first bag of lawn mowings onto my compost bin. The dry 'brown' paper shreddings will balance the green wetness of the grass cuttings but the bin is very full and I need to transfer the contents of the bin at the other end into the centre one to give me space for the spring growth compost. I then dug up the small cabbage plants that I put in the ground last autumn but had not grown at all. I planted them out amongst the brassicas on the new patch and hope they will put a spurt on. A dose of fertiliser and a sprinkling of slug bait finished the job. That left space for me to dig the trenches for the potatoes while I planted a row of Aran Pilot and a row of Kestrel. Following the advice of one expert I scattered slug pellets over the soil before raking it back, burying the pellets for the underground slugs For good measure I also gave them a dose of chicken manure. No ridges yet. I shall ridge them up once they show through, especially if frst threatens. As soon as I can get a team of helpers I must move the brassica tunnel over to the new brassica patch leaving the patch clear for planting the rest of the potatoes.
Monday afternoon 6th March Having spent the morning giving myself a headache booking flights online, I decided I needed the fresh air down on the plot despite a forecast of rain. I started by setting up the bin extensions on the middle compost bin and emptying my kitchen waste onto the current, left hand bin. When I get the time and inclination I will start digging out the right hand bin and shovelling the contents over into the extended middle bin so the compost gets a good mixing. Hopefully I shall finish up with a bin full of lovely dark and crumbly compost next autumn. I then moved on to finishing off digging over the raspberry bed path. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of worms in the soil and the absence of raspberry roots. However I realised that I was digging alongside the 'Polka' raspberries, which are a recent hybrid, not the relocated old raspberries from the back of the plot. The modern hybrids seem to be less likely to send out underground runners. Perhaps I should think about buying in some more hybrids. I did gather a bucketful of weeds and a few roots which I shall have to dispose of, not compost. Then I moved into the brassica tunnel. Two cauliflowers were developing nicely but will still grow bigger, I hope. The other side is where I want to plant my first early potatoes so I started taking off the old mulch of horse litter. It scraped off quite easily and had broken down to a great extent so I shovelled it into the barrow and added it to the compost to balance the first of this year's bags of grass cuttings from a neighbour at home. It is always good to maintain a balance of green and brown material when making compost. This is not always easy to do but I plan to use some of my leaves as a source of brown stuff during the summer. Then I dug over the strip and was again very pleased at the number of worms. I think I shall have to move the small cabbage plants over to the new Brassica patch so I can move the tunnel as soon as the cauliflowers are finished. Finally, before harvesting, I hoed the weeds off the curly kale and spring cabbages and the asparagus bed producing a heap of weeds and earth which I added to the compost bin. As the sun set and it started to get dark I picked some Brussel tops from the plants that had produced no sprouts and a good helping of nice tight sprouts from the other plants. There was also a picking of purple sprouting broccoli from two plants at the back of the patch. I then dug up some leeks to go with the parsnips given to me by a neighbour clearing a patch for his potatoes. They were not big but they were perfectly formed which is more than I can say for the ones I am growing! Once again I left in semi-darkness, locking the gate as I was obviously the last to leave yet again! Sunday 6th March As always Sunday mornings mean there are lots of people around, many of whom I needed (or wanted) to talk to, so I never get all that I want done! Today there was the added complication that it rained whenever I was at a critical stage of a task so I had to leave it and run for shelter in the car. Sitting in the car waiting for the rain to stop is never much fun even with the radio to distract me! I did manage to repair part of my compost bin and remove a wooden bar from my runner bean frame to give me access for digging out the trench. However the soil was so wet after all the rain we have had I decided to leave the digging for another day. The main job I completed was fixing the wires between the posts so I can train the blackberries off the ground. Banging nails in upright posts is always difficult but I found I could brace the post with my shoulder while hammering in the nails I needed to anchor the wire. Knowing the brambles would put quite a bit of weight on the wires I took care to wind the wire round the post at each pass so the nail only had to stop the wire unwinding. Finally I wound all the branches along the wires. I think I shall have to come back and unwind them then use ties to fix them so I can prune and train them individually. Otherwise I shall always be having to untangle them. At least now they are off the ground!
There are still at least four good plants on top of my leafmould bin at the front of the plot with a 'Help Yourself' notice, waiting for new homes. Perhaps I should put them on the 'Help Yourself' table in front of the Trading Hut. The rain came on heavily and with more cloud upwind I decided it was time to stop even though I had not harvested anything. I was pleased I had remembered to put up the notices asking for volunteers for next week's Working Party when I arrived on site. I would have got very wet doing that as I left. Needless to say the rain stopped and the sun shone the moment I got home! Thursday 2nd March
The weather has been not very helpful this week so today was the first time I managed to get down to the site all week. I had promised someone I would do some rotavating and as the soil had dried out a bit I decided to do that before it rained again. The first patch was rather small but had been dug before so I left it with a lovely fine tilth. The tenant is just recovering from a series of operations and will find not having to dig rather helpful. The second plot was something of an experiment as the new tenant had only dug part of the patch. The machine went through the cultivated soil really well and when I got to the solid earth I was surprised how well it broke the earth up. However the tines did not like it when they came across bits of paving slab and concrete and I found myself stopping and picking out several bits as I progressed down the plot. I was nearly at the end when the machine suddenly stopped. When I looked underneath there was a brick jammed up inside the cowling. I spent the next 15-20 minutes trying to lever it out and only managed it when a helpful neighbour lent me a crowbar and I finally broke the brick in half. By then it was getting late and I only had time to do a couple more passes, staying only in the front half of the plot away from the area where I had encountered the rubble. In future I will have to insist the ground has been at least roughly dug over, if only to remove the brickbats! By then it was too late to do anything on the plot so I went straight home after putting the rotavator way. |
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May 2023
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