Many thanks to the group who answered the call to help on the working party yesterday. We achieved a great deal despite running into technical difficulties banging in posts into solid tarmac!
Busy afternoon digging out the rest of my wonderful compost! I used it to mulch the strawberries and 3 barrow loads went where I plan to plant the fruit - Blackcurrants, gooseberries etc. Weeds Weeded the leeks which were almost submerged. Then realised how thick the weeds were alongside the raspberries so hoed them off - but had to rake them up as they were so thick! Harvested purple sprouting and green broccoli (amid clouds of whitefly but no time to spray again!), carrots that had split after the rain, and swiss chard. Tip for dealing with Vine weevil. Everett (Plot 18?) shared with me how he dealt with vine weevil attacking his pots of young strawberries. He drowned them! Initially he flooded the compost from the dead rootless plants in a bucket of water and Jeyes Fluid and the dead bodies floated out. Then, to ensure the other plants were not affected, he sank the remaining pots into water up to the rim and left them there for 24 hours. The plants can cope with that but the grubs are drowned. We are not sure that this will deal with the unhatched eggs but the process could be repeated after, say, a fortnight after when they have hatched into grubs. Worth trying - and a darn sight cheaper than the chemical treatment from the garden centre! I got the chance to spend this morning on the plot, a welcome chance as I shall be busy with the working party tomorrow morning when I normally get quite a bit done.
Compost & Leafmould I started by transferring the bags of leaves left from last autumn into the bin now that those I put in there had packed down. There must have been 20-30 bags but they just packed in, thank goodness, as I need to clear the space for those I will be collecting from all my friends around Highcliffe. The next step will be to dig out the (hopefully) leafmould from the other bin that I filled the year before last. It will be good for the old potato patch which will be growing my 'Other' crops (sweet corn, fennel, chard, etc.) I then dug out some of my compost and spread it over my new asparagus bed. (There is already some compost under my newly planted strawberries.) I am very pleased with the compost, black, crumbly and sweet smelling! It is the first time I've got it as good as this, so I'll be adding a modicum of soil and compost accelerator when I transfer from the first bin into the final one. Peas My late sowing of peas have reached the top of the wire mesh I set up for it to climb. More important, it has got to the top of the protective netting, so I have devised a system for increasing the width and height using two runs of butterfly netting supported by canes and string. Hopefully they will produce before it gets too cold! I enjoyed a small helping of the last picking of peas at dinner this evening. Whitefly My war against the whitefly continues. There are still clouds of them whenever I disturb the brassicas, but I think they are not as thick as before. I sprayed with a chemical this time but I chose the one that says I can eat the crop the same day. Presumably that means it will not persist - does that mean the whitefly can dodge it by flying off and returning a little while later? Harvest While spraying the brassicas I came across a decent size cauliflower - just before I sprayed it. Cut it and looking forward to having it for dinner tomorrow. I also came across yet more courgettes. I think the yellow one has stopped producing but the two green courgette plants are still giving me a steady crop. I brought home 3 small courgettes and one 'Courg-arrow' (Courgette/marrow). We may try a new recipe from a TV programme for Courgette gougons. (Courgette 'chips' in bread crumbs and grilled.) A good morning's work but still lots to do! A Bumper Year for Whitefly!I am currently struggling with a whitefly infestation in my Brassica net tunnel!
By netting the Brassicas I have successfully kept the pigeons off but also blocked the smaller birds accessing the Brussels and sprouting broccoli inside; apart from twice when a single sparrow got in somehow and had to be chased out! I have sprayed with a horticultural soap solution twice to little effect. Neville, my expert neighbour, said he had success using a coarse spray to dislodge them, so I tried that the second time. Still I am surrounded by clouds of little white specks whenever I enter the tunnel! I have just tried a water jet using my hose. It certainly disturbed the whitefly, clouds of them, so I used a wider spray to wash them onto the ground - with only partial effect. I then found they had merely spread out over the surrounding greenery and flew up and back when they had dried out. It looks like I shall have to try 'BugClear'! Any suggestions for any other solution? On the positive side I did pick quite a few French Beans from the half dozen climbing plants I squeezed in at the end of my runner beans. Next year I shall grow a whole row the way I planned this year but failed! I also found half a dozen cucumbers on the plants I put in after lifting the early potatoes, once I had cleared the weeds that threatened to engulf the plants. I am struggling to stay on top of the weeds! They grow whatever the weather whereas some of my veg have stopped in their tracks now the nights are getting cooler. They seem to be growing even in the places I know I hoed not long ago. I finally got fed up with pushing past the raspberries that overhung my pathway. It is a strong growing autumn raspberry that I inherited when took on the plot but despite it being full of fruit, I grubbed it out from the end of the row of Polka raspberries (donated by a departing neighbour) and left it on the table at the shop. There was enough in the one clump to set up a reasonable row, even though it is not quite the best time to transplant! Now I just need to dig out the compost and leafmould bins and spread the contents where it will do most good. Some compost is already under the newly planted strawberries (again donated to me by a friend!) I am particularly pleased at the quality of the compost. Black and crumbly with few sticks in, I put it down to transferring it from one bin to another in the spring. Worth the effort! Just sorry there is not more of it! I have already spent good money buying spring cabbage plants from Stewarts and now I realise I should have waited a week or two for those on offer at the Trading Hut! Cheaper and better! There are lots of plants available of 'Pixie' and 'Durham Early'. Having grown 'Pixie' as a summer cabbage I can recommend it. Nice small heads suitable for all but the largest appetites or families. Plant at 9" (20-25cm). 'Durham Early' is tried and tested and should be planted at 12" (30cm). Check the tips for planting brassicas in the Hints Archive (Members) and net for pigeons etc. In early Spring a dose of fertiliser will give them a boost.
When harvesting, cut alternate cabbages, leaving those in between to continue growing larger. If you cut the heart off leaving a ring of good leaves on the stump, cut a cross in the cut end and the buds in the leaf axil will sprout to give Spring Greens. That way the crop will last you for weeks or even months! Strawberries This afternoon was spent trimming back and weeding the strawberry bed. Once I had tidied up the plants by cutting off the leaves, I could see the weeds that had been skulking underneath! The Cheap 'Elsanta' plants I had got through Mail Order and special offers certainly grew well, giving me lots of fruit even though some of them were dug up again in April to get at the bindweed underneath! I widened the bed by planting some of the strongest extra runners alongside the bed. Next year I shall dig up a 1/3rd strip and replant it with the strongest runners. The half of the bed planted with F***** I will dig up as, while they gave berries over a long period they are not strong plants and the crop was very light. A neighbour gave me some surplus plants so I will replant with those. I gave my surplus to a new tenant of a plot near me. Harvesting My runner beans are just about done. Even the late sown ones are producing only a few beans. Those that have grown a bit large are being left to mature for next year's seed. The french beans, 'Purple Teepee', gave a last reasonable picking. While not quite as tasty as 'Safari' they are a darn sight easier to pick as the beans are held high on the plant and the colour makes it easy to see them. Just a pity they turn green when cooked! The sweet corn crop is disappointing. A few good size cobs the the rest are small and not fully pollinated despite being planted in a block. Two cobs looked most peculiar! I'm trying to find out what went wrong. If you can help please register above and add a comment! An unusual sweet corn cob! Anyone any idea what has happened here? |
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May 2023
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