This week I went to the Harrogate Flower Show with my allotment neighbours, it was a fabulous show again. I particularly liked the show garden based on Lord of the Rings (because I'm a nerd) and it really did make me laugh when someone commented that she wouldn't want "that ugly thing" (Gollum) in her garden. The attention to detail was excellent, especially the washing line when you got around the corner. On the entrance to the main pavilion there was an excellent floral display using a phone box, letter box and an old drum. They were really pretty and a fabulous way to re-purpose things that aren't being used any more.
Of course there were some things to buy; for my cut flower bed I got some altermeria, poppies and pink gypsophila (I already have white). I also got a fritillaria imperialis but I can't decide where to put it yet!
On 85 I planted out my potatoes which had been chitting in my dining room for a little while. I don't normally chit potatoes but I thought I'd experiment and see if it makes any difference. I don't think it will but it's always a struggle getting potatoes later to just plant. I have planted 3 rows in one of my big beds and I still have some left over. If I get the planks in time to build beds in 86 I'll plant them in there, otherwise I could put them in bags or give them away at the plant swap. I also planted out some Autumn King carrots. I have little success with sowing directly and so I had grown some in plugs and transplanted them out to the bed.
I also have some leeks in that bed to try and confuse the carrot fly but when I planted the Autumn King I put up my carrot fly screen; this is the 3rd year of using it and it's been very successful. I do have to use 3 and overlap them because there is a gap of about 12" which is very frustrating!
I have never been successful with brassica's (with the exception of swede); I have tried different types of netting but the caterpillars always seem to still get in. One of the main challenges is that when insects get under the nets it has been very difficult to get in to sort them out. I have therefore got hold of a couple of brassica cages which fit perfectly in these beds. I put the first one up on Saturday when it was blowing a gale and so I was able to make sure that I had done everything possible to keep them safe in windy conditions. They have a zip door on each end, which is perfect for getting inside and checking on the crops. They're also tall enough for broccoli and sprouts so I won't have to worry about them pressing against the top.
In the polytunnel I have discovered that I was watering my lemon tree incorrectly. I had been watering it as part of the normal watering system but watching Gardeners World last week Monty Don said that they should be left to dry and only watered once a week with a seaweed feed. I therefore took the tree immediately off of the drip system and this week I have watered with the seaweed. I have already noticed that the tree is starting to put on new growth and I'm hopeful that the change in regime will help it to thrive. I mentioned last week that the peach seems to have fruit, I'm also happy to report that the fig tree is doing well and the grape has also started to leaf up.
I am counting down the days until I can plant out in earnest and put all of the tender plants out. I'm also looking forward to planting the hanging baskets with summer bedding plants and getting more of my summer flowering plants into the cut flower bed. I'm also looking forward to getting my fruit trees out and making space for the tomatoes and cucumbers in the bed. I still need to finish weeding my beds, the top half of the plot is done but I need to get on with the rest of it.
Until next time...
Happy Gardening x
This weekend I finally got around to planting my asparagus crowns. I had earmarked the bed in 86 closest to the shed for them. In preparation I mulched with manure and made sure that the bed was as weeded as possible. I should note that this plot has been covered for over a year now. I added cardboard and 9" soil into the beds to try and suppress the weeds that will inevitably pop up.
I marked out the bed before starting to dig; I needed a trench that was 12" wide and 6" deep with a 4" ridge along the length. I soaked the crowns in a bucket of water while I was preparing the trench; they were delivered to me in February as dried crowns and it's important to make sure that any bare root plant is prepared before planting.
Once the trench was dug and the ridge in place I evenly spaced 9 crowns in each trench (approx 15" apart); I spread the roots as evenly as I could across the trench and then backfilled. The RHS planting guide said to leave the crown tips exposed but other advice was to bury them. As I had ended up with the crowns 2" below soil level they were not exposed and I'm hoping they'll be ok. I watered them well and there was already a thick layer of manure on the surface so I didn't add any more. I won't be able to harvest any spears until mid-April 2021 and then I'll be able to harvest for 6 weeks. The following year I'll be able to harvest for the full 8 weeks. In the mean time I'll have to enjoy the spears growing into ferns and hand weed the bed.
In other news I'm delighted to find that I have peaches growing on the tree. I hand pollinated because the tree is in the polytunnel and so there aren't as may pollinators in there to do it for me. Last year I didn't get any fruit and I thought this might have been the reason so I'm really happy to find fruit on it this year. I will be moving it outside very soon because the threat of peach leaf curl has passed now. I also have a good crop of figs and this year I'm going to be braver about thinning them out so that I get a better crop. The olive tree is also flowering and so I got my paintbrush out again and hopefully I'll get fruit from that too.
I was also busy painting some of my metal items; I bought some One Coat black paint from QVC, it is designed specifically for items that are a bit rusty; all you need to do it use a wire brush to take off any dirt or loose bits of rust and then paint it. It covered really well and did only need one coat.
I am still battling mice in the polytunnel eating my sunflower, pea and sweetpea seeds. I got some fleece cloche's from Aldi. They are designed to be put over plants out in the plot but I have tucked it under the tray that I have the seeds in. It does seem to be helping; I had also used a poly version over the peas but it became too hot for them and they wilted. On reflection it did get up to 40oC in the polytunnel during the day and because I wasn't able to get up to the plot until the afternoon it was too much. I also can't get up during the week and so I'm keeping everything crossed that they'll be ok now that they've germinated!
The weather was glorious over the Easter weekend, it was actually too hot to do much and so I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the newt swimming across the pond. I know that I go on about my pond quite a bit but it really is very relaxing to sit beside it and watch the fountain or, at this time of year, the tadpoles.
I'm struggling with hardening off my seedlings because I can't get to the plot in the mornings. I normally put them closer and closer to the door and eventually leave the door open before putting them outside. The problem with that is that because the weather has been so peculiar (it's fluctuated from -3oC to almost 40oC from night to day) I can't leave the door open because it's too cold at night and leaving the door closed during the day is too hot! At the moment I'm tending to leave the door closed to protect the tender crops and hope that it doesn't get too hot for everything else.
Overall it was a very happy and productive weekend, I got a number of jobs crossed off my list and I was able to enjoy the weather and my plot to it's fullest.
Until next time...
Happy Gardening x
It was cold this weekend and so I took the opportunity to tidy my shed and polytunnel. I wonder whether the idea to spring clean comes from gardeners who are itching to get things done take the time to clear out their mess from the year!
I used some old tubs to store all the bits and pieces that were all over the place (netting clips, hose ends etc.) and put them onto the shelves. I have put the potting bench that I've bought for the other shed down the side of the shelves for now because that shed is full of wood and cardboard and I wanted it out of my way.
In the polytunnel I cleared the staging to make more space for seedlings and I've found some additional trays and capillary matting that I use to keep my seedlings damp; this is particularly important because I can't go to the plot every day to check whether things need to be watered.
I've been having problems with mice getting into the peas and so I've put some additional mesh on top to try and keep them out. That wasn't successful on Saturday night (I'm guessing they just crawled underneath and pushed it up) and so I've added all sorts of contraptions to try and hold the mesh down (including hanging a full tub of chicken manure pellets off the side with a peg!!)
I then finished by sweeping both the shed and polytunnel. Both were pretty dirty but the polytunnel especially had started to look as though it had a much floor rather than a membrane floor! I really like the look of it once it's done!
I decided to try a couple of different hanging baskets this year. I always do floral baskets but this year I've got a lavender basket (the french lavender will be nice for the bees) and a mint basket, which I'll be able to harvest from for mint tea. I used my normal basket mix (compost, all season feed, root booster and water retention gel) but I added some additional grit for the lavender because it prefers free draining soil.I have also ordered 10 petunia plants from Groupon so I will have at least 1 floral basket.
Just as an aside, if you haven't already I would recommend checking out Groupon for gardening; they have a really good selection of plants and equipment at really good prices. The only downside is that you sometimes have to wait a little while for them but overall they're really good.
I did plant out my cabbages that I had overwintered in the polytunnel. I had intended to plant them to grow over the winter but for various reasons never got around to it and I honestly thought they'd be ravaged by slugs or die from lack of attention! They are actually very healthy and so I planted them out. In addition I have 6 brussel sprouts and 6 purple sprouting broccoli that looked a bit sad and sick in the discount area so I've brought them and potted them on which I hope will help to revive them before I add them to the bed.
I've popped the onions under the netting for now because I wanted to prepare the bed that they'd been sat on for the potatoes. The onions have grown much quicker than normal because the has been so warm. I normally put onions into pots in February and that helps me to have a full year of onions. However, because they have come on so quickly I've held off planting any more for now. I have loads more to do though so I need to get on with them.
One of the last jobs for the weekend was getting manure on the potato and asparagus beds. Both beds needed to be manured (with well rotted manure) in preparation for planting. The asparagus can be planted from March but I need to get on with planting them soon or they'll be no good and then I'll have to buy some more! I will take photos of the whole process when I do it next week.
I also manured the potato bed, I usually mulch the potato bed with manure in autumn and I didn't do it so I'm not sure that the manure will do a lot of good for them when it's only just been put down but hey-ho, it won't do them any harm!
I had hoped to get my potatoes planted this week but I didn't get around to it so hopefully I'll get to it next week.
Until next time...
Happy Gardening x
Two of the jobs I had on my list to do this year was to clear the fairy garden pot and to pot on the foxglove seedlings.
When I first got 85a I made a fairy garden pot. It was one of the first (pretty) things I did. I had a small bay and a small arborvitae that I used as 'big trees' behind the fairy house and then planted ivy and various flowering plants with little fairy accessories. In reality a pot like that should only last a year or so but I've had my fairy garden for a lot longer and so I needed to clear it out. I have managed to save the bay, arborvitae and the ivy and planted them all separately. I may still make another fairy garden with them but for now I'm going to give them a rest and let them re-establish themselves. The arborvitae may well become part of the hedge in 86a.
I also had a large pot with self-seeded foxgloves growing in it. The year before last I had a beautiful and quite majestic foxglove growing in the pot When it set seed I just left it alone and hoped to get seedlings. Last year I noticed that some foxglove were growing in the pot and so this year I needed to pop them out into individual pots. I ended up with 16 seedlings of varying sizes. Some should flower this year and the smaller ones will probably flower next year. It is very likely that some of them will probably end up in the plant swap at my site in June.
I have also been busy preparing my pea and brassica beds. I'm going to use willow wigwams for the peas this year. I think they look pretty and there's lots of space for growing the peas. My plan is to plant on the inside and let the peas amble up and around the wigwams.
For the brassica bed I have now laid a good mulch of manure and used the blue pipes to make a frame for the netting. I will need to think about the netting because I haven't been successful with it so far. This has been partly due to the fact that I have netted them without being able to easily get into them to check for pests. I have in the past used enviromesh but I may just use normal netting against the pigeons and then take the time to pick off any cabbage white caterpillars once they're established.
In the polytunnel I have a good number of white and red cabbage waiting to go outside and I also planted some peas into modules this weekend. I am hoping that I'll be able to get some established in the polytunnel and then plant some directly outside later to create succession cropping.
I've also got some tomatoes, cucumber and aubergine growing on in the polytunnel. The 2 largest tomatoes I've already planted into their final pots. I've planted them very deep (down to their 2nd set of true leaves) and they're right in the middle of the polytunnel where they'll be warmest. Once I've moved the things out that I've been overwintering then I can sort out their final positions and supports. I've never been successful with aubergine but I'm determined to try again and I'll be keeping everything crossed for this year.
I have a very cheeky rat that has taken up residence on my plot! It has been attracted by the bird feeders and it's very likely that I'm going to have to remove them which is a shame because I really enjoy having the birds on the plot. My plot is in the middle of a park and on the edge of a wood so it's inevitable that we will get rats occasionally.
My general feeling on animals visiting the plot is to live and let live but I also know that rats will make nest and multiply very quickly. Even if I remove the feeders I'm in the process of planting out all of my crops which will be more than enough food for a family of rats and so I've taken the very difficult decision to lay traps. I don't have an air rifle (and I wouldn't be a good shot anyway), I don't know anyone with a jack russell and I'm not sure I'd want one running around and digging up my beds anyway.
I'll keep you posted on results!
Until next time...
Happy Gardening x
I have never been successful with brassica's (with the exception of swede); I have tried different types of netting but the caterpillars always seem to still get in. One of the main challenges is that when insects get under the nets it has been very difficult to get in to sort them out. I have therefore got hold of a couple of brassica cages which fit perfectly in these beds. I put the first one up on Saturday when it was blowing a gale and so I was able to make sure that I had done everything possible to keep them safe in windy conditions. They have a zip door on each end, which is perfect for getting inside and checking on the crops. They're also tall enough for broccoli and sprouts so I won't have to worry about them pressing against the top.
