19th May 2019 - sweetcorn, planks for beds and weeding (again)

This week I managed to get up to the plot for a little while during the week.  I prepared the bed in the polytunnel last weekend but wasn't sure what I was going to grow in there.  I decided that I would have another go at sweetcorn.  Last time I attempted sweetcorn I grew it outside and every cob was eaten by squirrels and pigeons!  

I noticed that on The Beechgrove Garden they grow sweetcorn under cover in the polytunnel so I decided to have a go and see what happens.  I have also set them up on the automatic watering system.  Corn needs to have regular watering, skipping watering particularly during pollination will result in cobs with missing kernels.

I bought the watering system from Groupon, it's pretty simple really - just a timer and stick it in the bucket.  It runs for 30 seconds every day which seems to be enough to really soak through for now, (I don't know how many litres per hour it's putting out).  Once the weather gets hotter I'll need to increase the regularity of the watering and possibly for longer.  I'll need to keep an eye on it.  I might also need to split them into 2 buckets.  At the moment I've got 10 on one unit and 4 on the other so if I decide to split them I'll make it 7 and 7 which will help to make water last longer.  http://tinyurl.com/y63o98ym

I've mentioned that I've planted fruit trees in pots which I'll probably end up putting into 86, I've also got the peach and lemon trees.  This week I spotted a pomegranate, which is half hardy and can be grown in this country so naturally I thought it would be fab to try it out.

I have a number of fruit trees now that I'm planning to put into 86, I don't want that plot to be primarily for growing fruit but I am enjoying that I have the space to grow more fruit and permanent crops.  I just need to work out how best to have them on the plot  


In 86 I repaired the membrane which had been pulled up with the winds over the winter.  As you know I've been keeping the plot covered while I was preparing for the beds but I've struggled to get the planks and so it's been covered for quite some time.  It's interesting to see how some plants (read weeds) are still pushing their way through or seeding themselves into little bits of soil that had settled in the folds.  

We did manage to get some planks from the local scaffold yard.  They'd originally said they could only get 5 and 6 foot lengths but they called us to say they had some 13 foot lengths and so I managed to get 12 of them (to make 6 beds).  

My lovely allotment neighbour has a canoe trolley and he thought it would be ideal for transporting the planks from the clubhouse up to the plot.  It worked perfectly and we were able to get them all up in 2 loads (I had already taken 2 up by hand so it was 5 on each trip).  It was certainly much easier than trying to carry them individually up the hill.

I've asked Mr L if he can come and and cut the planks for me.  I'm going to have my beds 9'x4' so each bed will be made of 2 planks and I'll be able to make 6 beds.  They're going to go along the top of the plot and will be my rotation beds and fruit beds.  I am also planning to have a wider middle path to make room for pots; in the first instance I have the fruit trees in pots but I'm intending to plant them into the ground.

I also got cracking with some more of the weeding.  The bottom path of 85 was a disgrace!  I didn't keep on top of it last year as I had in previous years and so the weeds really have been trying to take back my plot starting with that path!!  I filled the tumbling composter just with the weeds from that path; I need to add some cardboard to help its balance but hopefully I'll be able to make it into compost much more quickly than my normal way.

I do still have the paths behind the polytunnel and fruit cages to weed and the path in front of the polytunnel.  These are all paths that I don't use much and so it's easy for the weeds to run away there too.  

Overall I'm really happy with what I've got done this week and hopefully by this time next week I'll have the beds in place in 86.

Until next time then...
Happy Gardening x