24th September 2017 - No Dig Gardening

As many of you know I've often talked about no-dig gardening but I don't know that I've ever really explained why I decided to use the method.  Charles Dowding is a pioneer in no-dig gardening and his website is very helpful.

https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/no-dig-growing/why-no-dig/

There were a few things that really struck a chord with me.  First was that building fertility from the top and allowing the worms and bugs to draw it down is more natural than digging it in.  In the woods etc., organic matter always lands on top and is drawn down.  Secondly, I am gardening on clay and need to add plenty of organic matter; after only 2 seasons on this plot my soil is already significantly better and much easier to work.  Finally, whilst I enjoy working at the allotment, I find it very difficult to dig (especially in the clay) for any length of time and so the idea that I might be able to have a very nice plot without the need to dig was very appealing.

I've heard many people say that they can't have no-dig because their plots are full of couch grass, bindweed or horsetail.  When I took my plot it had all three (as well as the usual perennial suspects).  I used a strimmer to get it all cut down to the ground, marked out my beds and began.  I laid a good layer of cardboard at the base of my beds and then filled them with a mix of compost, manure and topsoil.  I did not dig into the beds before I covered them, I did not remove any roots or the top layer of grass.  I simply added on top of it.  In the first season I pulled up any perennial weeds that appeared; including the couch grass, bindweed and horsetail.  All of them poked their way through at some point.  The horsetail was particularly in my rotation beds.  As soon as I saw the slightest tip of it I pulled it up with as long a piece of root as I could manage.  The bindweed was making its way up through the raspberries and again, I just pulled it out as it appeared.  The couch grass appears all over the place and - up it comes!

Now at the end of the 2nd year, I get very little bindweed and horsetail.  The horsetail especially is very leggy and weedy.  I actually haven't seen any bindweed in my raspberries this year but it does appear from next door which is very frustrating.  The couch grass does still appear all over but I don't know if that's coming through from underneath or blowing in from other parts of the site.  

In terms of crops, I'm sure you've seen the photographs in the last few weeks showing my harvests.  I have been so happy, particularly with my root crops.  Interestingly Charles Dowding talks about root crops coming out cleaner and I've certainly seen that both with my carrots and potatoes this year. I mentioned the other week that Beechgrove Garden had done a dig / no-dig comparison and they found that the crops in the no-dig beds were significantly better in terms of yield.

http://www.beechgrove.co.uk/module_uploads/2/Factsheet_2017_-_Prog_18.pdf

Even though the results were extremely compelling, it did appear that George was recommending the no-dig mainly on the basis that if you can't dig any more you should try this.  I hope that my observations (and if you see the results from Beechgrove) that you'll realise that no-dig is better that digging for many many reasons and not just for people who are struggling with digging.  

5 year Crop Rotation Plan

I have updated my crop rotation because I now have a 5 bed plan and so I wanted to share it with you all.  I hope it's helpful.  If you are on a 4 bed rotation I have previously blogged about that (4th September 2016).  I hope this is helpful to you all.

 

 

17th August 2017 - Composting

As you've seen my blog posts have slowed down because frankly there's not much that I need to do and so there's not a lot to talk about but I will either post blogs or vlogs as things come up.

We are at the end of the season and so that means that I'm sorting out my compost and preparing my beds for things that I can plant now as well as which of the beds I need to tuck up for winter.  Last year there was one bed that I didn't cover and didn't plant anything in to and in the spring it was very weedy.  I won't be doing that again!  Back to the compost then - I have a 3 bins system which were made from old pallets.  I don't turn my compost regularly because there's simply too much of it.  What I do is fill up bin 1 throughout the season.  At the end of the season I empty bin 3 onto my beds and I move the contents of bin 2 into bin 3 and the contents of bin 1 into bin 2.  


One of the things I really do notice is that even at the end of the first season the stuff I've put in has broken down well.  I work hard to give my compost lots of variety of green and brown stuff.  I have blogged about making compost before so I won't go into it in any detail again but I will say that I do cold composting, which is essentially chuck it all in and let it do its thing.  I don't have formal layers so things just go in as they're needed.  I bring cereal boxes and egg boxes fairly regularly and kitchen waste that can't go into the wormery (such as onions and citrus fruits).  Tearing or screwing up paper and card creates air-pockets which also helps.  

Because I move the compost into the next bin at the end of the season it means that the very green stuff on top of bin 1 gets put to the bottom of bin 2 with all of the compost that's already started to breakdown piled on top of it, which again helps it to breakdown.  The compost in bin 2 could be used straight onto the garden at the end of this season (this is the stuff that was being put into bin 1 all season last year) but I like to let it breakdown further so that it's really really good stuff at the end of the 3rd year. 

As you can see the compost in the 3rd bin is very good.  I've been really pleased with how it's broken down and as I've said above it could be used now.  I did consider using it straight away and then giving my 3rd bin over to a leaf mould bin because I don't want to have an empty bin and I don't currently have anywhere to make leaf mould but I've stuck to my guns and I hope that means I'll have really good compost at the end of year 3.

I am a no-dig gardener and so adding organic matter is really important to the way I garden.  I don't actually add any more compost to my garden now than I did when I used to dig, the only difference is that I just leave it on top and let the worms do all the work for me instead of me digging it in.  

This year has been more successful in some ways than last year.  I've done well with the peas, I've done fantastically with cabbages in the polytunnel and I'm really pleased with how I've managed most of the crops in the polytunnel.  I've not done so well with the outdoor brassicas - I got one good cauliflower but the others went over.  The cabbage whites got to my sprouts and they need pulling out.  The swede look great; even though the leaves are now all gone.  I'm going to think about how I protect my outdoor brassicas better next year and I've already talked with Mr L about what he can build me that I can easily get into but that will fold up to be put away.  He pulled a face at me but you never know! The most successful thing was the sweetpeas which I really enjoyed; I'm letting them go over now and I will be using those seeds for next year.

My next task will be to plant onions and garlic to be ready in the spring and I'm going to get some spring brassicas planted so fingers crossed on them too.  I don't want to repeat last year where I didn't get up to the plot really at all during the winter.  I might not spend as much time there but I will be popping up and doing small jobs throughout the winter.

Until next time then - happy gardening!

27th August 2017 - how long since I last posted?!

I haven't posted for ages because the little L's keep nicking my laptop and so I don't get it until they go to bed and then I'm too tired!  Tonight however I've nabbed it before them so hopefully I'll get all the way through my update before one of them grabs it!

Primarily the plot is pretty much looking after itself; because I no-dig I don't have much in the way of weeds.  For those that don't know about no-dig; the concept is that you disturb the soil as little as possible.  You might remember that when I set up the beds in the first place I simply laid cardboard at the base of the bed and topped with a mix of top soil, compost and manure.  At the end of last season I put a thin layer of compost or manure on the beds (except the roots bed) and covered them.  My site suffers from bindweed and horsetail as well as the other normal perennials (dock, dandelion, creeping buttercup) and the annuals.  My potato bed had a small amount of very leggy horsetail but I haven't seen any bindweed on my plot at all this year and I've kept on top of the annuals by just pulling them up as I've seen them.  I have had some doc come through on the beds but it pulls up really easily.  

The Beechgrove Garden on 17th August did a review of their dig/no-dig beds (page 7 of the factsheet - link below) and showed that not only is it much easier to garden without digging but the crop yield is significantly better.  

http://www.beechgrove.co.uk/module_uploads/2/Factsheet_2017_-_Prog_18.pdf

My final comment on no-dig is to put to bed (no pun intended) at least one of the myths that I often read.  People say that you need loads and loads of compost/manure and they can't make enough to cover their plot.  When I did used to dig my beds I put compost/manure on the beds and dug it in.  I don't use any more compost/manure than I did when I used to dig my beds the only difference is that I let the worms do all of the work instead of me!

I'm still busily harvesting although I have now lifted all of my potatoes; I cut off the tops after some blight warnings in my area and was planning to leave them in the ground but unfortunately my little bushy tailed friends were digging them up and so to try and preserve them I have lifted them all and they're currently residing at the back of my pantry!  I grew pink fir apples this year and they appear to have been resistant to slugs and wire worm (both of which I suffered with last year).  They're not big potatoes, much to Mr L's disgust, but I'm hoping they'll be very tasty.  Pink fir apples are distinctly knobbly with pink skin and yellow, waxy flesh which means they're good for chips and roasting.  

One of the things that I haven't done so well with this year is my brassicas.  Although my cabbages in the polytunnel has done marvellously the swede, cauliflower and sprouts have been ravaged by cabbage whites, despite being netted.  Luckily my swede had already grown a good crop before the caterpillars decimated the leaves so I am just going to cut the leaves off and leave the swede in the ground to use as I need them.  The cauliflower however have bolted and the sprouts look like they've all be eaten so I might give up on them and sow some carrots into the bed instead because this will be my roots bed for next year.  I have been very successful with my carrots this year (that I sowed directly) but not so successful with the parsnips because I transplanted them and they didn't like it.  I completely put my success with the carrots down to a micromesh barrier which meant that I could happily thin my carrots without worrying about the carrot fly.  These have been so successful that in addition to the 2 I already had (thanks to my lovely neighbour Sian, who gave them to me) I have ordered some more for next year because I'm going to be using a slightly bigger bed and I already had a tiny gap that I had stuffed with scaffolding netting folded about 4 times to keep the carrot fly out.  I shopped around for the best price and found that Keen Gardener Limited had a very good price and could deliver quickly.  Whilst I didn't actually need them quickly I liked that if I had I could have had them within a couple of days.


https://www.keengardener.co.uk/haxnicks-micromesh-pest-wind-barrier-x2.html

My main focus at the moment is preparation for the end of the season and for next season.  I use a five year plan which works for me.  I have taken this from a four year plan that I found but this had onions and legumes in the same bed; which I don't do and so I added an extra level to include the separation I have on those beds.  I refer to this plan over and over again as I plan next years beds.  

I have continued to harvest the sweetpeas from my flower bed but I've also now been able to add roses, dahlias, cosmos and cornflowers.  I am so pleased with the displays I've been able to have in the house and there have been occasions when I've given them to friends and family.  This week as I harvested the flowers I was putting them into a watering can that I'd filled with flower power and I just thought it looked really pretty so I took a picture!  These flowers are now in my living room and they smell amazing.  The roses are David Austin roses (Lady Emma Hamilton) and they smell amazing as well as providing me with a fabulous display throughout the summer.  

I can't remember if I have already told you this but I have put my name down for another plot.  I want another half plot and ideally one that is very close to mine.  If I do get another plot then I am considering doing something slightly different.  I would like to have fruit trees and something more fluid.  There will be some beds because I would like to have a bigger strawberry bed and an asparagus bed as well as being able to grow more of the crops that my family like.  I will keep you updated and, if I am lucky enough to get a second plot, you will of course see the development of it from an overgrown jungle to a fully productive and working plot.  

Until next time then - happy gardening!

6th August 2917 - Hedges & Harvest

This weekend I wanted to get my hedges trimmed; it's important to make sure that there are no birds nesting in the hedges before you trim them.  It is against the law to disturb nesting birds and so it is recommended not to cut hedges between March and August.  I was absolutely certain that I didn't have any birds nesting in my hedges and so it was safe for me to cut my hedges.  I also wanted to leave some of the flowers because the bees love them.

The hedge next to my shed has been left thicker because at the start of the season you might remember that I thought something was going to nest in there but the nest ended up being abandoned and I suspect it was because it was a bit too exposed.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for next year but if they still don't like it I'll probably move the teapot nest somewhere else and see if they like that better.  It was the first time I'd properly had a chance to use the hedge-trimmer that I got for mothers day.  I am very impressed with it; I even managed to cut through some quite thick branches and the power was consistent throughout the time I was using it.  

In the last couple of weeks I decided that I wanted to do something about the back fence.  You may not have noticed on the previous photographs but the back fence has always been messy and my neighbour lets the weeds grow through from his side.  I try to keep on top of them but it's very difficult and I also don't like to spray if he has crops because I can't be sure that the weedkiller won't drift.  I should, at this point make it clear that I use weedkiller very sparingly and I only use Richard Jackson's from QVC which doesn't contain any glyphosate.  It works much quicker than the traditional weedkillers and it is more friendly to wildlife once it's dry.  I used a reed screen that I got from Poundstretchers.  It is about 6 feet tall and completely covers the old fence behind it.  The screen is £13 each or 2 for £20 and I used 3 to cover the whole lot so it cost me £33; I really love how it looks and I'm hoping that it will be easier for me to keep the weeds at bay from next door.  You might also notice the pride gnome against the fence.  I saw him and couldn't resist; he makes me smile every time I see him!

Speaking of bees, my neighbour has been doing a bee course for the last year and this week she has brought 2 hives to her plot.  It's only a short way from mine and I'm already seeing more bees on my plot.  I have always tried to plant things that pollinators will like but it's particularly lovely to see bees around.  I'm paying extra attention to make sure that I'm deadheading my flowers with the intention of having more of them available for the bees.

In the coming weeks I'm going to start thinking about what I should be sowing to plant over winter.  I've not been particularly brave with sowing seeds before but I've been inspired by my friend Sian and I really want to try to be more self sufficient in the future.  It's also a cheaper option if you can raise your plants from seed.  I also want to make better use of the polytunnel over the winter months and hopefully continue growing and harvesting throughout the year.  



Speaking of harvest, I have been busy this weekend.  I harvested a cauliflower that was about to go over and had, unfortunately, started to go pink from being exposed to the sun.  For anyone who doesn't know you can stop this from happening by pulling the leaves of the plant up and over the cauliflower.  I tied mine together but unfortunately somehow they came undone and were exposed to the sun.  

I also pulled up one of the swede, some potatoes, parsnips and carrots.  The parsnips are still very small and funny shaped but the carrots are the best I've ever grow,  I'm so happy with them.  I have used a micromesh barrier around the outside of my bed, which appears to have worked and kept the carrot root fly away.  The potatoes are funny shapes and I don't know why that is so some research may be needed.  I had cut off the tops of all the plants because of blight threats in the area.  I will leave the potatoes themselves in the ground until they're needed, or until I want to plant the winter onions and garlic in there.  

I have been harvesting the cucumber all summer, Littlest L is the only person who likes them so I only grew mini munch and she was adding them to her packed lunch but she is just as happy to eat them on their own.  I've also spoken before about the sweetpeas.  I am now harvesting so many that I'm getting 2 vases each week.  I am following Monty Don's advice to just harvest them all in one go and only once a week (he suggests every 10 days but I can't do that because I can't always get to the plot every 10 days).

I hope you're all busy harvesting and getting good success, until next time then...

Happy Gardening!

23rd July - Sweetpeas and Bark

You might remember that the last time I blogged I mentioned my sweetpeas and that on gardeners world Monty Don had suggested cutting all of the blooms off of the plant every 10 days to get more and more flowers.  I don't cut them every 10 days but I do cut them as my last job every Sunday.  Last week I gave a good sized bunch to my mum and this week there were twice as many flowers again.  I have a lovely bunch of flowers on my windowsill every week and the scent is amazing every time you walk into the room.  I have never grown sweetpeas before so I'm really pleased with them.  The whole flower bed is actually really nice; the cosmos are flowering beautifully as well and I also make a point of dead heading them every week so they'll keep flowering.  I'm not so good at remembering to deadhead the cornflowers but they're still flowering really well too; I really must try and remember to deadhead them more often!

This week we had a load of bark chippings delivered to site.  One of the other allotment holders had found a company who said they would deliver for free; they don't have somewhere to store the chippings and therefore have to pay to have it removed.  Many people at the allotments use the chippings for paths or for mulch so it's a great relationship to foster.  The delivery included some logs that will be lovely for sitting on once they've dried out.  The chippings included quite a bit of leaves and some twigs and branches but it was easy to pull out the big twigs and the leaves and the resulting chippings were really good quality.  I got 4 barrow loads and put a thick mulch in front of the shed, where there is the most traffic and where the chippings that were there had mostly disappeared from being kicked about.  I've put as much as I can up to the step with the hope that a thick enough mulch will suppress the weeds that grow up between the weed membrane and the slab.  I also didn't manage to get a good thickness of chippings down the side of the shed last year when I first spread the chippings and so I made a point of ensuring that I got a good covering this time.  We are hoping to keep getting deliveries and so hopefully I will be able to do my whole plot again this year.  

I got one of the logs, it was from the base of a tree so it flares out at the bottom but it's still got a good thickness at the top for sitting on.  I might grab another couple to make a little seating area, although I'm not sure where I'd put it in my current plot.  If I get another I will make sure I have space for them and I think it will look lovely.  I think it is important to have different places around the plot to sit so that you get a view from different perspectives.  I have really enjoyed sitting on the bench at the bottom of the plot as much as I like sitting in front of the shed.  

Also this weekend I bought a new addition for the allotment.  I do have a few gnomes around the pond, they are very twee and I wouldn't have them anywhere else but they make me laugh.  This week I was in Asda and I found a pride gnome and I just couldn't resist him!  He is one of the big gnomes that they do, I wouldn't normally spend that amount of money on something like this but I just fell in love with him.  I have put him next to the bench so he can't be seen from the gate.  I really hope that he'll be safe there.

I don't think I have anything else to share this week, I have done a video but it's a bit long so I might re-do it but otherwise I'll post it and hope you don't get bored before the end lol.

So, until next time, happy gardening :-)

16th July 2017 - Cabbage and Leeches

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't blogged for a while - there is no particular reason other than life getting in the way!  In the last couple of weeks I haven't actually had that much to do on the plot, I have been keeping on top of the little bit of weeding I have to do and I've been deadheading the flowers but it's that time of year when everything is growing happily and other than harvesting a few things I don't really need to get too involved! 

Having said that I did want to do a summer prune on my cherry tree to help shape it into the fan on the fence and I wanted to re-pot my peach tree so I have done both of those jobs this weekend.  I also had a few bits still in the polytunnel that needed sorting out so I planted out the gypsophila.  Gypsophila is one of my favourite flowers, I know it's often used as a filler in flower arrangements but when you let the flowers bloom they are really delicate and pretty so I'm really pleased to have some growing (and I grew them from seed so I'm even happier with that!)  I also had some very sad looking lettuce in a tub that I planted into the bed in the polytunnel.  I don't know how they'll do but the won't be any less happy than they were in their tub.

I was delighted to find the lily flowering in the pond, it's a bright white flower with a really yellow centre.  As you can see from the picture the duck weed had gone wild and I also noticed that one of the oxygenators had gone mad as well so I decided to pull it all out.  In doing so I also pulled out the water forget-me-not and split it into 3 plants because it had got really unruly.  I've given one plant to my neighbour, put one back in the pond and I'll take the 3rd to school for their new pond.  I had to get right down to the bottom of the pond, and into the silt to pull some of the plants up.  When I'd done I noticed that I had some small leech like creatures attached to my hand!  I pulled the first one off and it bunched itself up; as I pulled it off it pinched.  The second one had obviously been on for a bit longer and when I pulled it off there was a small cut (like a paper cut) on my finger.  The weird thing is that it didn't bleed when I pulled them off but they were definitely biting me.  I am doing a bit of research because I really don't want to have them attaching themselves to me again :-(

I had to create a squirrel proof cage over my strawberries after they chewed through the normal netting.  I worked really hard to get the cage over the strawberries, I snipped the chicken wire to fasten the pieces together and then I used my pegs to fasten it to the ground.  Once I'd done I realised that I can't get in to the flipping thing myself now lol.  I'm going to use the wood from my old fruit cage to create a frame and then I'll be able to lift it off easily.  Until then the slugs are having a field day with the few strawberries that the squirrels have left!

I harvested one of the savoy cabbage from the polytunnel.  It was my intention to use it tomorrow to make the bombay veg that I have with my beef keema and it wasn't until I was halfway home that I remembered I'm away all week.  I brought it home and Mr L said he probably wouldn't use it so I took it to my friend who will use it.  She has 2 kids who I'm certain will love me forever for bringing them a HUGE cabbage to eat every day this week!!! hahahahaha

The cabbages have done really well and I'm really happy with them.  The outside leaves have had a tiny bit of snail damage but despite not netting the polytunnel against cabbage whites at all I have had no caterpillar damage on them at all (unlike my cauliflower, which are netted against the butterflies) - how does that work?!

Finally for today, I have been busy harvesting my sweetpeas for a few weeks now, each week I get more and more.  I watched Gardeners World this week and Monty said you should remove all of the flowers once every 10 days or so to increase your yield.  I've been doing it every 7 days and get a good bunch.  This week I took them to my mum because I didn't see the point in bringing them home when nobody in the house would appreciate them if I wasn't here.  They smelt amazing and I really hope she enjoys them.

I will try to get back into the habit of writing every week so until next time...

Happy Gardening!