Having already planted a wide variety of hardy vegetables, such as early peas and broad beans, which are now just about sprouting in my cold frame, today it was the turn of some of the more tender summer crops. Many people start their tomatoes and chillis far earlier than late March, but the truth is that I haven't the space to keep them going once they've germinated. Try as I might, I cannot find enough places with enough daylight to prevent early sowings from going long and leggy well before they can be safely relocated to the cold frame or plastic greenhouse.
This time of year is early enough so that the plants do not fruit too late in the season, but late enough to allow me to take advantage of the increasing daylight and (allegedly) improving weather. Things like courgettes, pumpkins and squashes, and my French and runner beans, will wait another month yet. I find no benefit in starting them this early and late April/ early May is ample time to get them growing strongly in the cold frame for planting out after the last frosts (after being caught out a year or so back, this is now the first week in June for me).
Today I sowed Gardener's Delight, Sungold, Alicante and Golden Sunrise tomatoes, Cayenne Pepper chillis, sweet peppers, and the Cape Gooseberries (Physalis edulus). I expect the first to germinate within about 7-10 days, so by my next post I should have something to report...I'm already getting impatient!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Sap is Rising...
It's been a long time since my one and only post last year, but that's not to say that the allotment has received no attention at all over the winter period. This is intended as a brief update, but hopefully there will be more regular contributions to follow, including some pictures of my handywork over the past few months. The days are getting longer, the buds are fattening, and after sowing a whole host of seeds this past weekend, I'm full of optimism for a good growing season ahead. The sap is rising...now roll on summer!!!
Produce:
We're still harvesting leeks (Musselburgh) and parsnips, but it's fair to say there will be a 'hungry gap' this year between the last of the winter veg and the first of the new season's produce. That's mainly because all the brassicas were nibbled to oblivion by a plague of woodpigeons, after the foxes managed to destroy the protective netting!
The Plot:
The main work on the plot has involved creating more permanent raised beds from leftover deck boards, creating a new path using recycled paving slabs, and building a permanent asparagus bed with some ropetop edging salavaged from a landscaping job. I also built a new compost bin from some old pallets and deck boards.
New Arrivals:
I have now added a further gooseberry bush (Invicta), a blackcurrant (Ben Lomond), and two new fruit trees that I bought recently from Aldi for £3.99 each - a peach and an apricot. They currently reside in 70 litre planting bags I recycled from a tree planting job over the winter, with a view to getting a good root system developed before they either a) go in the ground, or b) become permanent container specimens.
New for this year:
I bought my seed potatoes from the Nottingham Organic Society Potato Day and they are chitting nicely in the attic. Varieties include Lady Christl, Charlotte, King Edward and Cara. The seeds arrived from Dobies just before Christmas, and new varieties to try this year include Physalis edulus (Cape Gooseberries), Kohl Rabi and Pak Choi. I have seeds growing on window sills everywhere and the plastic greenhouse out back is full to bursting with small pots of compost. I'll give more details on this year's crops in a future post.
Produce:
We're still harvesting leeks (Musselburgh) and parsnips, but it's fair to say there will be a 'hungry gap' this year between the last of the winter veg and the first of the new season's produce. That's mainly because all the brassicas were nibbled to oblivion by a plague of woodpigeons, after the foxes managed to destroy the protective netting!
The Plot:
The main work on the plot has involved creating more permanent raised beds from leftover deck boards, creating a new path using recycled paving slabs, and building a permanent asparagus bed with some ropetop edging salavaged from a landscaping job. I also built a new compost bin from some old pallets and deck boards.
New Arrivals:
I have now added a further gooseberry bush (Invicta), a blackcurrant (Ben Lomond), and two new fruit trees that I bought recently from Aldi for £3.99 each - a peach and an apricot. They currently reside in 70 litre planting bags I recycled from a tree planting job over the winter, with a view to getting a good root system developed before they either a) go in the ground, or b) become permanent container specimens.
New for this year:
I bought my seed potatoes from the Nottingham Organic Society Potato Day and they are chitting nicely in the attic. Varieties include Lady Christl, Charlotte, King Edward and Cara. The seeds arrived from Dobies just before Christmas, and new varieties to try this year include Physalis edulus (Cape Gooseberries), Kohl Rabi and Pak Choi. I have seeds growing on window sills everywhere and the plastic greenhouse out back is full to bursting with small pots of compost. I'll give more details on this year's crops in a future post.
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