2007
I reckon you should have the gist of how I do things by now so I'll try not to repeat myself too much. I'll do an update every couple of weeks or so to let you know how things are going.
March 27th - I've made a bit of a late start this year on account of being away for much of the winter in Australia. I've not been able to get any manure from Terry either because of his wife having a bone in her leg or something so I've had to source it from elsewhere. Our site shop does mushroom compost but at a pound a bag it's too pricey for my liking. Luckily I've found a horsy lady who has plenty of good stuff for sale at 50p a bag (and she doesn't mind how big the bags are). So today I've been out there filling up bags and hauling them back to the plot, spreading it over the area where the peas and beans and potatoes will be going and making a start on the digging. (It's out at Kirk Langley if you're local and interested, Derby 824453 is her number). Even so it's going to work out quite expensive and time consuming so I might end up leaving some of the plot fallow this year. I'll just have to skip some of the flowers and concentrate on the veg.
Out on the plot I've finished the sprouts but there are plenty of leeks to eat up and the purple-sprouting broccoli should soon be ready; it's a bit behind this year because of the recent cold snap. Most of the broad beans I sowed in the autumn are coming along nicely; I've helped them by putting up some material to protect from cold winds. I've sown a few seeds indoors and am looking forward to another productive season.
April 29th - It's official: we've just had the hottest April since records began, the last 12 months have been the hottest ever and this summer is also forecast to be the hottest ever. The BBC announces this "may" be due to global warming. You don't say. This month I've managed to plant out the onions and sweet peas and get the potatoes in but direct sowing was impossible until after six weeks without a drop of rain we finally had enough on the night of the 23rd for me to get out the next morning with fork and rake and knock down some clods into a decent enough tilth to sow the early peas, a few spring onions and a row of carrots. On the plus side I've had plenty of broccoli, the broad beans have been flowering and are starting to set pods, the strawberries have also been in flower and are starting to set fruit and the apple blossom looks lovely!
May 12th - Two weeks on and what a change. We've had plenty of rain the last few days which has softened the soil up a treat so I've been able to get the cabbages planted out. The early peas are up as are all the potatoes.
If you've been paying attention you'll remember that my manure man let me down this year so on the hungriest part of the plot at the top of the right hand bed (about 20 square metres) I've sown red clover as a green manure crop which I'll dig in in the autumn.
A couple of years ago someone gave me a cutting from a grapevine. I planted it outside a corner of the greenhouse and trained it inside through a hole I made in the skirting. It promptly died but last year I noticed new growth from the plant which I again trained inside and this time it survived and I trained it across the roof. This year I'm pleased to report I've got little bunches of grapes developing nicely.
June 6th - Into June and most of the plot is planted up. The sweet peas and early peas are growing away nicely and the maincrop peas have germinated. I had a bit of a disaster with the cabbages, I've had to buy in some new young plants because the first lot were devastated by pigeons. Maybe they didn't like my selection of CDs so I've hung a few more up. I've earthed up the potatoes and planted out the courgettes, putting a couple of spadefulls of compost under each one. The broad beans are cropping now as are the strawberries.
June 23rd - A couple of weeks on and we certainly can't complain about not having had enough rain. More a case of now it's started it doesn't know when to stop. The pests have also been enjoying the hot muggy weather: the young cabbage plants I bought in turned out to be infected with flea beetle. I kept them well watered (the only recommended treatment) and most of them seem to be pulling away now. The rest of the brassicas are doing fine but the onions have been affected by white rot and have been keeling over one after another. Another disappointment has been the Canadian clover I sowed as a green manure. It germinated fine but then just faded away - I'll stick to indigenous varieties in future.
The early potatoes are cropping now as are the courgettes; the first row of peas are nearly ready and I've also been pulling the first baby carrots. In the fruit department the strawberries are still going and I've now got plenty of jam - thanks Pauline! Right on cue the first raspberries and gooseberries are ready for picking too. In the greenhouse the tomato plants are looking healthy and the bunches of grapes continue to form nicely - I'm really looking forward to them.
The carnations and snapdragons are planted out now so there's some colour to look forward to. I'd hoped the dahlias I grew last year would have come through the mild winter but it wasn't to be with only a couple of plants surviving. I've planted some gladioli bulbs instead and left a few opium poppies where they've seeded themselves to fill the gaps.
It's satisfying to see all the work done in Spring paying off. The icing on the cake has been picking the first bunch of sweet peas.
July 14th - Finally a bit of sunshine this last week after the weeks of rain. You probably don't need reminding we had the wettest June on record. Growth had really slowed down on many crops because of the low temperatures and lack of sun but this last week they've put on a spurt. In fact some crops did well in the wet weather - the sweet peas and courgettes thrived in it. Not so the cabbages although they seem to be holding their own against the slugs and are starting to fill out.
I'm picking peas at last and look like being in for a bumper crop, the first tomatoes too. The early potatoes are still yielding in record quantities with no sign of wireworm and the carrots are also coming out clean.
The raspberries are about over, they didn't mind the wet either and produced the biggest fruit I've ever had; the gooseberries are in full flow now, so all in all I've got no excuse for not getting my five a day!
I've been picking armfuls of sweet peas and the cosmos plants are bushing out nicely. The carnations are coming along well and the snapdragons are blooming now, although the plants are a bit on the small side after their slow start it's nice to see a bit of colour on the plot.
July 28th - After another two weeks of rain finally a dry and sunny day so I've been able to dig up the remainder of the early potatoes and get them dry enough to bag up and bring inside. The wind and torrential rain of July 20th brought down the sweet peas but at least we're not under three feet of water like most of Gloucestershire. The carnations are struggling to bud up in this weather but the snapdragons and cosmos are flowering well and my few surviving dahlias have had their first blooms. Plenty to eat too: courgettes, peas, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, spring onions and the first cabbages, cauliflowers, runner beans and "autumn" raspberries. What I really fancy is some cake but I guess I'll have to go buy that.
August 11th - The past week's been pretty dull weatherwise but at least we had a couple of weeks of sun previous to that, maybe that was summer?! The plot continues to crop nicely so I'm not complaining. The Early Onward peas are over so now I'm onto the Onwards; the cabbages are a good size, likewise the carrots; I've dug up and bagged the maincrop potatoes; there's spring onions, runner beans and tomatoes and I've got courgettes coming out of my ears. I've transplanted the last of this year's cabbages and sown a row for next spring.
The wild blackberries around the edge of the plot are cropping now, the autumn (should be called late summer) raspberries are in full flow, the first plums are ready and, from the greenhouse, the first grapes.
The sweet peas have rallied and sent out new flowers from their side shoots, the cosmos are going mad, the snapdragons are still doing nicely and I've had the first carnations.
As August is probably the most abundant month I thought I'd throw in lots of pics:
One of our local pubs (The Flower Pot, as it happens) has started to brew their own beer and I was well pleased to receive their first lot of spent hops for composting. So here's a picture of them and my other bins, just for all you compost nuts out there:
September 8th - A couple of weeks of late summer sunshine have brought the carnations out a treat. I've been frantically removing the excess buds and side shoots and now have a pretty good result - plenty of blooms for cutting:
The snapdragons are about over now but the cosmos and dahlias are still going strong. In the veggie department the runner beans are still cropping well and there's still plenty of spring onions, carrots, courgettes and cabbages; and tomatoes from the greenhouse. For fruit I've got my grapes, autumn raspberries, plums, blackberries galore and the apples are almost ready.
November 11th - We've had a mild autumn until this week, there's even a few dahlias still in flower but the cold has really arrived these last few days. The summer veg are all over now with the exception of a few hispi cabbages which will need eating up before the slugs have them. Brenda has had a bumper crop of apples again which she's been good enough to share with me. The carnations are still going strong, I picked another big bunch today but this cold weather will probably see them off. The clover I sowed for green manure earlier in the year managed to show itself, I even took a mowing off it. I might dig it in or I might leave it in for another year to bulk up.
So now there's the winter crops to look forward to: sprouts, winter cabbages, leeks and lots of carrots for winter stews. The broccoli has put on plenty of growth so I'm expecting a good crop in the spring and the spring cabbages are looking good too. Soon I'll be starting the winter digging and the cycle will start all over again.
RECORDS BY PLANT NAME 2007
Acidanthera - Planted out 10.6.
Antirrhinum "Freesong F1" - Sown in greenhouse 6.4, 1/2 seed tray. Pricked out 28.4 to medium modules x24. Potted on to 9cm pots 27.5. Moved to coldframe 2.6. Planted out 25cm apart16.6.
Broccoli "Sprouting Early Purple Red Arrow" - Sown in greenhouse 15.5, small modules x10. Moved to coldframe 2.6. Best 3 potted up to 9cm pots 9.6. Planted out 75cm apart 23.6.
Broccoli "Romanesco" - Sown in greenhouse 15.5, small modules x10. Moved to coldframe 2.6. Best 3 potted up to 9cm pots 9.6. Planted out 45cm apart 23.6.
Broccoli "White Sprouting" - Sown in greenhouse 15.5, small modules x10. Moved to coldframe 2.6. Best 3 potted up to 9cm pots 9.6. Planted out 60cm apart 23.6.
Brussels Sprouts "F1 Cascade" - Sown 22.4 in small modules x10 in greenhouse. Potted on to 9cm pots 12.5. Moved to coldframe 27.5. Planted out 60cm apart 1.6.
Cabbage "January King" - Sown 22.4 in small modules x10 in greenhouse. Potted on to 9cm pots 19.5. Moved to coldframe 2.6. Planted out 9.6 40cm apart.
Cabbage "Greyhound" - Sown 31.3, 1 deep seed tray in greenhouse. Moved to coldframe 14.4. Planted out 30cm apart 10.5. Destroyed by pigeons. 20 more bought in and planted out 1.6. Harvesting from 29.7.
Cabbage "Derby Day" - 20 bought in and planted out 30cm apart 1.6. Harvesting from 20.8.
Cabbage "Hispi" - Sown 10.6 in seedtray outside. Poor growth due to excess rain, more sown in short seed row 7.7. Transplanted 30cm apart 18.8.
Cabbage "Durham Early" - Sown outside 19.8.
Carnation "Giant Chabaud Mixed" - Sown 25.3 in small modules x30 in heated propagator. Leggy seedlings discarded, more sown, as before x50 but in greenhouse 14.4. Potted on to 9cm pots 19.5. Moved to coldframe 2.6. Planted out 9.6 40cm apart.
Carrot "Amsterdam Forcing" - Sown 21.4 in trough outside. Harvesting from 20.6.
Carrot "Autumn King Improved" - Sown direct 19.6, 1 row.
Carrot "James Scarlet Intermediate" - Sown direct 19.5, 1 row.
Carrot "F1 Flyaway" - Sown direct 24.4, 1 row. Harvesting from 20.7.
Cauliflower "All Year Round" - Sown 22.4 in small modules x10 in greenhouse. Potted on to 9cm pots 12.5. Moved to coldframe 27.5. Planted out 45cm apart 1.6. Harvesting from 1.8.
Chives - Sown 6.4 in greenhouse, x20 small modules, pinch of seed in each. Potted on to 9cm pots 15.5, 3 modules in each pot. Moved to coldframe 19.5. Sold at open day 10.6.
Courgette "F1 Defender" - Sown 28.4 in 9cm pots x20 in greenhouse. Moved to coldframe 19.5. Planted out 2.6. Harvesting from 23.6.
Cosmos "Sensation Mixed" - Sown 6.4 in greenhouse, in small modules x20. Potted on 28.4 to 9cm pots x10 (only 50% germination). Moved to coldframe 12.5. Planted out 26.5.
Gladioli - Planted out 10.6.
Green Manure - Alsike Clover (Trilfolium Hybridum) - Sown 13.5.
Impatiens (Busy Lizzies) "F1 Apricot" and "F1 Pink Blush" - 24 plugs of each (bought in from Wilkos) pinched out and potted on 21.4 to 9cm pots in greenhouse. Moved to coldframe 2.6. Sold at open day 10.6.
Leek "Musselburgh Improved" - Sown 12.5 in greenhouse, 1/2 seed tray. Moved to coldframe 2.6. Planted out 7.7.
Lettuce "Lollo Roossa" - Sown 22.4 in small modules x10 in greenhouse. Potted on to 9cm pots 14.5. Moved to coldframe 27.5. Sold at open day 10.6.
Lettuce "Red Salad Bowl" - Sown 22.4 in small modules x20 in greenhouse. Potted on to 9cm pots 12.5. Moved to coldframe 27.5. Sold at open day 10.6.
Onion "Stuttgarter" - Sets planted 17.3 in small modules x50 in coldframe. Planted out 6.4, 25cm apart in 4x 1/2 rows 25cm apart. Most lost to white rot.
Pea "Early Onward" - Sown direct 24.4, 1 row. Harvesting from 14.7.
Pea "Onward" - Sown direct 19.5, 1 row. Harvesting from 1.8.
Potato "Pentland Javelin" - Bought in for chitting 16.3. Planted out 6.4 (Good Friday), 15cm deep, 30cm apart in 2 rows 60cm apart. Harvesting from 23.6.
Potato "Desiree" - Bought in for chitting 16.3. Planted out 21.4, 15cm deep, 40cm apart in 2 rows 75 cm apart. Bagged up for storing 1.8.
Pumpkin (from Arthur) x2 - planted out 16.6.
Runner Beans "Enorma" - Sown in coldframe 6.5 in large modules x78. Planted out 2.6. Harvesting from 27.7.
Spring Onion "White Lisbon" - Sown direct 24.4, 1/4 row. No germination, more sown as before 12.5. Another 1/4 row sown 2.6. And another 16.6. Harvesting from 7.7.
Sunflower "Italian White" - Sown 14.4 in 9cm pots x12 in coldframe. Most eaten by slugs, 3 survivors planted out 9.6 40cm apart.
Sweet pea "Galaxy Mixed" (saved seed) - Sown 17.3 in 17 pots, 3 to a 9cm pot in coldframe. Planted out 13.4 20cm apart. Pinched out 6.5.
Thyme "Old English" - Sown 6.4 in greenhouse, x20 small modules, pinch of seed in each. Potted on to 9cm pots 14.5, 3 modules in each pot. Moved to coldframe 19.5. Sold at open day 10.6.
Tomato "Gardeners Delight" - Sown 25.3 in small modules x10 in heated propagator. Moved to greenhouse 6.4. Potted on to 9cm pots 14.4. Potted on to bottomless 15cm pots 6.5. Planted in growbags 2.6.
Verbascum "Phoeniceum Mixed" - Sown 31.3 in half seed tray on windowsill. Moved to greenhouse 7.4. Pricked out 21.4 to medium modules x30. Potted on to 9cm pots and moved to coldframe 12.5. Sold at open day 10.6.
