Rooko's May Top 10 Tryouts & Tips

1. Now that plants are starting to grow due to warmer soil conditions try adding some general purpose fertilizer to flower borders and around other established plants.

2. If you are intending to sow a new lawn this year, May is probably the last month to do it in most parts of U.K.

3. If you grow fruit trees, remove any suckers as soon as they appear.

4. Light & sunlight are very important factors when growing vegetables, most need about 6 hours per day for healthy growth. Lettuce, Peas, Carrots, Kale & Chard will tolerate shady conditions. Fruit bearing vegetables such as Tomatoes, Squashes and Peppers need full sun.

5. If you are growing Carrots this season do not sow them near to Strawberries, Tomatoes or Grapes which can have a negative effect on the Carrots growth.

6. If your garden or allotment soil is still cold and wet do not add any mulch to it, as this will only cause mould and disease to start.

7. Onion tip. When you are preparing Spring onions for a meal, normally the base of the Onion along with the roots is cut away and disposed of. Try keeping part of the base with the roots intact and replant for more Onions. Water well after replanting the base and roots. This should work both with home grown Onions as well as shop bought ones.

8. If your Cabbages are affected by Cabbage worm make a 50/50 mix of Bicarbinate of Soda and White flour. Dust the mixture over the affected plants.

9. Okra is native to Africa & grows best in warmer climates than in UK, it can be grown undercover though, use well composted soil. Sow seeds 1/2 inch (1cm) deep & 3 inches (7cm) apart in rows, soak seeds before sowing and thin to about 2 feet (60cm). Water but do not soak Okra. Harvest while young and tender on completion of flowering.

10. 

SOWING/PLANTING IN MAY

1. Sow the following this month: Runner Beans, French Beans, Beetroot, Broccoli, Calabrese, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chicory, Kale, Kohl-rabi, Lettuce, Peas, Radish, Spring Onions, Swedes, Turnips.
2. Sow Sweetcorn, Marrows, Pumpkins (under cover).
3. Plant out seedlings such as, Brussel Sprouts, Summer Cabbage, Celery, Leeks. Winter Cauliflower, Spring Cabbage, Sprouting Broccoli & Kale should be ready for harvesting now.

OTHER JOBS IN MAY

1. Keep weeds down by hoeing.
2. If late frosts are likely keep fleece handy to cover plants with.
3. Thin out plants as required.

Growing, Sowing, Lifting and Shifting

Some time ago I decided that my tired old front lawn and driveway needed renewing, so what better time to start than in the middle of the busy sowing and planting season on the allotments. A week ago yesterday I lifted the first of the concrete paving slabs which formed a footpath, alongside the tarmac driveway, stacking it and the remainder of the slabs on the tarmac just clear of the garage door. Then it was time to remove the lawn, which was chopped into easy to lift pieces of turf. (funny that transition). The turf was then loaded (sometimes overloaded) into the back of my car and transported to my allotment where it is now stacked on one of my compost heaps, until it has broken down sufficiently to be added to my plots. Two and a half days later the lawn and most of the topsoil had been transported to my plots. By Wednesday of last week the remaining topsoil and subsoil was being barrowed to my back garden and deposited around the flower beds, with the better quality topsoil being spread on the back lawn to level out a few dips in it. A couple of areas to the front of the house were marked out for new flower beds and the work of removing subsoil and mountains of old builders rubble, sand and other debris, from underneath the lawn and paved areas continued until Friday.

A change is as good as a rest, usually, so on Saturday I visited my plots and spent a fine sunny day sowing various seeds into pots which are currently awaiting germination in my poly tunnel. Although the daytime temperatures have been around 13 or 14 degrees C, the evening and night time temperatures have been much lower, only a few degrees above freezing. Most of the seeds I sowed previously into my roots bed on N1 Plot have germinated. Six rows of Peas are now growing well and even the Potatoes are showing through on N2 Plot. With numerous plants growing well in my poly tunnel in pots and trays and even the Carrots in my barrels germinating things are looking good at the moment. Yesterday was again spent working on my front garden removing more subsoil, rubble and debris.
 

Lawn Being Turfed Out

Tea Break

Lawn Gone

Clear skies and sunshine was the order of the day again today although the annoying cool westerly breeze was back. I arrived at my plots by 9-30 a.m. and began preparing my Brassica bed on N1 Plot. The well composted (last Autumn) bed, only needed lightly forking over with the removal of a few weeds. By the time I had completed half of the bed I decided that some more seed sowing, into pots was called for. I potted up the remainder of my Sweetcorn seeds, using a mixture of sieved soil from my front garden and potting compost. Using the sieved soil to part fill the pots, then topping them up with seed sowing compost saved on over using pricey general purpose/seed sowing compost. I potted up more Alpine Strawberries, Gooseberries that had self seeded on the allotment, along with more Runner beans and a couple of Lemon balm were split and re-potted. By the time I had placed the pots into trays and deposited them into the Poly tunnel and chopped the heads off the Dandelions in my grass paths it was time to toddle off home.

Busy (Not The Honey Bees Though)

My last post was 9 days ago and things have been very busy for me since then. The weather has been perfect for seed sowing many vegetable seeds, outside, during the past week or so, here in Taunton. Last Tuesday and today were exceptionally sunny and warm, although the persistent westerly wind is keeping temperatures lower than they would be, without it. Having visited my plots for many hours during the past week or so, with several evenings taken up checking out germinating seeds in my new poly tunnel, my blogging time has been severely curtailed. Having just read through most of the latest blog posts on my blog and following lists, (hopefully I will get chance to comment on them this weekend), one or two topics are well mentioned recently. The weather of course, mainly referring to the effects of the persistent wind seems to be one main topic. Everyone seems to be taking advantage of the warmer weather, enjoying sowing and planting a varied collection of seeds and plants, all of which are in a different stage of development, depending on which area of the planet the author is working. With the onset of the warmer weather bringing out a vast array of wildlife (including the Summer gardeners), I have only come across one post mentioning the sighting of the Honey bee. I myself have seen plenty of Bumble bees (approximately 6 different species) over the past few days, but as yet no Honey bees, to be seen yet.

Gooseberries Greening Up 19/4/2013

I completed seed sowing on this years "roots bed" on N1 Plot this afternoon having sown, (in 15 feet rows), 2 of Beetroot (Boltardy), 2 of Swede (Marion & Invitation), 2 of Radish (next to the Swedes to repel Flea beetle, hopefully) (Scarlet Globe), 2 of Parsnip (Gladiator & Tender and True), 2 of Carrots (Early Nantes), 1 of Chard (Rainbow), 2 of Turnips (Purple Top Milan) and 3 of Lettuce in between rows (B & Q Mixed and Webs Wonderful).

Peas Doing Well Under Cloches 19/4/2013

Six 15 feet rows of Peas have been sown into the Legumes bed of N1 Plot (Hurst Greenshaft). 2 of the rows (under cloches) are currently well established, with the other 4 rows (not covered) still to germinate. The 5 large blue plastic barrels, situated at the lower end of N1 Plot have now been sown with Carrot seeds and covered with polythene sheeting to aid germination of the seeds. Hopefully this method will again deter any Carrot flies. General talk around the allotments recently, is that there will be a large rise in the slug population this year. That maybe true, after the wet weather we have had, BUT BE WARNED, take precautions against the Cut-worm this year, (i.e. plant collars around Brassicas).

Out of Date Alcohol for the Compost Heap (Not the Tins) 19/4/2013

 Most of yesterday was spent giving my plots a haircut. The grass verges and paths were strimmed and mowed all around, funny how grass seems to keep growing despite adverse weather conditions, although much of it around our allotments is yellowish in colour rather than green. There are several causes for grass yellowing, but on this occasion it is probably due to earlier water logging, over the Winter and earlier Spring. Nonetheless the cuttings will come in handy on the compost heap. Speaking of composting I decided to dispose of the contents of several old lager and beer cans onto my compost heap to help break down the compost. Good idea? Maybe, maybe not, but it can't be any worse than composting Walnut shells which can be toxic to some plants.

Plum Tree Blossoming 19/4/2013

 Many gardeners in U.K. will know that this years growing season is later than normal due to the protracted Winter weather. I was glad to have erected a Poly tunnel recently, on N2 Plot. Although the ground inside the tunnel is only partially prepared for direct sowing/planting, (next weeks project), the tunnel has already been worth it's weight in gold. I've spent much time since last week sowing various seeds into pots, which were promptly placed inside the tunnel. This has allowed me to catch up with the germination of Runner beans and Sweetcorn already. I had originally planned to sow these 2 crops directly outside. The Onion sets, planted on N2 Plot have finally started to show good signs of growth, due to this weeks warmer weather.

Cowslip 19/4/2013

Onions Growing At Last 19/4/2013

                                                                                                                                                                                    

Carrots Sown into Barrels 17/4/2013

Still Digging (Part 11)!!Fait Accompli

A Murmuring of Starlings

 I'm sure I heard a distinct sigh of relief from my garden fork at 2-30 p.m. last Friday, as I turned the last fork full of soil on the central bed of N2 Plot, thus completing the Dandelion clearing, hopefully for the foreseeable future. I first started clearing this bed last October and I can honestly say it will be the last time I attempt to clear such a badly weed infested allotment area by digging it over. Some unforeseen delays and of course delays caused by our Winter weather didn't help the cause but now I have a full bed of main crop Potatoes planted where there was once only Dandelions and a few other perennial weeds. One advantage of the cold Winter and so far Spring, has been the lack of germination of weeds on the rest of my plots, whilst I have been working on N2 Plot. Although it looks as though Spring has finally arrived here in Somerset I decided to erect a poly tunnel at the weekend. If future Winters and Springs are to be as cold as this years, then a poly tunnel seems to be an essential piece of kit to have. I erected the tunnel at the top end of the last bed on N2 Plot to be cleared of weeds, so I can clear some of the ground under cover, if the weather is wet or cold. My earlier published allotment growing plans have now gone out of the window for N2 Plot.

"You fight dandelions all weekend, and late Monday afternoon there they are, pert as all get out, in full and gorgeous bloom, pretty as can be, thriving as only dandelions can in the face of adversity."
 ( Hal Borland )

Central Bed N2 Plot Finally Cleared and Spuds Planted

 The only outside sowing that has been done so far, due to the cold weather, is Peas, a month ago, which after being kept under cloches, finally germinated this week. I planted about 100 Onion sets last month, which were a mix of Snowball and Sturion. They are currently showing slight signs of development. Parsnips seeds were sown on Plot N1 yesterday and today I added some Iris's and Gladioli to the L-shaped bed on N1 Plot.

Erecting the Poly Tunnel

Poly Tunnel Seen from Allotment Road

 In the past week it has been nice to see more wild birds in attendance rather than the usual Wood Pigeons. Robins, Blackbirds, Goldfinches, Sparrows and Magpies have all been out in force. 2 Blackbirds in particular have been following me around the areas being dug, foraging for food. One of the Blackbirds even followed me inside the poly tunnel and inspected the soil which had been disturbed in there.

Blackbird Inspecting the Poly Tunnel

 With no rain for the past few weeks the soil has dried out well and with heavy overnight frosts, almost every night up until last weekend, it is in good condition ready for sowing and planting now. Dare I say it, just a little rain is needed to make it perfect.


There's Always Tomorrow??

Rooko's April Top 10 Tryouts & Tips

Sorry for the later than normal posting of this months tips but due to the continuing wintery U.K. weather conditions many gardeners are being delayed with their monthly to do lists so far this month.

1. Although weather conditions for the U.K. are supposed to improve next week, if you have access to snow free planting areas it is still a good idea to cover them with plastic sheeting, cardboard, cloches or other materials to help the soil warm more quickly, if we get some sun that is. (Lidl are currently selling cheaply priced cloches).

2. We are still experiencing heavy overnight frosts here in Somerset, so any planting areas that require digging or rotavating will benefit from the frosts action, helping to kill bugs and break down the soils surface.

3. Easter weekend was the traditional time to start planting Potatoes in U.K. If you are planting them in cold soil conditions they will stay dormant under approximately (40 F) (4.4C).

4. If you are growing plants from seed indoors, check the moisture of the soil/compost regularly, especially if your central heating is still running??

5. Keep feeding the garden birds.

6. Cinnamon can be used as a fungicide, it can be mixed into your potting compost to help prevent damping off of seedlings.

7. Black bin liners filled with paper or cardboard make good insulators either on the ground or around plants.

8. If you have Broad-leafed docks growing in your allotment/garden, be aware that they are a host for Potato eelworm and several none-beneficial insects.

9. Some plants to prune in Springtime: Asters, Astilbe, Butterfly bush, Campanula, Chrysanthemum, Delphinium, Dianthus, Hosta, Lavender. 

10. Some more tips for April (that is if the U.K. weather is "average").

SOWING/PLANTING IN APRIL

1. Sow the following: Beetroot, Broad Beans, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chard, Kale, Kohl-Rabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Peas, Radish, Rocket, Spinach. Potatoes, Onion and shallot sets.
2.  Artichokes and Asparagus can be planted.
3. Outdoor cucumbers & tomatoes can be sown & kept in the warm.
4. Plant French Beans, Lettuce & Sweetcorn under cloches.
5.  This is a good time to plant Strawberries.

OTHER JOBS IN APRIL

1. Keep an eye on the weather as ground frost is still likely this month.
2. Keep areas of ground warmer with fleece/polythene to aid later planting.
3. Weeds are starting to appear, so hoe them off before they set seed.
4. Now is the time to erect barriers around your carrots 2 to 3ft high to combat the dreaded Carrot fly. Alternatively cover your Carrots with fleece but ensure all edges are well covered with soil. Keep Carrots earthed up.
5. Plant Onions between rows of Carrots or other plants that might repel the Carrot fly.
6. Slugs & snails will be coming out now. Combat them by: Keep the soil hoed and loose, use beer traps, spread coarse grit, pine needles, straw, sawdust around your plants.