Never Again

Whats been happening down my plots since my long lost last blog post (on Sunday 8th September)?? Quite a lot really, but double digging over most of Plot N2, I thought was too boring to create a post about. Most other things down the plots recently, apart from harvesting, have been neglected in favour of the digging, so I have some catching up to do before the onset of Winter. The compacted and parched soil where my main crop Potatoes were growing was re-dug down to the grey clay and broken down by spade which took me approximately 5 weeks to complete. (Better than the 5 months it took over last Winter). Then I returned to the task of clearing bed number 2 which was infested with mainly Dandelions, Docks, Clover and Creeping Buttercups along with many annual weeds. N2 Plot was the penultimate plot to be created in 2009 from old meadow/farm land which had been untended for 30 or so years before then. Needless to say double digging would have been easier to do, using a J.C.B. rather than a garden spade. From 2009 until the end of 2011 cultivation on N2 Plot had consisted of rotavating only, without the ground being cleared beforehand. So all in all I am the first person to actually dig it in almost 40 years, possibly longer.

The sub-soil was well compacted and below that, heavy grey almost white clay was evident. As I turned the soil and broke up the sub-soil, the grey clay underneath was loosened down by about 4 inches (10cm), before the next batch of mixed soil/sub-soil was dug away, along the length of the bed and deposited onto the top of it. Due to the vast amount of time the double digging was taking, I decide not to add compost/manure to the trenches at this stage but to add compost after the digging was finished and rotavate it into the soil, again keeping the soil from compacting. The gritty/sandier top soil I had left over from my front garden project earlier this year was also added to the clay at the bottom of each trench to hopefully aid drainage. As of today approximately 3 meters by 1 and a half meters at the lower end of number 2 bed is still to be double dig. It has been totally exhausting work for the past 2 months and not a job I would recommend to anyone, especially if they are gardening on heavy clay. After number 2 bed has been dug I have 1 more task involving digging, which is to remove my Summer Raspberries from N1 Plot. After that I have promised myself that its rotavating only from now on, except for very minor digging jobs!!!

Double Digging Bed 2 N2 Plot Almost Finished 9th October 13

The Final Few Feet To Be Dug 9th October 13

1 Container of Six With Roots/Weeds From Bed 2. 9/Oct/13 (6 More Containers Were Filled With Stones From Bed 2)

 A SUMMERY OF 2013 DOWN THE PLOTS

January

 Mainly spent avoiding the extremely wet weather if I remember rightly. With the organizing, digging and weeding of N2 Plot being delayed by rain. Hip replacement 25th January.

February

Not much happening and recovering from my operation. Weather still wet and cold. Plots desolate, wet & windswept.

March

Early March was again affected by wet weather with only a little weeding done. Overwintering Japanese Onions were thinned out and the thinnings re-planted. Probably the best Onion crop I've had to date, for size, taste and keeping quality. Peas (Hurst greenshaft) sown N1 Plot despite the wet weather. A good crop of Peas although the later sowings were affected by the hot dry weather conditions causing the plants to dry out despite adequate watering (tap water). Later in the month the digging of the main bed on N2 Plot continued in between rain and hail showers but the ground was finally starting to dry out helped by some breezy weather.

April

By the 10th of April I had finished digging and clearing the weeds from the main bed on N2 Plot, 5 months after starting the task. Up until then the weather had been wet and cold with outside seed sowing/planting being delayed. Spring had finally arrived. Poly tunnel erected on N2 Plot. Its been a huge help so far. Onion sets (Sturion) (Snowball) were planted. Good crop of Sturion but Snowball did not like the later hot dry conditions and they don't seem to keep well, for me anyway. Parsnip seeds sown on N1 Plot (2 rows) of Tender and true, a few germinated after 2 months. 2 more rows sown with very few germinating. It's back to (Gladiator) next season. After the heavy rain earlier in the year by the end of April the lack of it was becoming apparent. Main crop (Desiree) Potatoes planted. An excellent overall crop with some massive tubers, despite the dry conditions. Enough to last until about June/July next year. Carrots sown (Early Nantes & Autumn King) Again a good all round crop with no Carrot fly this year. The Carrots sown into my barrels were slightly sweeter than the ones sown directly into the ground on N1 Plot. Runner beans and Sweetcorn sown into pots and kept inside the Poly tunnel. Both germinated with difficulty and the Runner beans took a long while to establish when planted out. Again this was due to the hot dry weather conditions although the Sweetcorn crop was excellent (Lark F1). Runner beans were of low quality with many plants not setting their beans for most of the year. After some rain in September things improved and the plants are still producing some good beans into October. (Scarlet Emporer & Enorma). Other roots were sown in April and all did well, although due to the amount of d.i.y. jobs this year successional sowings took a back seat. Late April saw me digging out my front lawn and old drive (70 square meters).

May

The lawn turf was transported to the plots by car (40 trips) along with the top soil and 50 plus old paving slabs, more trips, The soil, subsoil and rubble was dug out ready to have the new drive installed. The turf is now stacked in several raised beds I built at the lower end of N2 Plot and the soil has been added to the beds on N2 Plot as well as on top of the turf in the raised beds. More Carrots, Spring Onions, Beetroot and Cauliflowers are currently growing well in these beds. More dry weather here (with vastly varying weather conditions across the U.K.), watering down the plots was being done mainly in the evenings. Butternut squashes planted out and Watermelons sown into pots. An excellent crop of Butternut squashes harvested this week (October). The Water melons were harvested last week, (grown in pots) 3 small ones about the size of  baseballs were nice and sweet with one large specimen still in my kitchen. Next years sowings will be done earlier direct into the ground inside my poly tunnel. Water butts almost empty. First harvest of the year end of May, Overwintered Cabbage, Radish & Lettuce.

June
Repositioning & repairing the shed on N2 Plot took place. Potatoes flowering, Strawberries ripening. This years Strawberries (Cambridge Vigour) were average compared to last years crop, again mainly due to the months of dry hot weather. A good crop of Apples developing. Cucumbers outdoors in the ground not doing well. A good crop of pot grown ridge Cucumbers were harvested last month the others were dire. Raised beds constructed at the lower end of N2 Plot.

July
Mainly seed sowing & harvesting in July with an absolute mega harvest of currants, red, white & black. More d.i.y. After dismantling the compost heap at the top end of N2 Plot my poly tunnel was moved to where the heap had been. 1 more raised bed was constructed at the lower end of N2 Plot. Summer raspberries were poor this year. This was due to the wet weather early in the year causing Cucumber root rot to many of the plants. Some rain in July & the Parsnips had finally germinated (some).

August
More harvesting with Sweetcorn ripening beautifully. Some welcome rain this month gave a boost to many plants suffering from the long dry spell of weather. Runner beans still not developing well. Onions looking good. Chard excellent. More Carrots & French beans harvested, along with some Apples, Raspberries and Yard long beans. First sightings of Hover flies & Honey Bees 2nd week in August.

September
Lifted my main crop Potatoes (Desiree), excellent crop. More digging and double digging on N2 Plot. More harvesting. Grapes excellent both in quantity and quality. Outdoor Tomatoes still only ripening slowly but good size and quality. Runner beans finally producing some good beans late September.

October
Still double digging bed 2 on N2 Plot. Much tidying of both plots is still needed before Winter. Composting and manuring still to be done ready for next year.

A Nice Harvest of Carrots (Flyaway) 9/Oct/13

Successes:  Sweetcorn, Onions, Potatoes, Chard, Yard long beans, Currants, Grapes, Apples, Rhubarb, Swede, Turnips, Lettuce, Radish, Watermelon, Squashes, Pumpkins, Peas, Overwintered Cabbage, Spring onions, Carrots, Gooseberries, Autumn Raspberries, Beetroot, Savoy cabbage.

Failures:  Runner beans (partial failure), Pak-choi, Khol-rabi, Summer raspberries, Pears, Cherries, Plums, Parsnips, French climbing beans (partial failure), Outdoor cucumbers, Alpine strawberries, Early Cauliflowers, Successional sowing, accidentally reversing my car into the poly tunnel, too much digging, hot dry weather, not fixing a leak in my shed roof before the weather turned wet, too much d.i.y. and not enough gardening.

All in all another trying gardening year mainly thanks to the weather again.

There's always tomorrow!!!

Rooko's October Top 10 Tryouts & Tips

1. Now that many crops have been harvested, if your garden or allotment requires digging now is the time for some double digging. Add compost or manure as the digging progresses ready for next years crops.

2. Dig up any outdoor Tomato plants still bearing unripened fruit and hang them up indoors to ripen.

3. If frosts are forecast in your area don't forget to harvest Pumpkins/Squashes before the frost damages them.

4. October is a good time to sow Broadbeans and plant Rhubarb.

5. Think about moving your delicate glazed/ceramic pots indoors to protect them over the Winter.

6. Collect seeds and berries from plants that you want to propagate later.

7. If any of your plants are suffering from blackspot (fungal disease) do not compost their leaves, burn any affected foliage as soon as possible.

8. If  your Potatoes have suffered from blight make sure all the tubers have been lifted and disposed of. Blight can survive the Winter on live plant tissue below ground.

9.October is probably a good time to add slow acting fertilizers to areas of ground planted with fruit trees and perennial plants. Mulch also releases nutrients into the soil slowly. Fallow areas of ground to be used next year will also benefit from adding slow release fertilizers to it.

10.

SOWING/PLANTING IN OCTOBER

1. Japanese onion sets can be planted in October.
2. Broad Beans can also be planted as well as Garlic.
3. Hardy Lettuce can still be sown.

OTHER JOBS IN OCTOBER

1. Pull and store Carrots.
2.  Lift any remaining potatoes.
3. Manure empty areas of the plot as required.
4. Clear away dead/decaying foliage.
5. Tidy fruit beds removing dead leaves from Strawberries. Re-plant runners.

 

 

Back Ache!!

When I had my faulty hip replacement, replaced last January, I asked the surgeon if he could fit a hinge across the base of my back at the same time, to give me more flexibility whilst digging, weeding and carrying out general gardening jobs. Well if he did, it certainly needs oiling today. At the beginning of last week, due to the weather forecasts predicting rain and the general drop in temperatures here, I decided it was time to lift the remainder of my main crop Potatoes, from the main bed on N2 Plot, before the area got too wet and rot started to set in. I stopped the digging/cleaning work on Bed 2 and began the task of lifting the Potatoes last Tuesday. To date just over half the Potato bed has been turned over down to sub-soil level and the Potatoes lifted. Due to the months of dry weather the clay soil is rock solid, with only a few centimeters of surface top soil being loose. Most of the Potatoes have developed close to the surface, (the roots being unable to penetrate downwards through the compacted clay), mainly in the top soil that I added earlier this year from my front garden project. Lucky that.

Most of the Potatoes Developed Close to the Surface Due to Dry Weather and Compacted Clay 8/September/13

Funny Looking Fellow

 I started the digging/lifting the Potatoes at the lower south end of the bed where the soil is in partial shade from the nearby hedgerow. The first meter or so of ground was well flooded during last Winter & Spring. The first plant I lifted in the bottom corner had been affected by blight and was of no use, with the tubers being well rotted in the ground. The plant, tubers and surrounding soil were placed inside a plastic bag for disposal. Moving along the rank no other plants were affected and due to the damp condition of the soil, which was fairly loose here, the potatoes were coming thick and fast with some huge sizes and up to 12 per plant. As I progressed up the slope the ground became drier and totally compacted underneath the plants, making lifting them and forking the soil over, difficult to say the least. The amount and sizes of the potatoes lessened somewhat as I continued up the bed. By Thursday I had swapped my potato fork for a spade which enabled me to slice the soil more easily, breaking it down as I progressed. The removal of weeds and returning Dandelions was done at the same time. Overnight rain on Thursday night with some fairly heavy showers on Friday afternoon softened the soil a little but not enough to make the deeper clay softer. Large clumps of clay and sub soil were lifting away together. Each one of these had to be broken down finer using the spade.

Half Way Down Bed 2 (Left) - Half Way Up Main Bed (Right) 8/September/13

Weather permitting the rest of the spuds will be lifted this coming week. So far most of the tubers are of good quality and only the ones from the lower reaches of the bed showed any signs of scab due to the acidic nature of the soil. About half a dozen tubers have been affected by slugs. So all in all the back breaking work has been worth it. I will certainly continue to sow Desiree in future, for their quantity, size, all round cooking quality and a general resistance to slug damage.

Some of the Harvested Desiree 8/September/13

 With the recent change to cooler, still sunny, but not hot, weather, my Runner beans have finally started some prolific production from the top of the plants. About 10 pounds were picked yesterday and are now in the freezer. My French climbing beans have just about stopped production now, should have sown more this year. Sweetcorn on Plot N1 has mostly been harvested and used but the second sowing on N2 Plot is still producing excellent cobs. Most of the Brassicas and Leeks have perked up since the onset of the cooler conditions and some rain, with the Black grapes almost ready to harvest, probably this coming week. Taking a break from lifting Potatoes on Friday morning, my overwintering Onions were sown on N1 Plot with another 2 rows to be added this week.

Caterpillars Feasting On My Sprout Plants 8/September/13

Lots of caterpillars have been hatching over the past few days, mainly the offspring of Cabbage white butterflies that have been fluttering around abundantly recently. A word of warning check your brassicas now. I spent half an hour today removing caterpillars from my Sprout and young Cauliflower plants.

Tomatoes Still Ripening 1 At A Time 8/September/13

Large Bumble Bee On 1 of My Marigolds 8/September/13

 There's always tomorrow!!!    


   

Rooko's September Top 10 Tryouts & Tips

1. Getting ready for the Winter, early and late Spring offerings, try sowing some of the following now and in the coming couple of months. 1. Broad beans 2. Peas (they may need protection in colder areas) 3. Garlic. 4. Onions, Spring onions and Shallots 5. Winter lettuce 6. Spinach 7. Spring cabbages.

2. Do not prune Plum trees when they are dormant over the Winter months, this can give them Silver leaf disease, which can kill them.

3. September is the time to plant many Spring flowering bulbs.

4. Money saving tip. If you have any lengths of rainwater downpipes spare (not the metal ones), cut them into pieces, (a junior hacksaw or similar makes an easy cut), approximately 3 inches (8cm) long, for use as plant collars, they are durable and long lasting.

5. I thought this link may be useful to my viewers from the U.S.A. GLENS GARDEN.

6. Cut back your tall perennials once they have stopped flowering.

7. Tidy up the Strawberry bed, removing decaying foliage. Stake down runners into pots or into the ground. Remove any unwanted runners.

8. Collect any ripened seeds that you want to save for future use.

9. Start to pot up any herbs which need to be brought indoors over the Winter months.

10.

SOWING/PLANTING IN SEPTEMBER

1. Winter hardy lettuce can be sown in September as well as hardy Spring Onions.
2. Spring Cabbages can be planted out now.
3. Parsnips will taste better if left in the ground until after a frost.

OTHER JOBS IN SEPTEMBER

1. Prune Summer fruiting Raspberries.
2.  Runners from Strawberries can be planted now.
3. Add manure, lime or green manures to your soil, depending on each beds condition and your crop rotation.

N1 AND N2 PLOTS 2014 PLANS

 N1 Plot 2014

N2 Plot 2014

Beds 3 & 4 will be amalgamated into 1 single bed (as will beds 5 & 6)

Cleaning Before Winter

Another week or so of warm and mainly sunny weather has seen me continuing to clean vegetable bed 2 on N2 Plot, for several hours on a daily basis. With only 1 day with some evening and overnight rain the ground in general is dry and parched still. Number 2 bed is approximately fifty percent cleaned out of weeds roots and stones down to 1 spits depth, this being the depth of topsoil before reaching the rock hard sub-soil level.
Due to the vast amount of weed roots and "withey vine" infesting the bed I decided to start off by removing the top soil, forming a trench, then breaking down the large clumps of soil, filtering out the weeds and then moving the soil up the bed until the next trench was dug out. Similar to double digging but without the depth of topsoil.

Cleaning Out Bed 2 N2 Plot

Removing Withey vine

Bed 2 N2 Plot 50% Complete 26/Aug/13

 When time has allowed in between digging bed 2, watering and of course harvesting has been done. Sweetcorn is in abundance along with French climbing beans, Lettuce, Cucumber. Runner beans have been adequate but not in the abundant amounts of last season. Although some Red, White & Blackcurrants remain on the bushes they have been left for the birds to take, due to the vast amounts already in my freezer. Jam making was done last Friday and the remainder of last years frozen Strawberries were used for this, to make more room in the freezer for this weeks harvests. So far my Desiree Potatoes have been very good, with up to 12 large tubers per plant. As the ground is still dry the plants are only being lifted as the Potatoes are used up. I lifted the Carrots growing in barrels on N1 Plot last Thursday, which gave me a good selection of both large, medium and baby carrots. These were grown without being thinned out and were sown fairly thickly into each barrel, keeping them adequately watered. The remaining carrots in the roots bed of N1 Plot will be harvested this week, leaving 8 rows at the seedling stage in 1 of my raised beds.

Carrots from My Barrels 22/Aug/2013

HI!

 Many Butterflies, bees and other insects have been visiting my plots in large numbers recently due to the continuing warm and sunny weather. My camera has been playing up recently. The problem has now been sorted out, so I expect it will be raining again soon.

How Long Are Your Beans

Another Nice Harvest

There's Always Tomorrow!!

Buzzing!!

2 For the Price of 1

Last Monday was a pleasant day working down my plots, bright sunny weather with a cool breeze, so I decided to start digging over the final untouched bed of N2 Plot. The ground was baked dry even after the recent light & heavy rain showers and it was difficult to drive the spade into the soils surface. After the spade had penetrated the ground a few inches the dry lumps of clay began to break down fairly easily, easier than digging the central bed of N2 over last Winter I thought. This bed too is infested with various long standing weeds, (mainly large Dandelions again), but once it is cleaned out by hand future cultivating should be rather easy over the entirety of both plots. After a couple of hours digging and weed removal, roots and all, I had progressed down the bed just over 3 feet (1 meter). I then decided to check the condition of my Runner beans which have been of below average both in condition and amount this year. I was pleasantly surprised to see the first Honey bee (3 in fact) visiting the flowers on my beans. The 2 insects that have been missing from my plots until this week have been Honey bees and Hover flies, which I usually see a lot of. Since Monday both have again been visiting in significant numbers. Definitely better late than never.

The Honey bees Are Back

 Since Monday more Leeks have been thinned out and puddled into place where my garden peas were growing earlier this year on N1 Plot. My Sprout plants which are already showing small sprouts needed thinning out again and when that was done the N1 brassicas bed was hoed over and weeded. Due to the mostly hot dry weather conditions this year weeding hasn't been much of a chore. The black grape vine growing between my sheds has many "runners" sprouting from it, in all directions. I spent an hour or so attaching wires between the shed roofs to train the vine across the top of both sheds and also tied back some of its lower branches. My second batch of Onions which were lifted several days ago have now been dried out and are being kept, loosely stacked in trays in my garage as I haven't got the time or inclination to tie (hang) them. I seem to have run out of tights which was one method I used to use for hanging up Onions. Watering has again been necessary this week, mainly on the raised beds at the lower end of N2 Plot where I sowed Carrots, Beetroot, Spring onions, Cabbage & Cauliflowers. These are growing nicely in the semi-shade of the nearby hedgerow at present. 4 Tomato plants in 1 of the beds also require regular watering.

Butternut Squash Looking Good 15/August/2013

Pumpkins Soon 15/August/2013

Underneath The Black Grapevine 15/August/2013

Cucumbers Hanging Over The Side Of A Raised Bed 15/August/2013

  Several harvesting sessions have been done this week with extra veggies needed for family visitors arriving this coming weekend. Due to the dry ground conditions my main crop Potatoes (Desiree) are being lifted as required for use this year, thus avoiding any large scale storage problems. So far Carrots, French beans, Lettuce, Swede and Chard have been of very good quantity and quality, along with garden peas from the freezer and Sweetcorn coming in top of the list for the past 3 weeks or so. On the downside, the main growing stem of my Apple tree snapped off yesterday under the weight of the fruit it was bearing. Just goes to show that putting off jobs like thinning out some of the fruit, (which I intended to do last week) doesn't always pay off.

Some of This Weeks Harvest

More Harvesting 15/August/2013

There's Always Tomorrow!!