19 Jan - South Wales Argus January

My local paper, the South Wales Argus, has asked me to write a brief monthly summary of this blog for their Weekender Magazine. It's available in print and online.

In their online edition they used my picture of a robin at my garden bird feeder.

17 Jan - Mild Weather And Fruit

So far it's been a very mild January indeed. Yes, it's been wet and windy but, apart from the odd overnight frost, it's been temperatures on the plus side of the thermometer. A mild December and January seems to be effecting a few of the fruit plants on the allotment too.

I noticed today that there are loads of full buds on the blackcurrant bushes, they almost look like they are going to burst open any day now. I hope not as February is usually a much colder month and we typically have snow. I've a few rhubarb crowns sprouting already too though one of the other plot holders has some of the earliest rhubarb around, it's always well up by mid-January and is never forced.

Talking of fruit, remember it's a good time to plant bare rooted soft fruit now like raspberries and strawberries. Don't bother trying to grow strawberry plants from seed, it's not worth it. You can order bare rooted strawberry plants online, plenty being advertised on ebay already and they are cheap considering that you will be able to take runners from them for years to come. 

If you have the space, order two or three varieties, an early (Korona, Vibrant), mid-season (Cambridge Favourite, Sonata, Elsanta) and late (Symphony, Lucy) so you get a longer cropping period. You could also consider an 'ever-bearer' like Malling Opal that will produce small flushes of strawberries from spring to autumn. When the bare rooted plants arrive, get them in unfrozen ground as soon as you can, if you have to wait a few days, pop them into some water until you can plant them out. You'll be amazed how much they will bush out and develop in spring.

A last word on fruit for this blog entry; I saw a single forlorn apple hanging from a tree on a neighbour's plot, it just looked so odd in mid-winter. Picture below.

15 Jan - Allotment Plan 2014

Having decided on what I'm growing this season and purchased most of the seed, it's time to work out what will go where come spring. Some people are happy to pop in plants wherever there's a space, others like to plan things out in the last detail - I'm afraid I'm more the planning type. Even if you are a 'happy-go-lucky' plot holder, you should still consider some form of crop rotation, not growing the same crop in the same position for at least three years. That means some kind of record keeping is required or a very good memory!

My allotment currently has four main beds, 32' long by 6' wide (approx 9.75m by 1.8m) and a 2' by 32' strip running the length of one side containing a plum tree and a small cold frame at one end. One of the four main beds is permanently given over to fruit including raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants and rhubarb. The other three beds are used in rotation for the rest of my vegetable growing (except a few greenhouse crops grown off site).

This year I'm trying to make more of the plot by attempting to grow two successive crops in some places. I'm going to try and get my hardy broad beans germinated early with heat in February so I can get them planted out in March. As I freeze my broad beans I'm aiming to get them all ready, picked and cleared by mid-June to be replaced by leeks which I keep in trays before dibbing out in the summer. The other crop I want finished by mid-June are the 'early' potatoes so I can use the ground for a second crop of winter squash which I will have already raised in pots. I have an area dedicated to winter squash in my rotation but my family adore them so I'm going to attempt to double production by getting another batch in the ground vacated by the early spuds. All this is my plan but, as all plot holders know, the weather will have its say!

Here is a copy of the 2014 plan, note that I'm currently on the 2nd year of the 3 year cycle. Click to see a larger version.

12 Jan - Vegetable Seed List

A short blog entry this time around.

The only two good things about January are the opportunity to buy seed potatoes that are appearing in the usual outlets now and, to definitively plan exactly what to grow this season. I've already explored this topic a few months back but now I have my complete list of what I'm definitely going to try and grow in 2014.

So, here's the list which is practical based on seed in store and new seed I have purchased for the coming season:

Bean

Dwarf Broad Bean - The Sutton

Runner Bean - Scarlet Emperor

French Bean - Blue Lake

Brassica & Root

Parsnip - Gladiator F1 

Beetroot - Detroit II 

Carrot - Sweet Candle F1 

Turnip - Snowball

Kohl Rabi - Korfu F1 

Swede - Wilhelmsburger 

Cabbage Summer - Primo II

Cabbage Red - Ruby Ball 

Cabbage Winter - Ormskirk Savoy 

Brussels Sprout - Trafalgar F1 

Potato Early - Rocket

Potato Main - Sarpo Mira

(I'm also thinking about growing Kale for the first time)

Salad & Squash

Radish - Icicle Long White

Lettuce - Lollo Rossa, Iceburg, Webbs Wonderful

Sweet Corn - Swift F1

Winter Squash - Sweet Dumpling

Butternut Squash - Hunter F1

Pumpkin - Jack O' Lantern

Courgette - Black Beauty

Onion

Leek - Musselburgh

Garlic - generic seed unnamed

Onion Sets - Sturon

Spring Onion - White Lisbon

Greenhouse Plants

Tomato - Gardner's Delight, Alicante

Bell Pepper - California Wonder
Cucamelon
Cucumber - Marketmore (in cold frame in plot)

07 Jan - Buying A Propagator

Electric propagators are something I’ve never used before. Yes, I’ve used the basic seed tray with a clear plastic cover on, very useful to get seedlings started, especially when placed on a warm windowsill in the house. These are cheap, functional and largely do a good job. A plant pot with a plastic bag domed over the top also works remarkably well.

However, this year I want to get a few things under way a bit earlier in the season and I don’t have a heated greenhouse.  Last season I found that certain seeds, especially from the squash family, germinated very slowly and unevenly even in May. In an attempt to get things a bit more organised I’m going to try an electric propagator for the first time.

There are a number to choose from on the market ranging from around £15 for a basic unit to hundreds of pounds for something that’s all singing and dancing. As with all such items you need to work out your budget and buy the best you can with the money. As I’m a cheapskate and I don’t really know yet whether it’s worth it for me or not, I set a budget of around £30.

The main propagators for this price are made by ‘Stewart’ and can be found in Wilkinson, DIY stores, garden centres and online (including Amazon and other garden plant/tool suppliers). Models in this price range consist of a basic heated propagator that will take a standard size seed tray (from around £15); for around £25 you can buy the larger size model that will take two standard size seed trays. Stewart also offer the same size propagators but with built-in thermostats.

A word about any thermostat included on the cheaper models. The thermostat is usually ‘pre-set’ to an optimum heat that will germinate the average seed. It is not adjustable (actually it’s not even visible), if you want a proper adjustable thermostat to control the heat exactly then expect model prices to start somewhere over £70.

So, what’s the point of a pre-set thermostat over a basic electric propagator? Well, the cheaper models heat the inside of the propagator via the electric element in the plastic base and will keep on doing so even if the sun shines and warms it up more than expected. Those with a built-in thermostat, while not adjustable, will automatically switch off the electric element in the propagator if external conditions contribute the heating process and it gets too hot inside. This saves electricity, helps to avoid your seedlings getting cooked and, it stops the compost drying out too rapidly. All propagators have slide vents in the top of the cover to help with moisture control and cooling.

I spent sometime reading electric propagator reviews and decided to buy a model with a built-in thermostat that can take two standard seed trays. Despite a few people (unjustly?) complaining about the non-adjustable thermostat (because they didn’t read the description properly), generally most reviewers thought they germinated seeds very well and helped to root cuttings quickly. As always, I'll let you know how I get on when I come to use it.

05 Jan - Chitting Potatoes

It's the first week of January, garden centres and stores like Wilkinson are already clearing the aisles of tinsel and are restocking them with seeds, plants and garden tools. It's great to have a look at what's on offer, an antidote to the winter blues.

I've already bought my potatoes and have set them out in seed trays to 'chit'. Chitting is the process of encouraging the potato stalks to start growing before planting in early spring. These are not the long weedy, pale stalks that grow when you've left spuds under the sink too long - these proper chits will eventually develop into foliage. This will give the potatoes a good start and it is recommended that all potatoes are chitted before planting though it's more important to get 'early' potatoes well chitted. However, if you are late with your spuds, don't worry, just plant them anyway because they'll come up!

Open the packs, look at each potato carefully and place them with the 'eyes' upward. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult to spot the 'eyes' but after a few weeks they will develop so you can turn any around that have been stood upside down, so check them regularly. Egg boxes are handy if you have them but I've never had any issues with seed trays. Place the chitting potatoes in a light but frost free place.

This year I'm growing the 'early' potato 'Rocket', one of the quickest developing earlies. I want this crop finished and cleared by the second week of June as I plan to use the ground for winter squash. If I can get the earlies planted before the last week of March (weather permitting) I should be able to get a good 10-12 weeks in the ground and Rocket are known for producing as early as 10 weeks. 

My main crop this season will be 'Sarpo Mira' - a variety I have never grown before. These pink skinned potatoes are relatively new to the market and they are the first of the 'Sarpo' blight resistant varieties. I've seen good reports about these in 2013 because, as they are extremely blight tolerant, they seem to keep growing well into late September. This means that while other varieties have to have their foliage cut down to protect the tubers from the blight spores, Sarpo Mira keep growing, putting more weight on the potatoes.

01 Jan - High Winds

Well, it's the start of 2014 and the weather has been typical UK winter. There have been high winds and gales with cold temperatures some nights for good measure too. There's been a little damage around the site; compost bins turned over, plastic sheeting re-arranged, the odd panes of glass broken in greenhouses etc.

The most notable thing was that, due to the heavy rain, there was literally a small stream flowing through the site which slopes down east to west. I've been working my plot for nearly seven years now and I've never seen a stream form like that before. Luckily for me, it didn't run through my patch!

In-between the gales we've had a heavy frost too with temperatures low enough to freeze water in storage barrels. Makes for pretty pictures though! The garlic and leeks looked a bit sorry for themselves all covered in sparkling frost. Still, despite the weather and the high probability February will be worse, some cheer can be found in the fact that the days are now getting longer. We have turned the corner in daylight terms - a Happy New Year to all, let's hope it's a great growing year.