24 Apr - Sowing Squashes

The past two days I've been sowing more seed in the greenhouse; most of which are the Summer and Winter squashes. First I sowed the prolific Defender F1 courgettes; Defender are a green variety and I'm only growing these this season and not the yellow Atena. I'm hoping to get two good plants which will provide plenty of courgettes for a family.

Also sown in pots are pumpkin Big Max. These are basically ornamental as we aren't too keen on the taste; still, it's nice to have a home-grown pumpkin to carve for Halloween at the end of October. This has become a bit of a tradition for us.

I've also planted some Butternet Hunter F1. We have tried all sorts of squash over the years, Turks Turban and Crown Prince were good growers but for taste, Butternut seems to be the family favourite. So, given my reduced space, Butternut it is. 

Also in the greenhouse the tomatoes, Alicante, have been planted into their final positions with fresh soil from the allotment compost bins. A few plugs have been prepared with Beetroot seed, Boltardy, to grow on. I just want enough for a row for pickling for Christmas.

On the allotment I have taken the covers off the third bed (of four) and have given it a blast with the Mantis tiller. The bed was given granular fertiliser and was raked over flat. This will be the Winter bed this season, accommodating brassicas such as Winter cabbage Tundra F1, Bosworth Brussels sprouts, Musselburgh leeks, Gladiator F1 parsnips plus a few other bits and bobs like Primo II Summer cabbage and a row of carrots. The idea is to keep together all the crops that will stand into next Spring in one bed so I can totally cover up the other beds for the Winter; it's a pain if there's cabbage in one, leeks in another etc.

That's it for for April, see you in May. Bye.

23 Apr - Broad Beans, Spuds, Carrots & Parsnips

I prepared the carrot barrel at the start of the month by sawing the top third off and refreshing the sand/compost mixture. I took the opportunity to drill a few more holes in the bottom too as I found it wasn't draining properly last season. On the 14th I used an old yogurt pot to measure out some circles and sowed a pinch of Sweet Candle in the centre of each one. When these germinate I will thin to one plant per spot.

On the 18th I rolled back the rest of covers off the second bed, apart for a three foot section at one end where the runner beans will go next month. Again, the soil was pretty good having been tilled last Autumn before being covered. I did give it another blast with the tiller and a rake over. I planted out the Bunyard's Exhibition broad beans, just a couple of rows. The weather up until the weekend was sunny and warm, up to 22 degrees before dropping again to a more seasonal 12-14 degrees today.; the broad beans had a week of sunshine to settle in. At the other end, next to the garlic, I planted out a few cells of White Lisbon Spring Onions in a row. I prefer to start them off in plugs and put them out in small clumps which I can thin naturally as I pick them.

The main crop potatoes also went in on the 18th so both the earlies and main crop have filled the first bed. A third of the bed is made up of four rows of early Rocket while two thirds of the bed are given over to three rows of main crop Sarpo Mira. The earlies are beginning to show already having been planted last month though I do have concerns that things might have been too cold so I won't be surprised if there are a number of gaps in the lines this season. I haven't dug trenches, I just used a spade to dig a suitable hole and popped them in. Also, the ground is still flat, I'll ridge up when the potatoes start to show.

Today was a lot cooler that it was over the weekend. Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to get some seed sown. Having removed the covers from the third bed yesterday and tilled it over, it was time to sow some roots. I used my normal bar method to create a row of deep conical holes which I filled with sieved compost from the compost bin. I sowed a load of Gladiator F1 parsnip seeds at each position and will of course thin to one strong plant.

Next to the parsnips I created a 'V' shaped trench by wiggling a spade back and forth and again I filled it with sieved compost. I sowed a line of carrots on top. I have two types of carrots this year, my usual Sweet Candle large carrots in the barrel and, I'm trying for the first time Resistafly carrots in the ground. As my stony clay doesn't lend itself to good carrots the back-filled 'V' trench really helps.

Well, that's it for now. Bye.

08 Apr - Onions, Garlic & Brassicas

Last week, on the first of April Easter Sunday, I took the opportunity to plant out the Sturon onion sets. I put out a fair few rows but still had some left over. As we have used far less onions this year, still having a crate full, I'm not planting so many due to reduced space. 

Today (8th), next to the onions, I have planted out my garlic, I've been using my own grown cloves for the past few years but I decided to refresh my stock by buying some in this season. Again I've gone for Germidour. I set out two rows of cloves and I'm hoping to get around a dozen to germinate. I kept the bulbs in the fridge for a month to give them a blast of cold so hopefully they will grow and divide properly.

Things are kicking off in the greenhouse. I've transferred the peppers and the tomatoes there as things have warmed up a little and the plants need more light. The brassicas (sown 13th March), Primo II Summer Cabbage, Bosworth F1 Sprouts and Tundra F1 Winter Cabbage - have all have germinated well and will need potting on in a week or two. I also sowed Bunyard's Exhibition broad beans at the at the same time too. They have grown rapidly in cells so I'll be hardening these off outside over the next week along with the leeks.

The greenhouse has had a bit of a tidy up. I've sorted out the tomato bed by clearing the weeds, digging the bed and replacing the pot soil with a new mix of multi-purpose and compost from the allotment bins which has rotted down over the Winter. The canes were already wired in well so I left them. I'm only growing on six tomato plants this year so I will plant two sweet peppers as well as having a few in big pots.

 That's it for now. Bye