Less is more

When is comes to work  and veg anyway.

One of the aims for this year was to cut down the amount of time required to tend the farm, to cut down the digging, weeding and watering. While last year did produce a healthy harvest we certainly put in the hours. We were determined that this year would be a little more pleasure than pain!

So far so good, when we go away everything seems to survive, the weeds seem manageable and apart from when feeding is due the watering hasn't been too much of a challenge. In general the hours required to get our crop to this stage are a lot lower this year.

So how have we got to here?

Well the plan started at the end of last year. We started last season on the back foot with a plot that hadn't been properly closed down, dug, covered, manured or cleared the previous year. We put in a lot effort at the end of  last season to clear the ground, manure and tiller it before covering it for the winter.

The covering of weed control fabric or thick plastic damp proof membrane certainly made for an easier start this year, the earth was still pretty weed free, a good texture requiring no digging, just a quick going over with hoe to break up any lumps where the bricks held the covers down, and lovely and moist. It has been a case of rolling back the plastic a few days before you need the ground, apply some growmore and/or pelleted chicken manure, rake it in then plant or sow a few days later. A lot easier and quicker than the previous year.   

A good purchase for any gardener is a moisture meter. A quick run round the plot probing the ground can save a lot of time watering plants that don't really need it and can help to identify the heavy drinkers. You'd be surprised how often you can skip some areas, and every can saved is time and effort. They can be bought on Amazon quite cheaply but always look in supermarkets at the end of the season. I'd recommend the single probe models such as this one HERE. We'll see if it helps with the blossom end rot my tomatoes always seem to suffer from.

And finally....mulching. This year we have been trying to get to grips with mulching, and experimenting with growing some crops through weed control fabric. The results have been good.

A generous covering of grass cuttings has made a huge difference to the amount of weeding required around the plants and helps retain moisture.

Weed control fabric looks good and does make a difference but it a bit of a pain to plant through. In our sweetcorn we have also found that we have some kind of creeping weed that still grows and puts in an appearance though the holes we made for the plants.

I find grass cuttings easier and cheaper, its just a case of generating the volume from a small garden. A word with friends and neighbours in exchange for the odd courgette certainly helps. It's useful to sink a old bottle with the bottom cut off into the ground to aim your water into when mulching. Maybe the no dig method next year.

This week has been busy and we've only had a little bit of time to pop down, feed and harvest. We did clear the broads, dig over the area and add some compost so we could finally plants out the leeks. I didn't want to risk putting them in the same best we lost all the garlic and shallots in.

I've included some pics of the harvest/progress just so its not all words. As you can see from the Currently Picking list we are finally coming out of the quiet patch. The first spuds and cucumber were delicious and courgette silly season is upon us!! More later.

I hope the advice above it useful to anyone struggling to maintain their plot, as we refine the process in the future we'll keep you posted on the progress

Happy gardening folks!!! 

Hi I'm Bob

This is Bob, Bob was following me round the farm today for a couple of hours as I weeded out the onion bed, a long over due task.. As I dug out the weeds he bobbed along, hence the name, cleaning up the bugs and taking a few bits of grass and twig for a nest. He got within about 4 feet for a while and even shouted at me to go faster. It made the weeding a far more pleasant task. His mate Robin even showed up for a bit, I assume they headed off for a pint after.

Four hours on the farm today, it was never supposed to be that long but it was a great evening and I was enjoying myself.

The onion bed is finally clear of overwintering weeds. It looked far worse than it was, mostly large leafed weeds that had not got a deep root system in place in the capped over clay soil. While it looks good I can't help wondering if disturbing the soils solid surface is inviting more weeds to take root. I'd better get the mulching done sharpish.

To help with the mulch production I got myself a new toy, a good old fashioned push mower. I'd been watching them used on eBay but in the end went for a new one as the price was so similar. It's light and easy to use and while the edges still need to be sorted by other means as it doesn't do well on one wheel, but it certainly improves the look of the place.

Bob's smart, be like Bob....

The Covers are Coming Off!!

Once again allotment time has been difficult this week, life seems rather busy at the moment, but hopefully things will calm down soon. I did manage 3 hours on Friday after work and the plot is starting to look like things are finally on the move.

Last year we left everything covered up, having spread it with manure and run the tiller over it. Friday one of those covers finally came off. It was spud planting time!

The soil was lovely and so easy to work with, a good temperature, nice and damp and not a weed in sight. Just dig a trench, sprinkle some potato fertiliser and pop the spuds in. The digging was easy and the soil just crumbled when raked. This year should start a little more calmly.

We've planted 4 rows of Rocket earlies and 3 rows of King Edward mains. The mains may be a little close together but as the spud bed also has the asparagus this year there wasn't a lot I could do. The spuds must have liked being under the bed, good short stocky chits with side shoots, not the usual white leggy ones. Lets see what happens. Everyone posts a pic of the spud bed so here's ours.

The rest of the time was spent spreading 3 builders buckets of manure onto the areas vacated by the leeks and parsnips ready for sweetcorn and squashes, planting more radishes, spring onions and beetroot under more cloches.

The overwintering onion and garlic bed is looking a bit overrun with weeds so I made a start on weeding it. One of my good intentions for this year was to use mulch and as I'd given the grass at home its first cut of the year I made use of the clippings. There is also a hand mower on order to provide more farm grown cuttings.

At home everything I planted last week is up except the peas. I swear twice as many cabbages as I sowed have come up and the lettuces seem to prefer the new compost.

I moved on some leeks from the seed tray to a tub, hopefully these will grow on nicely, I 've kept the spares in case any don't make it. I'll probably end up giving some away. Next year a smaller seed tray me thinks. 

Good Intentions as Always

Not much progress gardening wise in the last few days, unless it was seeds germinating etc. What with storm Doris, work commitments and decorating the lounge. When I bought this house 4 years ago I intended to refurb it in a year, 4 years and 3 months later I still have the hall to do.

This got me thinking about all those promises we make ourselves at the start of each growing season, the next season I'll do that differently ones, and then next season forget all about it. Every time I decide to grow something different I look up how to get the best results, take the best care possible, and then forget all about it......again!

So this year here are all my good intentions laid out in writing so I don't forget them all, we'll see how I faired at the end of the year. 

1. Thin out beetroot, radishes, turnips carrots etc - I am a great one for planting a row of something and thinning generally involves waiting until some are big enough and harvesting them, meanwhile all its neighbours are rather squashed and deformed, well not this year.
2. Use fleece or cloches more - I  have plenty of both in the shed, but I forget about them, apart from maybe cloching a few early lettuces. This year I'll use them to extend the season, protect from frost and get better germination rate.....honest guv.
3. Use mulches - Lots of things benefit from mulching, and given our available evening time for watering I'm sure our crops would benefit from better moisture retention, especially celery and fennel which need it. So this year I'll make use of the grass cuttings.... I promise.
4. Not burying squashes - Some how I always forget that squashes shouldn't be watered directly and bury them in a kind of crater so the stems get wet, instead of on a mound with watering holes at the base. This year they will stand proudly atop a hill of their own......even I can remember that.
5. More regular feeding - Feed every 2 weeks, feed weekly, feed regularly. Except time flys and I can't remember when we last did it most of the time. This year I'll leave a note on the shed door each time to remind us. ... If I remember a pen that is.
6. Test the soil - Do I need to lime for brassicas. Well this year I have bought a tester and actually done this one. Go me!!

Wish me luck & post your good intentions below