Really really - it's spring

Really, it’s Springtime

I don’t really care about when others say Spring is here – not even the old pagan rites for Spring. When I see birds are mating and starting their nests when spring bulbs are flowering, when perennial garden herbs start to grow again, when perennial bushes like Lonicera ( the many varieties of honeysuckle/ woodbine) start to ‘green’ up and especially when I see the crocus bulbs have finished flowering – especially then – I know it is SPRING.

New growth on rhubarb – almost ready to pick

New growth on spring sown broad beans in Poly tunnel

New growth on autumn planted broad beans – outdoors overwintered – already showing early flower buds! And a bit slug chewed but, will do them no harm 

Spring flowers – forsythia on my neighbours plot. I’m not too jealous! I’ll have other stuff later, I keep telling myself :o)

It doesn’t really matter when we think Spring has started in our ‘neck of the woods’. We must look at how early or late plants start to grow in our area. For me, spring has started and I have started to sow seed for the new season. (Well actually, some of my seed were sown in the autumn – see earlier BLOGS).

I started to sow my early capsicum seeds in early February ( see earlier BLOG) but, a major disaster struck – as disasters are inclined to do in the growing world – my propagator, of several years, stopped heating ( the lights still came on, and I thought all was going well) but, I noticed that my cats stopped snuggling in the empty corners and my capsicum ( chilli and pepper) seeds didn’t germinate. And they have to be germinated early – really, March is getting towards being too late.

Well, I had to re-sow. ( Having had disasters with the capsicum family in the past, I was prepared – I kept 50% of my seeds back – just in case! And I needed it)

I bought a new propagator ( I will feed back later on its efficiency etc,) and was able to re-sow earlier seeds.

I’m also trying early growing cauli Romanesco – Celio F1. These are a possible early crop for green cauli. They are delicious if the conditions are right though, only grow a few at a time as they are inclined to come ready at the same time providing a ‘GLUT’.  As they are F1 hybrid seeds and therefore very expensive, I have sown 9 seeds into 9 mini pots in my propagator. I will do a later sowing into a seed bed in my poly tunnel. That said, my autumn planted overwintering caulis are starting to curl their centre leaves inwards as a prelude to ‘hearting up’. I do hope so and will get back to you on the success(or otherwise) of this crop. I have 30+ of them- taking up a significant amount of space so, they really do need to perform.

I’m also trying some herb seeds( in a gift pack) I was given as a Christmas present at the end of 2010. Maybe too early but, I’ve kept some of the seeds back – I will see how they go.

 I went to my allotment earlier today. I couldn’t dig in my ground – much too wet but, I did feed the birds, water my tunnel ( early potatoes , herbs and early sowings), and harvest winter veg. Of course, you must plan for the winter. I have – salsify, scorzonora, brussels sprouts ( a little small now but, I have been harvesting them since October), parsnips, leeks, purple sprouting broccoli and kale. They will keep me going until the new season’s vegetables come on stream. I would like to say my veg. are there all year round and this is what I aim for but, in the last two years, with such bitterly cold winters my allotment has failed me and I’ve had to buy :o(

Now here, I’m asking for advice – It has taken me many years to establish clumps of Ester Reeds and Crocosmia ( formerly known as Montbresia) in my garden. Last year I collected seed from the plants ( the Montbresia/ Croscosmia... that is).  I would really like to increase my collection. I don’t really care if the plants I’ve manage to establish are hybrids or not – they will eventually revert to something I would probably like. But I would like to know when and the best conditions for the optimum success. I have a book ( a present given to me some years ago ,suggests sowing them at 70F, but does not give the time of year or growing on conditions

 Ester Reeds at a later slot – for now I have one root well established so am well pleased.

 I would love some feedback

Starting with a new plot

Starting with a new plot

Having just had eye surgery, I am not able, for a couple of weeks, to do anything practical on my plots. Fortunately, I saw ( no pun intended) it coming so, I’ve done most of my digging in the autumn. This gives me time to sit at my computer and write.

Some of you, during the last few weeks will have had that long awaited phone call or email telling you that you have been successful in gaining a new allotment. I say ‘new’ but, in actual fact, most allotments have been producing intensively for 100 years or more. There are advantages and disadvantages to that. The ground is probably reasonably well tilled and fertilised but, it will probably also have an accumulation of pests and diseases.

If you were lucky enough to have acquired your plot in the autumn you have already had the chance to dig it over, allowing the frost to break up the ground. But, if you have just acquired it then that is one of the first chores. And, let’s not beat about the bush, having an allotment is actually quite hard work. It’s not just for picking strawberries on a sunny day. Your allotment costs money – the plot itself, the seeds, fertiliser, tools, etc and, if you don’t look after it, chances are, you will lose it. And, really you do want it to be as productive as possible.

Some people don’t seem to be able to make the jump from digging the ground to ensuring it produces crops. So, the first thing you must do is PLAN.

What do you like to eat? What will your ground grow successfully? ( ask your neighbours or your field rep or you plot manager). What is already there? You may find that you already have some fruit bushes, raspberry canes, strawberry plants, artichokes, asparagus (you should be so lucky! )

Make a list of vegetables you would like for the whole year and work out when you need to sow or plant to ensure you have vegetables all year round. This doesn’t always work out. In the last two years the really cold winters have played havoc with my winter vegetables, especially brassicas, ( cabbages, sprouts, broccoli, cauli, kale, etc) forcing me to buy.

Some seeds will keep over for a few years (brassicas, lettuces) so, you can sow just a few seeds from several different varieties. Others, like parsnips won’t keep so, use the whole packet. Except for spring onions, I always buy my onions, shallots and garlic as ‘sets’ (small bulbs) rather than seeds, and from now until end of March is an excellent time to plant these. Now is also the time to buy seed potato (these are actually potatoes, not seeds as we think of them). They will need to be chitted – see previous BLOG, ready for planting in March/April, depending on where you are gardening. If you can still get hold of them, a blight resistant collection is a good idea. Don’t buy too many, they take up a lot of space.

During your first year, you might find it easier to buy young plants from the garden centre or you allotment shop. Although it is much more expensive, it will give you time to sort your plot.

TOOLS - to begin with you will need a spade, a fork, a watering can, a trowel. Buy as good quality as you can reasonably afford. Clean them after use and don’t leave them on your plot. I suggest that the spade has a ‘tread’ where you put your boot when digging. My experience with spades without a tread has been that they cut through the bottom of my boot when the ground is a bit hard. It is recommended that the handle of the spade and fork come up to mid-chest so that you are not too bent over when digging. That said, you might also consider the weight of these tools. My favourite spade is small and light and only comes up to my waist. As my plot is on a slope I usually dig from top to bottom, which gets around being too bent over with the shorter spade.

You may find, later in the season that a good hoe (dutch hoe) helps to keep the weeds down. Also, as the year progresses, you will probably need some sort of implement to keep the paths around you plot tidy. You can start with a pair of shears, though they can be quite expensive and are hard work. Probably worth investing in a battery powered strimmer. Be careful of the cheaper versions – the batteries wear out quite quickly and are expensive to replace.

A ‘line’ is useful for ensuring your rows of seeds are straight but, you can make your own from a couple of short stakes and a ball of string.

If you have fruit bushes or trees you will need to invest in a good pair of secateurs, but, that can wait. For now, you have probably spent enough.

ORGANIC OR NOT

Lots of new gardeners start out with the intention of growing and eating organically. This is an excellent idea -taking care of the soil and the environment and eating healthily. However, you may find that, until you get established, and know what will work and what won’t that you end up with no produce and a plot full of weeds, diseases and pests. My suggestion is to ‘work towards’ being organic. Remember that you may do all the right things on your plot to eradicate, especially pests but, if your neighbours are not organic you will find that every crop eating bird and plant eating insect sets up home on your plot. Not spraying your tomatoes for blight will ensure you have no tomatoes and anger your neighbours who are trying to protect theirs. Better to have produce which is not so very organic than no produce at all. It is still probably healthier than the fruit and vegetables you can buy in the supermarket. But do feel free to disagree with me.

HEIRLOOM SEEDS

If you like to try some unusual and old ‘heritage’ crops, there are various suppliers of seeds, fruit bushes and trees and potato varieties.

One of my favourite suppliers is The Real Seed Catalogue – do Google them or try www.realseeds.co.uk/. They are a small independent producer of heirloom and open pollinated seeds (not hybrids - you can save your own seeds from these plants for following years) providing an interesting and excellent range of unusual seeds. Their site is well worth a visit where they provide a monthly sowing guide and their seeds now have an important place on my plot.

The importance of using lime

The Importance of Lime   

The importance of adding lime to our plots cannot be over emphasised. Apart from its ability to break up heavy clay soil – a serious consideration on my ground, its influence on the pH (acidity/alkalinity) of our soil is crucial. It must be said, heavy clay soils are more likely to be acid rather than alkaline. I’ve talked about the addition of lime with many of my allotment neighbours over the last year – it seems very few people now apply this essential ingredient. We keep adding cow manure, horse manure, green manure, etc., but fail to take into account the affect these have on the pH of our ground. We look at our crops – some doing well, some doing okay and some failing, although we keep adding manure – what can we be doing wrong? Do have a look at the tables below:-

The most important nutrients for our plants are :- N – Nitrogen – for leaf growth P – Phosphorus (phosphates) – for root growth K – Potassium ( potash) – for fruit and flowers The essential trace elements are probably already present in our soil and are:- S – Sulphur Ca – Calcium Mg – Magnesium Fe - Iron Mn - Manganese B - Boron Cu & Zn – Copper and Zinc Mo – Molybdenum

Check out – www.hydroponics.co.nz/images/large/pH_chart.gif

I hope the chart above makes sense – the thickness of the shaded lines indicates the optimum uptake of each the essential plant nutrients. For my soil it should be around 6.3 – 6.5. Where the pH is below 5 the plants’ uptake of nutrients tails off significantly and the ground can become toxic. Although the nutrients may be present the plants are unable to use them. The word ‘toxic’ seemed to me to be a somewhat dramatic statement. When I asked why ‘toxic’? I was told that in very acidic conditions, minerals such as aluminium can increase in the soil to toxic levels. Even acid loving plants like heathers are not so happy when it is very acid. I do know that pH of 7 is neutral. Someone was very quick to point out to me that 7 is neutral and not 6.3 - 6.5. However, neutral is not necessarily the best pH for your plants

A pH meter is inexpensive and easy to use. ( if you want to be really sure, it's probably worth investing in a proper kit). It will tell you almost instantly where lime should be added but, don’t add it to the ground before planting, for example - potatoes ( check out the soil conditions needed for individual vegetables), and don’t apply at the same time as manure. It is not a good idea to apply a lot of lime in one dressing. If the pH of your ground is very low, ( in some patches on my plot it has been as low as 3! ! - really!),  it is best to apply a light dressing over several years to bring the pH up to a reasonable level. It must be said that a high alkaline soil will have a similar effect as acidic, although it is likely to take some time to build it up to toxic levels.

Sowing capsicum seeds ( chillis and peppers)

It's St Brigid's day, traditionally  the beginning of spring in Ireland ( as if!). I believe she lived about the 5th century in Ireland and straddled the old pagan beliefs and the start of the Christian ones. Some people in the west of Ireland still make St Brigid's crosses on this day and put them up in their houses to replace those from last year. They are traditionally made from rushes though, when my children were little they learned to make them in school from flattened drinking straws ( no, not the plactic ones). I think I could still make one if I had the rushes - fortunately I don't have a supply of them here - they need impoverished, sodden, acid land to thrive.
It may not be the start of spring yet but, it is a milestone for me. During the month of January I spent 'good' days digging, tidying, burning rubbish, wood-chipping paths, keeping my polytunnel adequately watered (don't allow the ground in polytunnels and green houses to become too dry over winter - it is difficult to bring it back in the following spring/summer) and, of course feeding the birds. The robins are my main pleasure. They always turn up when I arrive. I do wonder why they will get so close to us while other birds keep their distance. Perhaps they have worked out that we are not a threat and that our presence keeps the bigger birds out of the way. And perhaps I'm just being fanciful.  While, it seems, we are getting increasing numbers of 'unusual' birds in our city gardens and allotments - like fieldfares, we have noticed that there are fewer blackbirds around. The cold winters seem to have hit them hard.
Today I will allow myself to sow some seeds - my chillis and peppers. I won't sow all the seeds, just in case it turns into a very cold spring and I can't get the young plants into my tunnel in time to stop them becoming very 'leggy' from lack of light.
Have you noticed how few seeds you get in each pack - an average of 6 - which makes them very expensive. You really need 80% germination. So, I will sow twice. My second sowing will be at the end of February. Last spring was so late and cold I didn't sow my capsicums until April - in UK that is much too late and the growing season was too short, especially for chillis. The peppers were really satisfactory, but only in my poly-tunnel. The outdoor plants, although they did grow - a bit, and did fruit - a few, they took so long to ripen the slugs attacked them. I would love to know if anyone else has had more success. Perhaps I didn't feed them enough. Perhaps they aren't partial to the ground conditions ( heavy clay soil, pH about 6). Any advice would be much appreciated.

I have found a source of deep Jiffy pellets. Normally I don't like Jiffy pellets, I think they are too small, lacking in compost and nutrients and the fragile plants they are suited to can't break out of the mesh covering. However, I'm going to try the deep ones for my first sowing of capsicums. I hope they will be like deep-root trainers with even less root disturbance but, I wiil report on their success of lack of. I have already reconstituted them and will sow a mixture of chillis, peppers and winter Cos lettuce, which can grow on in my poly-tunnel when big enough.
Sowing seeds at this time of year is always a risky move. I have a small propagator and a plant light which help. Nonetheless, my polytunnel is not heated and if the weather becomes very cold over the next couple of months the light I can provide is not good enough to provide adequate growing conditions for young plants.
That said, the horticultural year is always a series of ups and downs. What suits one plant will not suit another. What works one year will not work the next. But, each year is always a success for some crop and the growing satisfaction of 2011 is only just starting.