Sunday 13 July 2014

Mulch Ado About Weeding

Storm Brewing
I haven’t posted anything since the end of March – I have been so busy gardening & working there has been no time, it's all systems grow! However today we are having a break from the sunshine with some lovely rain falling, something we have not had enough of recently. Down on the allotment the perpetual battle with the weeds continues. When the plot was rotavated I knew it would be storing up trouble by chopping up the roots of many perennial weeds but the area to be dug was very bit & I didn't feel able to dig it all over by hand. The weeds have duly returned but they come out easily for the most part.
Bean Tunnel


I have two new invaders to deal with this year. Firstly Sycamore seedlings, there is a tree at the edge of the field which has not caused much of a problem before but all the seeds have blown onto the plots and sprouted this year. On worked plots that’s ok because they will just be dealt with like any other weed but where the plots are empty we could have a forest of pesky sycamores spreading more of their seeds until we are overrun! Fortunately most of the vacant land was ploughed up earlier in the year which may have killed some of them, it certainly had no effect on the tough perennial weeds which have returned with vigour.

The other invaders are rogue potatoes – last year the crop was very small (in every way) and I think a lot got left behind and now they are coming up everywhere! I've been growing potatoes with everything!

Brassica Heaven
Looking back to the last picture blog I had just started planting out the broad beans – today I put the last of the crop in the freezer! I had three varieties, Red Karmazyn, Aqua Dulce Claudia and Imperial Green Longpod. I think I'll stick with the Longpod & red ones next year – lovely colours and excellent flavour. I actually managed to grow some peas this year!! A huge harvest resulting in about 12oz of peas! That's 12oz more than previous years. I must find out what I am doing wrong, it's probably not enough water and dreadful soil which are the problems. I am trying to improve things but I think it takes more time & money than I can spare to improve the soil. I'll just keep plodding on – I shall grow green manure again this year to help improve nutrients & soil structure.

This year I have grown far more brassicas than previously, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli and Romanesco Broccoli (or cauliflower if you prefer) that's the green pointy rather alien looking one, I think it is quite beautiful the more you study it. These are all happily living in 'Brassica Heaven' – a cage I constructed using some very fine green mesh & fence posts. It keeps all the nasty beasties out and filters the sun making it a lovely place to go weeding, although the frequency of that job should be lessened by the mulch of straw which I have put in there.

Fruit, Herbs & Tomatillos all mulched
Straw is the latest thing I'm using to combat weeds & drought. It worked very well round the strawberries so I looked online and found it quite acceptable to use liberally on the rest of the allotment. Of course truly Organic gardeners would need to be careful about where it is sourced from but I do not claim to be fully organic so a local farm which was selling bales for £1 each was fine for me. A kind gardening neighbour also got me a couple free of charge so the allotment will be well covered when I'm done.

Special treatment for Blueberries
I've got a lot more fruit in a larger area. I've moved some stray strawberries near to the others and added gooseberries, black currants and red currants. The fruit area is now bordered with some herbs for the bees to enjoy. The Blueberries have never been moved into tubs as planned. I bought a soil testing meter and checked the plants at home which had been replanted into ericacious compost last year. I was dismayed to find that the soil was no longer acidic – that explains why the Camellia was looking so miserable. I checked the soil on the allotment and it read the same (I have some doubts about the accuracy of this tool). I decided to leave them there and give them special feed for acid loving plants and have mulched them with pine needles. Only time will tell how effective this will be.

Tomatillo
Further down the plot there are climbing and dwarf French beans and runner beans growing on the rose arches again; carrots, parsnips, pumpkins, courgettes, butternut squash, celery, onions, shallots and tomatillos. The latter are a totally new crop for me – supposedly very easy to grow and high yielding. Their Latin name is Physalis philadelphica – relatives of Cape Gooseberries they are from the nightshade family. They are used a lot in Mexican cooking rather than tomatoes. So far they have proved very easy to grow, I have several on the allotment and have kept the remainder in the greenhouse. The Squashes not only have a mulch of straw they also have personal irrigation. Ollas are traditional clay pots which are sunk into the ground and filled with water which then seeps out gradually giving a continuous supply of water to crops. I am using milk cartons which I've punctured with a pin – maybe a bit too enthusiastically as they seem to leak too quickly but I can replace them with others if necessary.
Squashes with mulch and irrigation pots

Left Tomatoes
Cucumbers and Tomatoes
Up in the greenhouse I have the usual tomato plants, this year I am very proud to say that I have grown them all from seed – usually they all fail and I have to but in late replacements. I have Ailsa Craig and Moneymaker for the main crop then a late addition is Red Pear which I got with Grow Your Own magazine. They are all big and healthy and there are plenty of fruits forming. I also have cucumbers – Crystal Lemon. I planted six and all three in one pot failed completely so they have been replaced with Cucamelons – another one new to me. These very vigorous vines bear fruits the size of grapes which look like tiny water melons, they are said to taste of cucumber with a hint of lime and can be eaten fresh or pickled. Although I've kept them in the greenhouse they can also be grown outside but I didn't have a suitable space so left them inside.



Courgettes and first broad beans
On the whole things are going far better than last year, at least I have some broad beans in the freezer and have harvested peas and courgettes. There is still much to be done and much to look forward to.
Beautiful and delicious


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