Wood Pigeons are New Superfood!*

EAT ME!!!!

All you carnivores out there go and eat Wood Pigeons – they are marvellous! They are free range, live very happy lives and have a very healthy diet – mostly strawberries and pea shoots from allotments. There are thousands of them about so there are plenty to go round. Just think of all the pies, casseroles and roasts you could have and how many gardeners and farmers you would be making happy. Eating wood pigeons would be a great service to the nation – go on tuck in!!!*

( * I made that up - I just want rid of them by fair means or fowl!)

Where to start?

I've not posted anything for a while because of various things – weather, work, holiday and working on the allotment. When I went down the allotment after our holiday I found a weed choked thirsty mess. I had to come up with a plan of action otherwise I would have just been jumping from one job to another and not really achieving anything. I decided to start at the bottom end where the peas and beans are. 

Look No Weeds!

The first job was to weed the peas which had been grown in bottles. They then needed support so I used some plastic plant support along one side and tried to encourage them to grow up this. Then I hoed out the weeds where the field peas should have been growing. After that I carried on with a hoe down and worked up towards the potatoes. This was done on a very hot day and turned out to be more tiring than it sounds. My weeding was interrupted when I went up to the shed for something and found wood pigeons eating my strawberries so I harvested the fruit then changed the chicken wire tunnels to make them more pigeon proof. 

Sickly potatoes

The dry weather is causing great distress to the plants with spinach and onions running to seed early; broad beans plants are about half the size they were this time last year; French beans are tiny – barely two inches long and goodness know what is happening to the potatoes – the earlies and salads are all turning yellow and dying off and I don't think it is because they are ready to be dug up. Before I went away I replanted where seeds had failed to germinate – mainly Scorzonera and Chard – There is still little or no germination, it is very disheartening. Equally disheartening are the peas which I rescued from weeds only to have the plants stripped of leaves by pigeons. More mesh has been put in place to protect what remains. 

Small rewards

Today I chanced it and put in some Speedy french bean seeds where the field peas should have been. I also finally planted out my pumpkins, it was cool and cloudy so they should be able to settle in ok. The combination of very dry weather causing distressed and undersized plants and crops and masses of choking weeds has got me down today. Weeds wouldn't be so bad if they stayed away but wherever I clear space and plant seeds all I get is more weeds! Pigeons eating and crapping on everything don't help either. I had to fish a dead pigeon out of the half full waterbutt today as well! At least its one less pest! Next time I go to the allotment I shall take the big strimmer and get on top of those weeds. If only making it rain was as easy. On the bright side I have again come home with a box of beautiful jewel red strawberries!

Before we went away I went on a Master Gardeners day at Holt Hall and visited their wonderful vegetable gardens. The garden has been in cultivation for over 100 years. There is an old hot house where melons were once cultivated and next door is a marvellous greenhouse where strawberries and tomatoes grow in one half and seeds are raised and potted on in the other half. A poly tunnel was full of early crops of potatoes, carrots, beetroot and courgette. The best part is the walled garden where different methods of cultivation are used. There are raised beds, no dig beds, 3x3 metre garden, wild life area, a pond and much much more. It was a really inspirational visit and I came away with a lot of ideas. Holt Hall gardens are open every third Sunday (the next one is 21^st July) and free of charge – well worth a visit.

The Exquisite Walled Garden at Holt Hall

Summertime and the weedin' is easy

Slowly but surely

This morning when I went down the allotment it was a pleasant summers day, a bit blustery but warm in the sunshine on the sheltered allotment site. We had rain overnight so the ground was nicely moistened. By the time I left the allotment about two hours later the clouds were building up for more rain. The wind became more blustery and after about another hour of building there was heavy downpour and a clap of thunder. This all blew through pretty quickly and now we have sunshine again for a while. It’s really great to be getting some rain, am I the only one to be so happy about it?!

My Neighbouring Plot

North of the Path

This year's trend

The south side of the path

Holding back the tide of weeds

Down on the allotment things are getting growing, especially the weeds! The French beans are recovering from their sunburn but still not looking as happy as they could be. The results of last weeks hoeing meant that there were only a few small weeds to be pulled out from among the Carrots and Scorzonera. I filled in the gaps in the rows of carrots with seedlings given to me by a friend at work. The Scorzonera can be planted right up until the end of May so as we are running about a month behind schedule I chanced it and put a load more seeds in then covered them with the cloches to keep them extra warm and speed things up. Where the spinach had been planted out there was some space under the chicken wire so I filled in more gaps with new sowings of seeds there too. Down at the Chard I cleared out all the weeds then raked it ready to put in more Ruby Chard on one row and Spinach Beet on the other row. There is still room for the Chard seedlings which are in the greenhouse but not yet big enough to plant out. Sadly it looks like one of the Butternut Squash plants hasn't survived. However there are several pumpkin seedlings growing in the greenhouse so I'll plant them out when they are sturdy enough. It was a brief visit to the allotment today, there is still some clearing to do and the edges need strimming but I needed lunch and I knew the weather was very changeable so I only planned a short visit.

Did I miss the Wassailing?

Once again I seemed to be the only person down there – I say seemed because I can't see every plot from our plot. I don't know when other people do their allotment work because nearly every time I go down the place is deserted! (Perhaps they are trying to tell me something!!) However there are always signs that work has gone on. I took some pictures on the walk back top show you all. You will see that there are still a lot of derelict plots overrun with weeds which makes it difficult in the ongoing battle with weeds that everyone has. You will also see that there is a trend for blue waterpipes to be used as cloches. I'm old school and stick to chicken wire (no not literally!).

Whether the weather be good......

Gardeners, like farmers, are always complaining about the weather – too hot, wet, dry, cold – and rightly so! Those of the population who are not trying to grow crops just don't understand how important it is to have the right amount of rain and sunshine to make everything grow and produce food. Last week I went to the allotment in scorching sunshine. This week it was back to cloud and low temperatures. I planted out French beans and they got scorched by the sun, now they are shivering and parched. We have had no rain for about two weeks and the free draining soil has drained and turned to dust with a concrete crust. The effect of this capricious weather is that most crops are way behind where they should be and many seeds haven't even germinated. Even the weeds are struggling!

 

The Bean Arch

Last week I took my apprentice (the advantage of being a Master Gardener!!) to the allotment  and he did a marvellous job of digging over the weedy area and clearing it (Gardening skill went up a notch). I have been able to clear the backlog of seedlings from the greenhouse at last. The climbing bean arch has been constructed and beans planted, Cobra on one side Scarlet Emperor on the other. The four surviving Buternut Squash plants are planted along with the Dwarf French Beans, sprouted parsnips, onions and leeks. That has just about filled the area cleared by my apprentice. I have also added another row of mixed potatoes (destined for the compost bin at work) they are a Jamie Oliver taster kit including Sarpo Mira, Majestic, King Edward and Pentland Javelin. Yesterday I went and 'puddled in' the leeks. I theory You dib a hole drop in the leek and fill the hole with water. I practice the soil was so dry it was like digging on a beach above the high tide line so holes couldn't be dibbed because they kept collapsing in on themselves. I had to pull the soil aside with a trowel then very quickly drop in the leek before it filled with soil.

Tidier Strawberries Sad Blueberries

At least they all got a good watering. The Butternut Squash were gasping so I had to give them all a good drink, I may try fitting reservoirs to them using large cola bottles pushed into the ground. I then went for a hoe down – along all the rows where seedling should be sprouting. There were very few of anything; Carrots, Scorzonera, Chard or Field Peas. Fortunately the other day I sowed more Chard seeds and Carrots can be sown at any time but the Scorzonera, like parsnips should have been sown much earlier. I have little to lose though so I'll probably put some more seeds in cells in the greenhouse then transplant them and hope they grow big enough to use by the end of autumn.

Weed free for now

 

I also removed the protection from the Asparagus as it has grown very tall then I set about weeding around them again. I found that disappointingly few of the many Calendula seeds have sprouted, maybe they will come up if the weather settles down to what it should be. The fruit 'cage' (it has no mesh at the moment) has been weeded so now I can see how well the strawberries are doing and how poorly the Blueberries are fairing – I think I may move them back into pots of ericacious compost and keep them at home. The only things which seem to being this dry spell are the strawberries (well mulched) and the herbs.

4 Moneymakers 2 Gardeners Delight

Up in the greenhouse all is growing well. The tomatoes are in big pots (I found some other suitable ones) and the cucumbers in terracotta bowls. All are sitting in gravel trays to keep them watered. On the bench more seeds are growing, salad leaves and radishes to go by the back door and biennials for next year. 

Bowl of Cucumber

 

Also growing are spiders! In the top of the pot bag was a clump of spiderlings. That wasn't much of a problem so long as they stayed put. They didn't. One day I went to work in the greenhouse and the spiderlings had moved up to the bubblewrap roof via the tomatoes and made little cobwebs everywhere! On the next visit they had all gone – I have visions of not being able to get in there one day because of all the spider webs!

Spiderlings

Pixies with Pinking Shears

Beans in waiting

Last week I was bemoaning the fact that we had had so little rain. Thankfully we have had a decent amount since I wrote that and the allotment is now much easier to dig. Unfortunately it has turned colder again so planting out is slowed down  creating a backlog in the greenhouse. With the long winter and cold spring everything has become bunched up and I am trying to do things which should have been done at least a month ago as well as all the things that are scheduled for May.

 

Cardboard mulched with upturned weeds

Free Squashes

 I went down the to the allotment during the week and finished my cardboard mulching leaving a narrow strip for the bean arch. Now that the beans are all growing well I shall find time to get the arch constructed and in position then I can plant the beans out. I have got so many seedlings growing that I have taken up some space in another greenhouse (they stand side by side in the back garden). There are beans galore, butternut squash onions and leeks all waiting to go down the allotment. I have finally managed to get the maincrop potatoes in although they haven't sprouted very well. I hope that in the ground they will come to life and get growing. I was very disappointed to see that where I had weeded around the asparagus and herbs then planted a load of marigold seeds weeds have come back again. There is lesser bindweed which has the trick of snapping off its roots when you try to pull it out and every bit of root left in the soil will sprout. The same goes for a thistle which is also growing there (I am not very good at identifying the many different types of thistle). The asparagus which was about an inch tall when I put protection round it rapidly grew to over a foot tall! I hadn't planned on harvesting it this year as this is only its second year on the allotment and it should be left for two years before harvesting to build up strength. I shall look forward to eating some next year.

Scary Broad Beans (www.trekbbs.com)

I planted out some extra beans which were in the greenhouse. There were some French beans I acquired from the Master gardener weekend. I also have some Klingon broad beans which I was given by a master gardener – well they are a variety called Martok and all fans of Star Trek Deep Space Nine will remember General Martok – I expect they will all be ridged in true Klingon style!  The other broad beans have been attacked – possibly by pixies with pinking shears judging buy the neat work round the edges of many of the leaves. I suspect that something more mundane is guilty although I am not sure what. On the photos there seem to be a lot of black aphids and a slug but this looks more like caterpillar damage. Further investigation is needed.

Pixies with Pinking Shears

Up in the greenhouse I have been busy potting on seedlings of Scabious, Amaranthus and Canterbury Bells. Soon I hope they will be big enough to put out into the garden. The Moneymaker seedlings are in bigger pots. I really need to get the Gardeners Delight into big pots but the pots I use are currently inhabited by Blackcurrant cuttings waiting to be planted out on the allotment. As soon as there is room I need to sow seeds of biennials to plant out next year. 

Finally.......Having spent the winter trying to protect my Camellia I have been rewarded with the first show flowers for a couple of years at least.

Camellia of the Wilow Weep

So much to do – so little time …. I'd better stop typing and get on with something!!

Weeding and Thinking

Stop the Pigeon!

I'm quite excited by this weekend's weather forecast – they actually have rain over Norfolk!! I will believe it when I see it. The poor old allotment is parched, I haven't put any more new things in down there because they probably wouldn't survive and the ground is dry and quite hard to dig. I went down the other day, when once again rain was forecast, and uncovered the broad beans and bottle grown peas. They now have tents of chicken mesh over them, along with many other beds down there.

 

Cardboard mulch

In the end it barely rained at all. I have continued putting down cardboard and covering with uprooted weeds, in the hope that the dry weather will kill them off. I have plenty of cardboard in the shed, enough to finish off the bottom end and in doing so I will just have enough room to put up the rose arches to make a climbing bean tunnel. Despite all this dry weather the weeds are growing very happily so I cleared the herb/asparagus bed of weeds then scattered some Calendula seeds and covered the emerging asparagus shoots so nobody else could feast on them. I may cut a few shoots if they are big enough but really I should wait until next year.

Useful friend

Up in the greenhouse there is good news from the parsnip seeds – a lot of them have started sprouting so I have been popping them into compost. Yes I know it is very late but at least they are growing. Trouble is I have now run out of suitable compost so the rest will have to wait for a couple more days. I planted tomato seeds earlier in the year, the Moneymakers have grown but Alicante did nothing so I have put in some more Alicante but as insurance I've bought some plants from a local garden centre. I bought two Gardeners Delight and two Tumblers. Strangely the African Marigolds also failed to germinate too, so they have been resown. Lots of beans have been planted in the greenhouse; Cobra (climbing French) and sweet peas together; Borlotti beans which I found in the shed on the allotment; Runner beans have replaced the hopeless soya beans and Flagolets are all in separate cells (saves them fighting!). Many other things (flowers and veg) are sprouting so I will be very busy planting out soon.

Ribes Odoratum

Around the garden at home I have been weeding and seeding. I wasn't unable to get the alpines this year so I have scattered various seeds in the sink and covered it to keep them warm and stop the cats using it as a litter tray. In the coalshed bed I have again tried to grow Canary Creeper (it says simple to grow on the packet) last year they sprouted then died. I have also added some Asters because they wont mind the mix of sunshine and shade which they will get there. The three little pink Fuchsias have survived the winter and are showing signs of life. I have repotted the Rosemary which I brought back from the allotment and put into a shallow pot on a pedestal by the back door. It will now stay in a large deep pot near the decking. I have surrounded it with Coriander and Sorrel. In a very similar pot I have put some spare Sweet Peas and Nasturtium seeds. The pots by the back door now have thyme and chives in them. I may add something else which can tolerate such vigorous neighbours. In the 'awkward bed' by the back door I have planted the Clematis which was in the sink, much too hot for it there, hopefully it will grow up through the huge Escallonia Macrantha along with the Honeysuckle I put in last year. Underneath here I have planted out the Cyclamen which were in bowls of compost all winter. I am glad to say that my Yellow Flowering Currant Ribes Odoratum is in flower – just one cluster, can't go overdoing it! I bought it as a twig and now it is growing into a good healthy bush.

In need of restoration

bubble wrap heaven

We have got very strong winds again and I once again I am worried about the greenhouse. It is very old, my mum gave it to me a few years ago and it was about twenty then. Currently all the good sheets are used at the top and the damaged ones at the bottom. This allows me to recycle large sheets of tinted twin wall polycarbonate at the bottom, either wedged or tied in place. Although the aluminium frame is fairly good the plastic sheets which fit into it have become very brittle and many of them are damaged. The original sheets are 1mm thick and I have found it very hard to find this thickness so it would mean getting thicker glazing and carefully opening the channels to accommodate it. To replace the damaged ones would cost in excess of £100 hence the large amounts of 'Gaffer' tape and bubble wrap currently in use! To replace all 40 panels would cost the same as a new greenhouse. I think a plan B is needed!

We've had some rain!!!

Digging and Planting

April shower with attitude

The bold leap of spring has already hit on a wobble. A few days ago the temperatures were hitting the giddy heights of the high teens, even twenty degrees in some places. Today we are back to just scraping double figures. Frosts at night are not unexpected at this time of year, often followed by glorious sunny days. Today got off to a good start then cloud marched in and turned everything very cold. On Saturday morning we even had a hailstorm.

I have ventured down to the allotment and been busy putting in the early potatoes; this years varieties are Première, International Kidney and Anya. The latter courtesy of a fellow gardener I met at the Master Gardener's induction weekend. I was hoping to get some of the Sarpo varieties but could only find 'taster' packs of five, not

Beds of seeds and mounds of potatoes

enough to feed a family and more expensive. Next to the potatoes I have added two rows of Scorzonera, something which is being grown as an experiment this year as I have not even eaten it let alone grown it before! Carrots have been put in next to the Scorzonera too. I have also uncovered the onions which have been living under the triangle tunnel all winter, they needed a bit of weeding and a lot of water. Next to the onions are two rows of Chard, again a first time for me but I've heard that it is better than spinach, which is a great favourite of mine. Most of the greenhouse grown broad beans have been planted out and are now having their turn under the triangle cloche next to the chard. Next to the broad beans are two double rows of field peas, which I was given, they should grow without needing any supporting pea sticks. I'll just be glad if they grow!

Tomatolings

 

The rotavating which I was waiting for sort of happened. In some areas the soil was too hard and dry for the machine to cut into so It couldn't be turned. There were a couple of places which were easier to work and I have very quickly filled them with plants or seeds. I was left with the quandary of what to do with the other areas which are not only hard to dig but once again choked with weeds, particularly grass. I could just get my spade and fork and dig it over, quickest but also back breaking work. I expect I shall have to do some of it that way because I need room to put in more potatoes and lots more beans. It is in the bean area that most work needs to be done! I have started to try out a different method, the no dig system. It may be a bit late to start because many of the weeds are well established. I have already started covering the ground with cardboard and covering that with soil. It will take a lot of cardboard and it will take some months before I can use it but if it works I shall save myself a lot of back breaking digging. I will cover spare ground with weed suffocating material in future.

Free Butternut Squash

Back in the greenhouse a lot more seeds have been planted, mainly vegetables but some flowers for the home garden. There are signs of life in several trays but the Spinach hasn't come up again, I hope it is just being slow. Using a tip from a fellow Master gardener I am trying to sprout parsnip seeds on a damp paper towel ready for planting out. Parsnip seeds are notorious for not keeping so this is a good way of seeing if you need a fresh pack. So far no life, same for the soya beans.

It could be spring

According to a newspaper today we are going to have a drought in May! Well April was not exactly rain soaked round here. Perhaps I should start growing Cacti instead!

At last we shall have spring flowers.....

Rip Van Winkle

Wow! We have temperatures in double figures AND the sun has been shining. The wind has turned to the south so the general consensus is that, one month late, SPRING IS HERE! It is late but it doesn't have a note from Mother Nature explaining its lateness, or apologising!! Clearly it has gone to my head. In the garden we have Forsythia, daffodils and primroses. Having spent the last few weeks franticly feeding the birds are now nest building like its going out of fashion. The nestbox cam is set up and we have a Bluetit in residence, it has been roosting in there for a couple of weeks at least. I heard a real herald of spring this evening – the Housemartins have started to return -Hooray!- the first one's were chattering in their nest on our neighbour's house. I don't know what will happen when the three who nested near our bedroom window will do when they get back – Wrens have been roosting in their nest over the winter, there could be ugly scenes.

Borad beans

Enough of the birds what about the garden?! I hear you cry. Well........

Ready to burst

   

The greenhouse is full to bursting with seeds in various pots, cells, bottles etc etc. I have risked the weather and moved the frost tender Acers outside along with the two small Christmas trees and two berberis but they are only just outside and can be shoehorned back in if necessary. The broad beans and peas are sprouting, there is even life in the spinach and tomatoes! The assorted fruit bushes, or cuttings of fruit bushes are mostly coming to life. I hope the dead looking ones will still have live roots and catch up soon. Out in the garden the Rhubarb has red nodes where the leaves are forming, lovely sweet young rhubarb coming very soon. I have been planting Nigella and Malope seeds in the difficult corner, I also popped in some hibernating Crocosmia which had been languishing in pots. Unfortunately one Ceanothus which was put in for ground cover seems to have been killed by the frost. The wonky Weigela has been moved to the bed where the giant Spirea lives, we only managed to get about a third of it out. Down on the allotment not a lot has happened. Mainly because I have been away training......

Peas in a bottle

I have joined Garden Organic's Master Gardener scheme and spent last weekend over at Gressenhall for the induction course and to meet the other nineteen new recruits. It was a very enjoyable weekend, I learnt a lot, made new friends and my love of gardening was rejuvenated. Being a Master Gardener is a voluntary post where experienced gardeners go out into their communities to help families or schools or other community groups to grow fruit and vegetables organically. Full details are available on http://norfolk.mastergardeners.org.uk/ I am really looking forward to getting my teeth into this exciting new venture.