Hard Work

diminutive daffs

We ll spring has sprung at last! Although today today's temperatures have taken a tumble after the highs of yesterday (20C under clear blue skies!) there is great feeling in the air. In the back garden I have lots of Tete-a-tete daffodils (all of 4” high) and crocuses and there are lots more bulbs poking their noses through. The grass has been cut for the first time too!

On Saturday I spent five hours down on the allotment. The raspberries and blueberries were pruned. I mulched the asparagus with some of my home made compost – quite pleased with it and there's plenty left for digging in with the strawberries and some of the beans, I have a lot of beans planned so it will need a lot of compost. I also dug out a very weedy area ready to put in the carrots – that was quite hard work for the start of the season but my back survived! There's similar patch half way up the allotment to do at a later date.

giant crocus

I've realised that I've been doing the allotment all wrong!! I've been working it as a whole plot then walking paths between the beds. This really wastes a lot of time and effort. It also means that I can't spread fertilisers or organic matter to rot down over winter as much will be wasted. So when I planned the allotment this time I plotted out permanent beds roughly 6ft wide with paths about 2ft between each. They will be about 3 metres long purely because thing like cloches and tunnels tend to be made that length. (Yes I know I'm mixing my measurements but it can't be helped!) The trouble is that the allotment is about 15ft wide (it is measured in chains – or some other archaic measurement) so I'll have an odd very long bed running down one side but unless I break it into much smaller pieces and lose even more growing space to paths I think it will work ok.

It's back!

Yesterday I took the plunge and put the cover back on the mini greenhouse and then moved a lot of pots into it. I've not put seeds in it because I've had a similar building blow over before and lost all the seeds which were inside it. Instead I'll be keeping the seed trays in the main greenhouse, which I think is warmer because it is twin walled. The only big plants left in there are the Camellia and two Acers, just in case there are any frosts in the next week or so. I have put in plenty of seeds now – Romanesco, Broccoli, Canadian Wonder Beans, New Zealand Spinach, and Parsnips. Down in the heated propagator are pre-sprouted tomatoes (from the tray on the windowsill) two pots of electric daisies and three pots of tomatillos. The tray of flower seeds are doing well, lots of tiny fragile seedlings. Having emptied one compost dalek I was able to turn the second one into it. A smelly and heavy job but well worth doing because the bottom had become very compacted and slimy, it wasn't composting well so hopefully now that it has been turned over it will compost down a lot better. I need to look at what I put in there – I think it needs more dry matter, perhaps straw or shredded paper and turning over or mixing about more often to keep the air flowing. It had a good start with lots of old compost from Rob's greenhouse clear out.

hidden gems

One thing which didn't get composted were the chilli plants found by the bin – Rob had emptied his greenhouse and dumped them leaving most of the chillies on the plants so I sat and pulled them off, I will put them on string soon and hang them in the airing cupboard to dry then eventually they will all be ground down to make my own chilli powder.

hot box

This lead me to thinking about the importance of only growing what you intend to eat or maybe sell. Many newcomers to grow your own make the mistake of growing everything that is traditional whether they like it or not. I have seen plots with large amounts of thing like Broad Beans, Brussels Sprouts and Runner Beans going to waste because they were grown out of habit rather than need. With ever spiralling seed prices it really is important to plan carefully what to grow. I always go by what I like most, is hard to get in the shops, is always expensive in the shops and maybe it is a bit unusual. To this end this year I am making the soft fruit area much larger, likewise the area dedicated to hungry veg – beans, spinach and aliums is bigger. I am also not doing potatoes as they take up a lot of room, always stay relatively cheap in the shops and there is wireworm in the soil. Some people grow things which are trendy but then much later discover that they either don't like said plant or have no idea what to do with it. This then has the knock on effect of denting their confidence. It isn't the same as growing something as an experiment, this usually done as a informed choice which may or may not work out well. I did that last year with the salsify, I was curious so I tried it and was not impressed. The Chard was a similar experiment but more successful as I enjoyed it's earthy flavour and will grow it again (if I have room). I also plant to experiment with growing lentils this year too as I love to eat them and can't always get my favourite type. The same rule applies to greenhouses – don't grow tomatoes if you don't really like them – grow something different that you do like, maybe different fruit such as melons, or get some early fruiting strawberries. If you are a veg lover try Aubergines and Peppers instead.  Whether your passion is for tomatoes, carrots or brassicas try some different varieties – either new F1 hybrids or heritage as well as the reliable varieties the choices are amazing especially if you search online.  I think we all need to get more imaginative in our growing.