Thursday was blustery start to (almost) March,  so it was too windy for a bonfire. However the ground was dry enough to start digging in the green manure. The pruning of the willows grown as a windbreak was finished and the prunings tidied up for later use and we made good use of a delivery of woodchip to top up the paths. Catkins A shoot growing from the rootstock of one of the apples was separated from the trunk and planted out to create the rootstock for a future grafting operation. Finally the cherry tree was netted – needing all of us to hold the netting and fix it securely. Bullfi ..read more

After having to cancel our previous session because of the severe cold, last Thursday we enjoyed a day of sunshine and mild(ish) temperatures and a splendid double rainbow. There was work to be done clearing up after the storms. The netting round the strawberries was blown down and before it was put up again the dead leaves were removed from the plants, reducing the hiding places for slugs. The hazel/willow windbreak on the north edge was partly blown down and a temporary fix was made. The pak choi was killed by the frost and the chard suffered badly so we dug up the pak choi and a fleece cov ..read more

Thursday was a chilly and overcast day but we had another bonfire to cheer us up and warm us. Bonfires and baked potatoes go together so we had a little experiment. With a brazier we need to get it emptied before we leave so there is no time to bake the potatoes in the ash. We wrapped some very small potatoes in foil and put them underneath the can as soon as it was going, to see what would happen. We found that the upper half closer to the heat was baked but not the lower half resting on the ground. Next time we shall put the potatoes on a slate to reflect the heat and see it that helps to ba ..read more

Thursday saw the last planting of the year, with the autumn onion sets being put in, variety Senshyu Yellow. These will settle in and grow away next year to give an early crop. The winter brassicas – sprouts and purple sprouting broccoli – are now big enough to need tied firmly to strong stakes to keep them upright in the winter winds. The sweetcorn is just about finished and we started to clear that bed and, with the night temperatures dropping, there will be little growth (if any) now on the courgettes so out with them too. On the maintenance side, the posts supporting the wiring for the esp ..read more

Another good day on the weeding, as we concentrate on keeping the fruit and veg beds free of weeds, with a more relaxed approach to the flower beds round the edges. The next batch of potatoes were dug up – this time the second earlies varieties Orla and Nicola, both giving excellent returns but especially Nicola, from four tubers each. Potato crop – Nicola on the left. The red onions were lifted and field beans were sown as a winter green manure. Field beans are very hardy and survive on the plot to be dug in in the spring. The growing tips of the squashes were taken off. Now we are in the m ..read more

The rain over the past week has helped plant growth and we didn’t get the hose out for a change. Everything is growing well including the weeds and all the self-sown flowers round the plot make it a lovely sight. First of the early potatoes Today (Thursday)  the purple sprouting broccoli for spring picking was sown, and succession rows of peas, carrots, kohl rabi and turnips. We dug up the first of the early potatoes, picked the first of the broad beans and shared a picking of strawberries with the farmhouse cafe. The soft fruit is beginning to ripen and it was netted against the birds ..read more

Another warm week and thankfully we had some rain but the watering needs to continue, especially for the soft fruit which was moved in the autumn and is still settling in. For the first time, even the rhubarb is being watered since it was dug up and split over the winter and is slow in establishing itself again. The leeks were put in. The ground was watered beforehand and compost added before the leeks were planted using a dibber to create a hole for each one which was then watered in. The top growth on each leek was trimmed off to reduce the stress on each plant as it starts to root itself in ..read more

Thursday was all about planting out the tender summer veg and starting on the winter brassicas. Good roots on the heritage kale Despite the continuing east wind and unseasonal temperatures, the plants brought on at home are ready to be put in though with the sweetcorn and courgettes, we put light fleece over them to help them adjust and will keep it on for a couple of days.  The sweet corn needs to be planted out in a block since it is wind pollinated. Planting sweetcorn in a block pattern We also put in runner beans, climbing and dwarf French beans, squashes and chicory. Succession r ..read more

The sweetcorn plants are growing well at home but it will be another week or so before we can plant them out on our exposed allotment.  Also at home the courgettes, squashes, runner and French beans are all coming on.  The hardy veg can be sown direct, so on Thursday we sowed some more carrots to allow for a succession of cropping and we also sowed some kohl rabi. As the seeds germinate and grow we need to thin the young plants to give the remainder room to grow and that is particularly the case when you are sowing  very small seeds such as carrots and turnips. Thinning th ..read more

There was no need for warm jackets on Thursday. The lack of rain is really showing now. Once you start planting, you can see how dry the soil is. The hose came out for the first time this year to keep the new plantings and the new fruit bushes thriving. Trained apple tree We did more planting out of the peas that we had brought on at home but we can now go for direct sowing as the mice now have other food sources available. Some Swiss chard plants were also put in. The frame for the runner beans was put up which needed the help of the tallest person on the team and the bed for the sweet ..read more