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DIARY
2003
No time to be
lazing around, a New Year and plenty to do down on the plot.
You are all
very welcome to come and join us.
JANUARY.
The
year has started as 2002 finished - very wet. With the torrential rain the plot
is flooded and it is impossible to get on the ground other than to continue
harvesting the winter vegetables. There is lots to do
and as soon as the weather improves I will bring you news as soon as I can.
In
the meantime there is one date for your diary not to be missed. On March 18th at 7.30
pm, the G.A.H.& G.A. are holding an evening with
Mr. Trim from the National Vegetable Society at H.E.D.C.A. Coombe Road, Elson, Gosport.
Mr. Trim advises on fruit and vegetable growing and is a NVS show judge. All
are very welcome. Admission is free to members and £1.OO to non-
members.
After
10 days of the 'big freeze', the water has drained enough for us to get on the
plot. A winter tar wash has been applied to all fruit trees and I have pruned
back the tops of the raspberry canes to just above the level of the top
supporting frame this will prevent any wind damage and also encourage strong
fruiting spurs to form in the spring. Pigeons are a problem again and I have
had to cover the purple sprouting with netting. I have made my first sowing of
large onion seed Fl 'Golden Bear' and 'Hysam' in the greenhouse. These will be pricked out into
2" cell trays when they reach the loop stage.
Continue
to gather up and compost any rotting vegetation to avoid over wintering pests
and diseases.
20th
January - with yet more heavy rain we are again flooded but undeterred we have
taken delivery of some more wood chippings to top up our perimeter paths. This
has helped to soak up some of the water.
We
have also taken on another 5 rod plot. Starting from scratch again will be
quite a challenge. It is at the time of writing water-logged but I hope to
bring you news of our progress as soon as we can get started.
|
|
Our new
plot - No. 34 |
FEBRUARY
The beginning of the month has started dry but still very cold. I
have made a start on Plot 34 by marking out the beds with string and pegs. The
ground is draining and I have started the digging. On the veg plot the purple
sprouting is producing some nice young shoots and with regular picking and
protected with netting from the pigeons, should continue to crop for some 2
months.
The last week of the month and although the soil is now in a good
crumbly condition it is far too cold to be planting yet so I have put out 3
polythene cloches. These should warm the soil up nicely in about 3 weeks to to begin some early sowings of parsnips, carrots etc. in
March. In the meantime I have been getting underway in the greenhouse, sowing
cabbage 'Earliest of All' , cauliflower F'Rapido (a new one for me to try) and a reliable favourite
'Lateman'. Also lettuce 'Little
Gem' and 'Density'. The Celeriac needs a gentle heat to germinate so
these I have placed on top of our central heating combi-boiler.
Beetroot 'Tardel' and Spring Onion
'White Lisbon' have been sown in modules and peas 'Greenshaft'
in 3 inch pots 6 peas to a pot.
On the fruit plot, all with the exception of the Strawberries, have been given a top dressing of Sulphate of
Potash. At the time of writing the Strawberry plants are not looking very good.
I think they have suffered from the long wet conditions this Winter
and I may have to re-think planting a new bed in the Autumn.
On Plot 34, we have now nearly finished digging the beds over and
John is making good headway with the edging. We have been very fortunate to
obtain some good solid timber discarded from the old iron warship 'HMS Warrior'
which is having her decking re-newed.
|
|
(End of
Feb) Beds are
now dug over and John is making good progress with the edging. The paths will
be laid with old carpet before filling in with a thick layer of wood
chippings. |
MARCH
The first week in the month and I have made
early sowings of carrots under the protection of the plastic cloche which has been
warming up the soil; 'Amsterdam Forcing', 'Blunt Guerande'
(A new one for us to try from Thomas Etty) and 'Sytan'. I have delayed sowing Parsnips due to the
weather being very windy again. We have taken delivery of another load of
manure which half has been put in the compost bin and half will be used to dig
in on plot 34. These beds are very low and will need raising
as much as we can because of any future winter flooding.
In the greenhouse, Leeks and the first tomatoes have been sown. I
am trialing 'F1 Ferline'
from The Kitchen Garden which is supposed to be blight resistant. I will report
back on this later in the year.
14th of the month - On a calm and less windy day I have now sown
the parsnips, 'Panache F1', 'White Gem' and 'Avon Resister'. These will take
about 6 weeks to germinate so I have covered the ground with some twiggy
branches to keep the 'wild life' off.
I have also made a start on the potatoes. 'Aran
Pilot' and 'Foremost'. As this is heavy work for us ladies I aim to
plant 3 rows (7 tubers each) at a time; first taking out a trench a good spade
depth, adding a good layer of well- rotted compost before setting out the
tubers. Filling in and earthed up to a mound. This will protect any early
shoots from the frosts. I have well prepared the onion bed with Armillatox to help combat the white onion rot. This needs
to be done 3 weeks prior to planting.
We are continuing to dig plenty of manure into plot 34.
In the greenhouse I have pricked out tomatoes and celeriac and
sown chard 'Rainbow', French Marigolds, Coreopsis, Gaillardia, Helichrysum, Statice, Aster,
Gazania, Cineraria, and Rudebeckia.
I am continuing to harvest delicious Purple Sprouting 'Red Arrow',
Kale 'Dwarf Green Curled' and leeks.
Our evening on the 18th with Mr. Trim from the N.V.S. was very
enjoyable with about 100 attending. Our sincere thanks to all
who helped to make this, our first social evening, such a success. It
has given us plenty of thoughts for future events.
The last week of the month and we have made good use of the
glorious Spring weather. I have now planted out the
peas 'Greenshaft' but as the nights are still cold I
have given them some protection with fleece. The potatoes are now all planted,
with 'Pink Fir Apple','Romano' and 'Ambro' to complete the main crop. Also onion sets 'Fen
Globe'. These I have planted just below soil level to deter the birds from
pulling them out, and covering with some twigs till they are established. I
have scattered chicken pellets on all vacant ground and lightly raked in. Tip - I have found
that cats don't like the smell of chicken pellets and it does seem to keep them
off my plot.
|
Peas
planted between the frame then twigs added for support before being covered
with fleece. |
2 beds of early
potatoes Aran Pilot, Foremost
and some Pink Fir Apple |
Plot
34 - now ready for planting.
APRIL
I am continuing to plant out onions, grown from seed in modules. 'Golden Bear' and 'Hysam' also the red
onion 'Brunswick'. In the greenhouse it is now time to sow sweet corn 'Minimop', french beans, 'The
Prince' and 'Cobra' (the climbing one), courgettes, (yellow)'Fl. Jemmer', cucumber 'Bush Champion'. cauliflower
'Dominant' and more lettuce 'Density' and 'Little Gem'.
The shed has been given its annual coat of wood preservative and
John has been busy erecting supports for the tomatoes and canes for the runner
beans later on.
4th of the month and still making good use of the fine weather I
have now planted out cauliflower 'F1 Rapido', cabbage
'Earliest of All' and more lettuce but there is still a chance we may have a
frost and the night temperatures could fall very quickly so I have covered it
all with fleece. The plot is now looking very much like 'a white igloo farm'.
|
Cauliflower
F1 Rapido under fleece. |
Peas, Cauli, Cabbage etc. under fleece. |
Busy
bee on the plum blossom.
Easter
week-end and the weather has now turned cold and windy
again. We have not had any rain for so long the plot is very dry and watering
to keep the plants going is essential now. I am glad I have kept the fleece in
place it not only protects the plants from the drying winds but any bugs that
might be about to. I have now planted out under fleece the first of the French
Beans, 'The Prince', which I started off in the greenhouse earlier this month.
I am continuing to dead-head the daffodils but will leave the foliage to die
down naturally so as to build up strong bulbs for next year.
In
the greenhouse I have made further sowings of lettuce, beetroot, and fennal; there is still lots to do pricking out the bedding
plants, potting on of tomatoes, celeriac, chard, cauliflower etc.
I
am still harvesting purple sprouting, but the kale has run to seed and has been
consigned to the compost heap.
The
workmen have now nearly completed levelling and relaying our main paths. This
has made a tremendous improvement to our site, making it much easier for plot
holders to drive to their plots for loading and unloading etc.
The
month ended with us welcoming the ladies of the local Art Group to our site.
They spent a very enjoyable afternoon sketching and painting and hope to come
back again later in the year to complete their project through the seasons.
|
|
|
MAY
After some very welcome rain over the last week the ground is now
in a perfect condition for planting.
I have set out the last of the cauliflower 'Dominant', a new one for
us to try from Kings. Celeriac - 'The Prinz', again
from Kings which I grew last year with excellent results. They claim this one
to be bolt resistant. I had 100% success and hope to repeat the same again this
year. Sweet corn 'Minimop' I have set out in the bed
next to the celeriac because I have found it protects the celeriac later on
from the hot sun. Runner beans have been sown in pots in the greenhouse.
The soil is now perfect for hoeing and to prevent the weeds
getting a hold I am hoeing regularly all vacant ground as well as in between
plants. If they can be chomped off below surface level before they appear there
is less likelihood of them getting a hold.
It is now time to be thinking about winter crops and I have made
sowings of Brussel Sprouts in the greenhouse. An old reliable favourite
'Brilliant' for the first Autumn pickings, also 'Dackmar
21' and a red sprout which is supposed to hold its colour when cooked, 'Rubine' from Thomas Etty, both
new varieties to us to try. If you don't have a greenhouse these can be sown
now in a seed bed of finely tilled soil and transplanted later.
Plot 34 is filling up with a wig-wam of
sweet peas, chard 'Rainbow', the last of the 'Pink Fir Apple' potatoes, 2
surplus cauliflowers. 2 golden plum trees which I hope to train on wires to
give a protective barrier to the plot and various ornamental grasses, shrubs
etc. brought from home. 4 Mounds have been made with 2 good buckets of compost
mixed with a little top soil and a yellow courgette Jemmer
Fl planted in the middle. By raising
the plants like this is not only gives them a good compost to grow away in
(they are hungry feeders) but keeps the fruits well of the ground and prevents
rotting.
2nd week of the month and everything is growing away nicely. The
first bed of potatoes have been earthed up and to keep all the moisture in and
weed free, a good thick mulch of grass cuttings and rotted manure has been laid
between rows. No more needs to be done now till harvest time.
The fleece has been removed from the peas, brassicas, lettuce etc.
and replaced with fine netting. First mulching well because once the netting is
in place it is not so easy to hoe and weed and any disturbance of the netting
is likely to let in unwelcome pests. Our main problem is birds so this year
John has raised the framework by another 6 inches or so because as the
brassicas grow, we found last year the birds used the framework as perfect
perches to sit and dip their beaks through the netting.
We found the netting to be a very effective barrier against the
butterflies which resulted in almost no caterpillars in 2002.
The tomatoes are outgrowing their space in the greenhouse and
although early for planting outside I have had to take a chance and start doing
so, giving them some protection with fleece.
|
Brassicas
well mulched under netting. |
Tomatoes,
'Spanish Beef', Italian 'Costoluto Fiorentino' and the bush 'Red Alert'. |
It is also now time to be thinking about entering the competition
in July, organised by the Hampshire Federation of Horticultural Societies. They
must be returned completed by 1st June so there is no time to lose.
3rd week of the month and we are experiencing some very strong
winds. I have delayed planting out the runner beans to avoid them being damaged
by wind-burn. I have noticed several of my neighbours have lost most of their
plants and will have to re-sow.
All the potatoes have now been well mulched. Swede, 'Ruby', sown
under fleece to protect from the flea beetle, has germinated quickly and these
I have thinned to approximately 2 inches apart and will thin them again to
about 4 inches later. The fennel has also been thinned to approx. 6 inches
apart.
Further sowings of french beans,
beetroot, lettuce, spring onions and carrots have been made and still thinking
ahead to winter I have sown kale 'Dwarf Green Curled' and purple sprouting 'Red
Arrow'. My leek plants are still in the green house, I
am keeping careful watch on them this year and hope to avoid the leek moth
which has been devastating crops here in the South over the last couple of
years or so. If you have experienced problems with the leek moth, see my Diary
for 2002 - September, there is a very interesting
letter from RHS, Wisley on the subject.
I have harvested my first lettuce, 'Density' and 'Little Gem' and
I am now planting out all my annual bedding as the weather allows.
If like me you are not handy with the hammer and nails to make a
frame for the netting, I can recommend the 'build a ball system'. I have been
experimenting with these and providing the canes or tubing is of an even size,
it is simple and easy to put together to make a very effective framework for
the netting. I purchased mine from Lakeland Ltd. Tel: 015394 88100 or www.lakelandlimited.co.uk
but I believe they are obtainable from other
outlets to such as Suttons www.suttons-seeds.co.uk
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|
|
JUNE
The first week of the month and the weather has been kind to us.
We have had enough rain to keep everything going without the need for much
watering. I have made a start planting out the sprouts on plot 34. 'Brilliant'
for first early pickings in September then 'Rubine'
and 'Darkmar 21' which should see us through until
late January/February next year. I have also planted out another double row of french beans, lettuce and spring onions for a continuous
supply. Tomatoes need some attention now, removing the side shoots and tying in
to their supports as they grow. The bush variety 'Red Alert' has been well strawed to keep the fruits clean. Having well mulched
everything as much as possible we have taken delivery of another trailer load
of manure which has refilled our compost bins.
The fruit also now needs some attention. Strawberries have been strawed to keep them clean, New Gooseberry bushes which I
am fan-training have had the tips pinched out to deter the aphids and tied in
to their supports. Plums, damsons and cherries, have also had the soft tips
pinched out to deter aphids. Red currants I have pruned back the soft new
growth by about 2 thirds and covered with netting. The currants are now showing
a pale pink colour and are very tempting for the birds. We will also cover the
cherries with netting.
We are now harvesting, lettuce, spring onions, beetroot, cabbage,
cauliflower, carrots, new potatoes and strawberries.
A date for your Diary: The Countryside Fayre is being held at
Grange Farm, Rowner on Sunday June 22rd from 10-4 pm.
The G.A.H.&G.A. will be holding their usual stall
at this event.
The
last week in the month and although we have had some very heavy thunderstorms,
the rain was very welcome. All of my first sowings of cauliflower have now been
harvested and I have replaced with more sprouts. I am now setting out leeks as
the ground becomes available from digging potatoes. The peas have all been
harvested and safely stored in the freezer. Tip There is no need to blanch
peas for freezing, just shell, pack and freeze. They will keep for at least a
year this way.
The french beans are cropping well and
need to be picked regularly to keep the plants going. The soft fruit,
loganberries and tayberries also needs to be picked every day. The raspberries have
a particularly heavy crop on them this year and we are enjoying them on our
breakfast cereal as well as for desert. I am starting to peg down strawberry
runners on some of my better plants. The sooner I can raise new plants to set
out the better, to give them a good start before the autumn.
JULY
lst day of the
month.
We had a very constructive meeting with a council officer today on
site at the allotment with regard to the use of wood chippings on our plot
paths.
Their concern is that the chippings may have originally come from diseased
trees etc. that would have been felled for such reasons as honey fungus,
amongst other things and if used could cause leakage into adjoining allotment
plots. However, it was agreed there is only a very small chance of this
happening but they would like to carry out further investigations before
agreeing to us using it again.
The Officer apologised for the way the matter had been handled and
has asked us to be patient to await the outcome of their investigations.
I have to say I think he was impressed with the way we had used
the chippings to our advantage and I am now more hopeful for a positive
outcome.
He was made aware of all your comments for which I am very grateful and I will keep
you informed of any further progress.
Two more disasters have befallen us so not a very good start to
the month. First- after spending time thinning and weeding the swede, and
covering with netting
I tripped and fell headlong, flattening them all. Having picked myself up I
did my best to re-do the patch but I doubt now they will recover.
Second
- vandals have wrecked our water supply to the site and it has had to be turned
off at all the taps until it can be repaired; just when we are all in desperate
need of water too. I have used all to the last drop in our butts and unless we
can get some soon I fear the crops will start to suffer.
On
a happier note - the soft fruit season is in full swing and the berries need
regular picking before the birds can help themselves. My 2 cherry trees are
laden and these need to be harvested with scissors to avoid damaging next years buds. The blackberry too is
ripening early and I have had to cover this with netting. The strawberries are
finished and have been given a 'hair cut' with the shears and the patch tidied
up. The plants will soon make new growth and recover for next year.
On
the vegetable patch, I have made the last picking of peas and removed the
sticks, left the plants to die down in situ. This will put back some valuable
nitrogen into the soil. I have finished planting out the leeks and planted
kale, Dwarf Green Curled. The purple sprouting, 'Red Arrow' will be set out in
a week or two when I take out the peas. The Autumn sown onions are now ready
for use and have been gently eased out of the ground and left in the sun to
ripen, turning every few days. The French beans need to be picked regularly to
keep them cropping well.
I
have been very pleased with the new cauli Fl Rapido. They have produced
some very good white compact heads. One I will grow again.
To
see more photos taken on lst July click here
The G.A.H.&G.A. will be holding
their stall on Saturday 12th July at the Summer Fayre, in Walpole
Park, Gosport. from 10 am till 4 pm. Click here for
photograph.
The last week in the month has seen some very welcome rain which
has refreshed the plot considerably. Tomatoes are ripening now, 'Red Alert'
always the first. Baby sweet corn 'Minimop' needs
harvesting as soon as the tassels are showing to keep them young and sweet. I
have made the last sowing of main crop carrots, 'Sytan'
and 'Autumn King' (under fleece), more beetroot 'Tardel'
(quick maturing one to have for late autumn), lettuce 'Little Gem' and spring
onion 'White Lisbon'. The purple sprouting has been planted out under netting
as the white butterflies are still about and the leeks have been given their
first earth-up.
The first plum tree 'Early Rivers' is just about finished and we
are now picking the 'Czar'. Raspberries have finished and the old canes have
been cut out and the new ones tied in.
AUGUST
Harvesting is taking up much of my time now but there is still
lots of tidying up to do and I like to keep all vacant ground regularly hoed as
I find this is the only way to keep the weeds at bay, chomp them off below
ground level before they appear.
4th of the month - Well, I think I spoke to soon, like the rest of
the country we are experiencing the hot weather and to conserve as much
moisture as possible I will not be hoeing or disturbing the soil any more than
is
necessary for harvesting
until we have some rain again.
Now that so many pesticides are no longer available to the amateur
gardener a useful web site listing all the products can be found at www.pesticides.gov.uk
With the long dry spell still with us the onions have ripened and dried and I have now lifted them ready to be put on to strings to store. If you would like to see how I do this go to 'A Year in the Life of our Plot 2000' page September/Dec.'
So
far there is no sign of the dreaded blight on the tomatoes and all are ripening
and cropping very well including the French one 'Ferline F1' which I am
trialing with the Kitchen Garden.
The following email was received from Alan Gibson, Gosport Borough
Council and will affect all plotholders in Gosport.
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2003 1:33 PM
Subject: RE: Elson chippings
Dear Mr Saunders,
I write to clarify the situation to date.
Please see below, a copy of information obtained from the Hampshire Tree
Officers' Forum
Two concerns are as follows: -
1) if the wood chippings contain a lot of leaf or other soft/green easily
compostable material or contain a lot of "fines" (finely chipped wood which composts far quicker than coarsely chipped wood) the effect of placing this material onto
allotments is that it will deplete the soil of nitrogen as the organisms which
compost such materials, and "feed" on nitrogen have to go into
overdrive to break down the massive amounts of woodchip you have just dumped on
them and therefore consume vast amounts of nitrogen.
Proper woodchip (pure wood chipped to a large
particle size - by "large" I mean 1.5cm dia
min) is a very different material to what comes out of our contractor's
chipping machines!
In view of the above information, the Council
will be issuing an 'Advice Note / Information Leaflet' that can be distributed
to those who enquire about the use of wood chippings
In2) much of the woodchip may well have come from diseased/decaying trees.
Whilst the pathogens present probably would not affect the sort of plants you'd
grow on an allotment, horticulturalists do have doubts about the wisdom of
spreading such material around healthy plants on allotments, shrub borders etc, unless the woodchip has been composted at sufficiently
high temperatures as to kill off pathogens. Wood chip is rarely composted to
this degree. Just something to think about. The first
concern (nitrogen depletion) is the more important one.
the meantime, in view of this independent advice, it
is not felt appropriate to allow untreated materials to be brought onto the
Council Allotment facilities.
I am sorry that it appears that it has taken such a long time to progress this
matter but the Council has a limited number of resources to deal with a wide
range of issues. Each enquiry is progressed as priorities and resources allow
and, on occasions, some enquiries are delayed due to urgent, unplanned issues
arising.
Yours Sincerely
Alan Gibson
Head of Parks and Service Facilities
The last few days of the month and the weather has now turned much
cooler and brought some much needed rain.
I have planted out a new strawberry bed with modules from
Marshalls. Marshmello (this one I have grown before)
and Claire-Maree. All the pruning has been completed on the plum trees and we
are now harvesting the first of the Williams pears.
We were also delighted to learn we have again been awarded first
prize in this year’s H.F.of H. Soc. competition
for allotments of 10 rods and over with a total number of points of 306 from a
possible 320. A very pleasing result to end the month on.
SEPTEMBER
We
are continuing to lift potatoes, Pink Fir Apple, Romano and Ambro,
a new one for us which is proving to be a very heavy crop of large bright red
skinned potatoes.
Leeks
are growing well this year with only a few damaged by the leek moth. They have
been given their first earth up. Runner Beans have been disappointing but with
the cooler weather now I have a second flush of flowers which is setting so
hopefully we will have a crop before any early frosts.
On the fruit plot, the damsons have been harvested and made
into jam. No pruning is needed to the tree this year.
The
Williams pears are ripening quickly and need to be used as they won't store.
Eaten straight from the tree they are delicious.
A date for your Diary is Saturday 27th September, when the
G.A.H.& G.A. will be holding their usual stall at the Alverstoke
Michaelmas Fayre, selling a range of produce from Gosports
allotments.
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|
|
I have harvested my first celeriac and for the second year running
I am very pleased, despite the exceptionally dry summer not one bulb has 'run
to seed'. The variety ' Prinz' is organic seed from
Kings.
OCTOBER
A date for your Diary. Due to the
success of John Trims talk in March the G.A.H.& G.A. has invited John back
to talk on the 'The basics of growing fruit and vegetables' on October 28th at
7.30 pm at H.E.D.C.A. Coombe Road, Elson, Gosport. This will be of interest to
the beginner and more experienced gardeners alike. All are very welcome. Admission
is free to members and £1.OO to non members.
October has started with some very welcome light rain. The winter brasicas are suffering due to the lack of water. The spouts
are not forming and I think most will not be of any use and will be consigned
to the compost heap. On the other hand, the runner beans are producing some
good tasty beans after a very poor summer and have been worth waiting for.
I am picking pears, 'Conference' and 'Concorde' while they are
still firm; laid out in trays so the fruit is not
touching to ripen.
19th of the month and with no appreciable rain the plot is very
dry. My new strawberry plants need regular watering till they are well
established. With the nights getting colder now the last of the tomatoes have
been harvested and the green ones laid out in trays in
the greenhouse to finish ripening. I have been very pleased with the Kitchen
Garden trial of 'Ferline', the fruit has been of good
size, firm, free of any central core and of good flavour. One I will grow
again. Thompson & Morgan are listing it in their 2004 catalogue.
Runner beans have given us a good late crop and made up for the
poor summer. I have now cut the canes at ground level, leaving the foliage to die
back before removing to the compost bin. The roots I will leave in the ground
as they will add valuable nitrogen to the soil. All vacant ground cleared of
debris, has been dug over and I am back to the regular hoeing to keep it free
from weeds.
We have obtained some more second-hand paving and John has been
able to complete the paths on plot 34.
NOVEMBER
We have received a very favourable letter together with several
reports from the Arboricultural Advisory and
Information Service, (The Tree Advice Trust) with regard to the use of wood
chippings on allotments. Copies of the these have been
sent to Gosport Borough Council. In response they are now awaiting a reply from
R.H.S. at Wisley and will make their recommendations
in due course. This will probably include the 'stacking and turning' of
chippings before use. If you would like copies of these reports I would be
happy to forward them to you. Please use the email link below.
On the plot, we have now had a good rain fall, making it all look
much fresher and the soil easier to work. John has dug the runner bean trench
ready for next year. This is about a spade and half in depth and will be left
open all winter and all the kitchen waste, vegetation
etc. will be added before filling in with soil in the Spring. I am continuing
to keep the plot tidy, collecting up all fallen and rotting leaves etc.
I am very pleased with a late crop of carrots, planted under
fleece in July. 'Sytan' and 'Autumn King', both are
free from the carrot fly and not showing any signs of slug damage as yet.
The lack of water this Summer does not seem to have affected the
parsnips and a new one for us this year 'Panache F1' is producing some very
large long tapered roots. We are also harvesting, good sized leeks, kale and
celeriac.
The last 2 weeks of the month and we have had the heavy rain and
gales which have swept across the country. On the dry days we have managed to
mulch all the tree and soft fruit and taken delivery of some more manure to
replenish our stocks.
DECEMBER
There is little for me to do now on the plot other than to
continue to keep it tidy and free from rotting leaves etc. John has some repairs
to do. Some of the edging boards need replacing on the beds and where one or
two of the paving slabs have cracked he will replace with some more second-hand
ones we have managed to obtain.
I am continuing to harvest leeks, celeriac, parsnips and kale.
Enough to keep us supplied well into the New Year.
Time now to relax and gather all the 2004 seed catalogues and
discover what is new for the coming year.
POTATO WEEK-END
The Hampshire Group of the HDRA (Organic Gardening) are holding
their Potato Weekend on 24th and 25th January 2004. 10 am - 3 pm. at Testbourne
Community Centre, Whitchuch. Over 100 varieties of seed potato will be on sale
at 13p per tuber or by the 2.5kg net. Sunday 25th only, Chris Bird from the
Sparshalt College will be speaking also Cookery Demo by Kathy Pollock and
Children Activities. £1.50 per adult and children free. More Information
Tel: 01256 893264 or visit http://www.hhdra.org.uk
ROUND-UP
I think despite the extreme weather conditions, this year has been
a very good one. My only failure was the sprouts, planted on our new plot 34
which has club root. I will in future not plant any brassicas on this plot and
work to improve the soil as much as possible. I think the use of fleece and
fine netting for the second year running has proved to be the best deterrent
against birds and bugs and probably due to the very dry summer there was little
slug damage. I tried the Ferline tomato with other
Kitchen Garden readers and had a very good, high yielding crop of large firm
meaty and very tasty fruits. Good for salad use and cooking; watered well when
I planted them and only watered twice after that. The plants stayed green all
summer and showed no signs of the blight. One I will grow again next year.
I hope to bring you news of the Gosport Borough Council's decision
on the wood chippings in the New Year.
I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and hope you will join us
again down on the plot in 2004.
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