May 15th 2018 planting, picking leaves, weed thoroughly, plant supports, removing covers, compost quality

May is proving way sunnier than April, as spring merges into summer. However there are still cool nights - we are forecast a ground frost on 18th. I hope you are enjoying some fine leafy harvests.

Before the first pick of lettuce and spinach sown mid February in the greenhouse, planted 2nd April

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Homeacres harvest #nodig early May, broccoli is Claret planted July

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Apple trees on M26 rootstock, coming into their sixth year, planted as maidens

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Sow and plant!!

Planting continues, a bit of a rush now to get frost tender plants in the ground. We just planted basil & cucumber in the greenhouse & polytunnel, still some tomatoes to go in.

Sow French and runner beans, squash, sweetcorn, cucumbers for outdoors: so many options now. Plant celery and celeriac too.

New planting of multi-sown chards, sown 4 weeks earlier

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New planting of celery & celeriac, they were sown mid March

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I make a hole for plants with a copper trowel

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Half the greenhouse planted: tomatoes are hidden by the garlic

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No dig

No dig continues to amaze me with how few weeds grow compared to dug soil. However it does not just happen, we stay on the case, and have already hoed most potential weeds as seedlings of tiny size. It's very quick: Josh and I spent two hours weeding the 3/4 acre/3000sqm garden last week and half an hour this week. Veg area is a third of that.

In the main dig/no dig trial, the dig bed has problems with some very weak spinach, beetroot and peas, but is doing well with onions.

We were visited by Annabelle of Life at No 27 and this is a blog about her impressions of Bruton and no dig.

3rd May, Josh and I remove fleece covers for the last time

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Dig bed is on left, no dig on right, same plants in each

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By 14th May I have harvested lettuce both beds, spinach only from the no dig bed

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I love this caption on Instagram

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Weeding

In the small garden, explained in this video, weeding takes about five minutes a week, and much of that is keeping edges tidy with a knife or secateurs.

Few other beds are growing weeds now, we just pull any weed seedlings we see, in passing. So the garden is always tidy, attractive and with no possibility of weeds setting seed.

The small garden on 13th May, far end has overwintered spinach and broad beans

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Harvests of 13th May, mostly leaves typical of spring

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Asparagus is giving some nice harvests now, and welcome in the hungry gap

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Oregon Sugar Peas with a post and string support

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Supports

We use mostly posts and polypropylene string, a waste resource from the local stables, from bales of hay and straw. As peas grow, we add more strings. See below for more on using plant roots to anchor strings in the soil: don't try this with jute though, it will break.

Support for tall peas inc. Alderman which reaches 2m/6ft or more

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I am planting cucumbers either side of garlic, after clearing lettuce

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Tomato plants with the knotted end of a string under their rootball

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Planting with string as support

For tall plants undercover, we put a knotted string at the bottom of each planting hole. It’s top end is tied to wire above.

Cucumber rootball going onto knotted string

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I make a hole in the compost using my trowel

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Then drop the rootball on top of the string end

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Aubergine planted, has two strings for an extra branch, using a sideshoot

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Plant care & size

How big before you can plant? It depends on the veg, mostly we plant from modules when no bigger than the celeriac below: I planted some already and the rest are going out next week.

I water my seedlings from above, and in the morning, so that leaves are dry by nightfall..

Celeriac two months old, more than ready to go out

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I water plants from above, even in sunshine: it’s a myth that sunshine scorches leaves

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Winter brassica seedlings pricked out: Brussels, cabbage, kale

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Damage to cucumber leaf from under-watering, the plant needs water urgently!

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Donegal garden

While teaching in Leitrim, I met Patrick McCartney and was thrilled to hear of his no dig success, since 1988 when he saw me with Geoff Hamilton on Gardeners World. His garden looks so gorgeous.

Patrick’s polytunnel

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View from his garden in Donegal

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Raised beds: he is disabled

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Removing fleece

We uncovered most beds on 3rd May as it finally warmed up. It then took little time to pull a few weeds and enjoy the beauty of now-visible plants!

Removing fleece covers 3rd May for the last time

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Lettuce beds after removing the covers, first pick a week later

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Before removing covers, 3rd May

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After removing covers, 3rd May

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3rd May

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7th May

Qualities of seeds & of potting composts

I continue to be puzzled and worried by my West Riding compost. In the last blog I reported on the multipurpose, now in a separate trial we are finding poor growth in the Seed & Cutting, which last year grew superb plants in the 2017 batch.

Also I am disappointed with the unevenness of Poloneza seed from Kings. Two years ago its radish were much more even: this year there is varied colour and shape, with less fine taproots.

Four different composts, West Riding Seed & Cutting on right

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Spinach in W Riding on left is showing pale leaves

Poloneza radish: on left is this year’s seed, on right is 2016 seed

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Brussels sprouts sown same day, Doric on left & Attwood on right, both Mr Fothergills