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August 2020 fast growth, succession plantings, onion harvest tips, compost quandaries, sowings now and soon

Written by

Charles Dowding

Last Updated

July 25, 2020

It’s a rainstorm as I write and I am grateful for it. Before today, July’s total rainfall was 29mm/1.2in and after this storm it’s 46mm/1.8in. Still below average. We have been watering, and now can do less of that for a while.

July has been the coolest since 2012, and less sunny than normal. But growth is good, after a warm spring and early summer which got everything to an advanced stage already. Summer vegetables are on.

Before month’s end is good to sow coriander, chervil, bulb fennel and Chinese cabbage. Then spinach and salad rocket before mid August, a busy time indeed. Learn more about how to do all this in timesaving ways, in my online courses.

No dig is key: we spend little time weeding or feeding. This link has some scientists finally catching up with what many of us have known for decades. Once there is “scientific validation”, things get taken seriously! They call it a ‘radical new way of thinking’ – common sense no dig and no till.

Charles Dowding with no dig carrots — With a fine harvest of Nantes carrots sown four months earlier and almost finished now, leaving the interplanted Brussels sprouts to grow away, both still under mesh

New pea planting after clearing lettuce — I cleared some lettuce since we now have more than enough to fulfil orders, and transplanted Terrain peas, supposedly mildew resistant

Pea teepee, unpicked for seed harvest soon — Unpicked Tall Sugar peas, drying on the teepee for next year’s seed. Behind are parsnips.

July growth 12 days

I love how fast growth is in July, except for making us so busy.

On the other hand, the sun gives us energy, so all is well, and days are long. The garden is taking 75-85 hours of time at present, of skilled input.

view 4th July, different vegetables east end — 4th July, from left are climbing beans, lettuce, courgette and squash + corn, celery and dwarf beans, new broccoli under mesh

Same view three weeks later — Same view 25th July, three weeks of growth, many lettuce now finished after 11 weeks picking, and mildew on courgettes

Showing a smaller growth difference is a heap of soil near the cabin. Less goodness for the roots.

Squash plants on a heap of soil — Soil heap with winter squash and flowers on 4th July

Same plants 25th July three weeks later — Same view three weeks later, lovely growth in the flowers, and some mildew again on the older squash leaves, not a problem

Potatoes followed by leeks

This is a fine succession, as long as you have leek plants ready, from an April sowing usually. I multisow in modules, then pot on to keep them growing.

The potato harvest was lovely, and we made a video about it. In the video (on You Tube this winter), the harvest is preceded by how we made the new beds on grass and weeds, in December. There is still some bindweed and I keep pulling it: the couch grass is not growing any more.

No dig potato pull, Charlotte 23th July — Harvesting the Charlotte, 54kg or 119lb potatoes to store in sacks, on 13th July

Leeks planted after clearing the potatoes, were multisown April — Same afternoon after transplanting the clumps of leeks

New growth 12 days later — 12 days later and the leeks are just starting to grow. Trial of mesh over one bed to protect against moth, is not always a problem here.

How is this allowed?

My work as garden teacher brings me in contact with problems which make me so unhappy. I hesitate to mention this because it’s so worrying but I conclude there are forces of evil to contend with.

The issue of pyralid weedkillers is one such. In a friendly world, such a poison would simply be not allowed. Or at least would be acknowledged and dealt with, when its damage is seen. The photos are to indicate damage you may see, and need to recognise. It’s not mineral deficiencies or root problems! See compost problems below.

Glyphosphate is shocking too, and is clearly, scientifically explained by Dr. Zach Bush MD in this video, or just listen as a podcast. It shocked me.

Here is a link to herbicide damage on potato leaves, to help you identify problems caused by weedkillers. It’s from the University of Minnesota Extension service, kindly sent by Lisa Munro.

If you think your plants have been poisoned, emails should be sent to CRDEnforcement@hse.gov.uk and UKHotline@corteva.com, headed “Aminopyralid contamination”.

Stunted lettuce from weedkiller in compost — Lettuce in Morland Gold compost left, compost with pyralid-containing manure right

Curling of new potato leaves from pyralid weedkiller — Potatoes with new leaves curling, a sure sign of pyraldi poisoning, and this is a mild dose!

Stunted beans from weedkiller in compost — French or bush beans in Morland Gold compost left, compost with pyralid-containing manure right

No dig and soil microbes for health

For a cheerful antidote to the above – Emily Murphy of California sent this piece in the Washington Post 29th September 2019 Here is an excerpt:

“Throughout most of his career, Robert Beelman has focused his research on quantifying the antioxidant content of plants and describing how these nutrients affect our own cells. But recently, Beelman, an emeritus professor of food science at Pennsylvania State University, took an unorthodox step for a nutrition researcher by expanding his investigation to include soil.

“We all say that healthy soil equals healthy people,” said Beelman, “but the truth is that we are still blowing smoke and we need to do more research to investigate this idea.”

“I got to wondering,” he added. “Have our modern agricultural practices been screwing up the fungal and bacterial populations in the soil to the point where the amount of [nutrients] in our diet has been compromised?”

This is an interesting nutrient because it is only made by soil fungi and certain soil-borne bacteria, while several lines of evidence suggest that Ergo is an important nutrient for humans: Ergo deficiency might predispose us to inflammation and premature ageing. Ergo is found in many plants, including oats.”

Their study conclusion on adjacent farms, one tilling and one no till: the no till oats had 25% more ergo than those grown in tilled soil.

drone view Homeacres no dig 22nd July — Drone view Homeacres no dig 22nd July. I am in the photo.

Small toad 24th July — We discovered this lovely amphibian (almost self buried in the soil) when picking lettuce, and it’s lovely to be so close to so much soil life

Small garden 25th July — Watch for the video we made this same morning, soon on You Tube

I feel that Homeacres vegetables are bursting with health, thanks to the soil quality. In the trial beds, most plantings look stronger on the no dig bed, with more lustre in their leaves.

Homeacres trial beds comparing growth dig with no dig — Trial beds with no dig in front, 25th July after pulling the multisown onions, no dig bed is closest

No dig vegetables looking so healthy — West side 25th July with new chicory in front then beetroot, and the Three Strip Trial

Climbing beans transplanted 65 days ago — Runner and Borlotti beans 65 days after transplanting as 13 day seedlings

Brassicas in summer, mesh covers, second plantings

If you can keep insects off summer brassicas, they can grow exceptionally fast. Even as second plantings, after a first harvest. I do not add compost in summer for these new plantings. In the undisturbed soil, they are quick to do and easy to maintain, with almost no weeding – mainly blown-in seeds of dandelion and sow thistle at this tie of year.

Cabbage plants in ground one month — This was broad beans, cleared and planted to cabbages 11th June, photo is 12th July

Same plants just 12 days later, three times the size, and this is sixth year consecutive of cabbages in same bed

Brussels sprouts in carrot bed and under mesh — Carrots sown 4 months ago, Brussels transplanted five weeks ago, both benefit from the mesh

Problems with purchased compost

What is going on in the compost trade! There are so many upset gardeners, myself included, with unforeseen problems.

One cause is weedkiller residues, These used to be mostly from farmers’ hay fed to horses, but now it’s from sprayed grassland generally and is in cow manure too. PLUS it’s from lawn clippings of grass treated with pyralids, which end up in in green waste compost. Unseen and unmeasurable, a horror show for compost makers.

The other cause is improper composting of woody matter in peat free compost, resulting in poor nutrition and weak plants. I have heard many comments about returning to peat, a contentious issue which therefore needs much work please from compost companies.

Comparing lettuce growth in two composts — Both are potting composts, Morland Gold left and Dalefoot right

Comparing celery growth in two composts — Both are potting compost, same as for the lettuce but a different batch of Dalefoot I was given to try by an unhappy gardener

Nutrient deficiencies in beetroot leaves — 26 days earlier, I potted healthy beetroot seedlings into this compost, and no growth has happened

Normal problems

I have a persistent wild rabbit and keep filling in potential burrows. We net new plantings in case of nibbling. On the other hand I am lucky to suffer no pigeon damage.

My tomatoes are not brilliant, especially the cherry types. I shall say more about this in autumn, once it’s more clear what has happened.

Homeacres rabbit burrow version 3 — Another burrow for baby rabbits, near the rhubarb bed

Healthy beefsteak tomatoes, unhealthy cherry tomato plant — Healthy beefsteak tomato plants, unhealthy cherry tomato plant, same soil and conditions

Aubergine plant dying from I think a bacterial problem, Erwinia. It’s neighbours are fine, 10 days later

Homemade compost going well

Homeacres homemade compost is turning out so well. See my recent video if you have not already. The video is my second-most popular in its first week (after Start Out No Dig) which reveals the interest in making compost.

The problem for many gardeners is sourcing enough material. A good alternative is to enquire after wood chips, especially of you have space to store a pile for a year.

Emptying one bay of mature compost — We removed a whole bay of its 11 month old compost, for space to fill again

This is what came out of one bay, about 2.5 cubic metres or 1.5 tonnes, created early autumn 2019 and turned once

First fill of new heap — Shreddings of elder happened to be available for the first layer of our new heap, on the soil base

Amazing onion harvest – now succession planting

The warm dry spring was ideal for onions, followed by June rain to increase bulb size. I am pulling them as soon as possible, to take advantage of summer warmth for drying the tops. Bending necks is worthwhile to help them dry and store better, with dry tops eventually.

Be ready with transplants for when your onion area is clear.

Multisown onions pulled earlyJuly — Multisown onions pulled from 4th to 13th July and this is 20th, drying tops

Onions gathered to remove to dry — 23rd July and already the Roscoff are gone, these are in crates ready to go under cover

New planting of chicory after onion — Same day 23rd, bed raked level, no new compost, dibbed holes for chicory and endive

More onions, and lettuce

The Rose de Roscoff are so precocious. Now safely in the dry, gorgeous pink onions.

We just picked the lettuce to right of the onion bed, on 24th July. I transplanted them 25 days earlier. They were slow to start from being too dry, now are good and should crop for eight more weeks or so