Sunday best

We spent a full day down at The Patch... and a very hot day it was too !

A full row of beetroot was lifted and the celeriac plants put in to grow on until Autumn.

The net covering the brassicas was lifted so that the weeds could be hoed, a few feeble looking plants were replaced with some of the seedlings remaining in the nursery bed, a good watering, a sprinkling of slug pellets and the net replaced for a few more weeks.

The onions and shallots that are being grown from seed were thinned for the first time and the thinning were used to fill some gaps where the seed had not germinated.

The spinach stalks were pulled up and the row was planted with tomatoes. This year we are growing Brown Berry, Galina and Rutgers. This last variety being developed at Rutgers University in USA for Campbells, who were looking for a robust, full flavoured tomato that could be grown for use in their soup production.


Squash plants were planted in the Three Sisters bed. We only managed to plant 14 of the 16 available spaces because of the slow germination of the seeds. However, we have sown some more seed in pots and these will be ready to plant out in a few weeks time.

We then picked some more of our peas and broad beans before heading home.

Peas in our time !

Down on the patch early this morning to see how tall the weeds had grown in our absence and was pleased to find very little unwanted vegetation.

The peas and broad bean pods are starting to fill and we picked a few to go with tonight's lamb chops.

There should be plenty more peas and beans to pick up until late July when we will clear the ground for a sowing of spring cabbage. More peas and broads will then be sown in the ground where the onions, garlic and shallots have been cleared.

Our first strawberry has been picked and will be eaten with great ceremony as desert !

May Review

We were down at the patch early this morning just to see what had grown since Friday !

In between the showers Heather sowed some more lettuce and I took the opportunity to earth up the potatoes as the soil was damp and easy to manage.

May is a month full of anticipation and promise, so here is a review of what is happening :

• Potatoes : Cara, Desiree, International Kidney and Anya are producing plenty of top growth and have been earthed-up. There are one or two gaps where the seed has failed, but so far looking good.

• Three Sisters : The sweetcorn plants are not looking very happy... maybe planted out too early ? We will sow some more seeds and use these if the plants do not show any great improvement.

• Brassicas : Cabbage, red cabbage, cauliflower, calabrese, kale, savoy and purple sprouting broccoli plants have all taken after being transplanted. There has been some evidence of slug damage and we have taken the necessary steps to address this !

• Leeks : Seedlings of the two varieties are coming along well and these will be transplanted to their final positions when they reach the thickness of a pencil.

• Peas and Broad Beans : These are now producing pods from October sown plants and will be ready to pick by next weekend... we can then utilise the crops from the Spring sown plants.

• Celery : Healthy looking plants are putting on strong growth inside their protective tubes.
  

• Onions (Autumn planted) : Senshyu Yellow sets have developed into nice bulbs which should be ready to harvest next month. Those bought from Dobies have performed better in terms of germination and growth than those bought from Homebase.

• Shallots : Griselle sets from Dobies have developed really well, but even those grown from our own kitchen stock have produced good, albeit smaller, clumps.

• Garlic : All 4 types are developing nicely, with Solent Wight from Dobies outperforming the others.

• Fruit : I will write a review all how our fruit stock is performing later in the month.

• Asparagus : All ten crowns have produced spears which we will leave until the foliage dies back.

• Fennel : Only about a 70% germination rate on the seeds sown in April, but these were sown in a spare strip near the path so we will take whatever comes up !

• Carrots : Both varieties (Autumn King & Purple Haze) have germinated well and are putting on growth inside the protective mesh.

• Onions & Shallots (Spring sown) There are some gaps in the rows, but we have enough seedlings which we will transplant to fill those gaps.
  

• Parsnip : Some erratic germination, but transplanting has given us a full row of well-spaced seedlings that should develop into strong plants that will not require any thinning.

• Swede : A late sowing has produced a good row of small seedlings,.
  

• Celeriac : The plants have taken well and we have some more at home which we will transplant when the first row of beetroot has been cropped.

• Beetroot : The first early sowing has produced strong healthy plants. The monogerm seed means that we do not need to thin them out. Another row has been sown and the first seedlings are now poking through.

In addition to these main crops, we have catch-crops (radish, spring onion, spinach) and also some plantings in odd corners... lettuce, borlotti beans, outdoor cucumber, and tomatoes.

Espinacas con garbanzos

Spinach with chickpeas

We cooked this dish for dinner tonight with the first of the spinach from our patch.

The recipe is very simple, but the result is a very tasty dish that can be part of a mixed tapas or as a side dish for any meal.

• 20ml/1fl oz extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  
• 500g/1lb young spinach leaves, washed well in several changes of cold water
• 10oz cooked chickpeas
• 3 tsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• A good pinch of sea salt
• 100ml/2fl oz extra-virgin olive oil to finish

Place the oil in a medium pan over a low heat, add the garlic and sauté for a minute or two, being careful not to let the garlic burn, as the bitter taste will permeate the whole of the dish.

Now add the spinach in several batches; as each batch wilts, add another. It should wilt down to about a third of its original volume.

Increase the heat slightly and add the chickpeas. Cook for five minutes, then add the sherry vinegar, paprika, cumin and a good pinch of salt.

Reduce the heat to low and add the 100ml of olive oil. Stir well and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Give it one last stir and serve.

One sister

Today we resumed work on our 'Three Sisters' bed.

The black plastic sheeting was rolled back and we found the ground below to be remarkably free from weeds.

Four sweetcorn plants were planted in seven of the fifteen mounds, in a block 6" apart.

The variety we have planted is Ashworth, a traditional open-pollinated sweetcorn. With good flavour and dependability, it bears one or two fat, sweet yellow cobs (12 rows of 30 seed) on short 4' plants, and the tight husks stop insects getting in.

Ideal for the home gardener - not only do many plants make more than one stem (giving you more ears from less seed!) but it also keeps producing cobs over a long period, thus avoiding a glut.

Originally created by Fred Ashworth of New York from a mix of heirloom sweetcorns, it was released commercially in the 1970's.

The seed can be purchase from The Real Seed Catalogue.

The next stage is to put climbing beans alongside each of the sweetcorn plants

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... of Cabbages and things !

The plan was simple : In March, we sowed brassica seeds indoors in trays and outdoors in seed beds and would then decide which method was more effective... but the best laid plans etc. etc. !

The 'permanent' marker we used on the labels was rather temporary and the writing washed off after the first rainfall.

We now had seven varieties of brassica which we could only identify by the last one or two letters. Red cabbage was easily identified by the colour of the foliage and the label showing 'ge'. Purple sprouting broccoli was similarly identified. The others proved more difficult.

In the end we decided to pick the eleven healthiest plants from the seed beds and plant these in separate rows in the bed set aside for growing the brassicas on. We will eventually be able to identify what is being grown when the plants develop.

For future reference, the plants grown in the seed bed were stronger and healthier than those grown in trays... and growing in a seed bed frees-up space for growing other seeds indoors.

So, our plan for next year is :

• In March sow brassica seeds in a prepared seed bed.
• Ensure that they are labelled with a truly permanent marker pen.
• Cover with fleece cloches
• Protect against slug damage.
• Re-plant in May into final positions.
  

I'm looking over...

We put in a decent shift down at the patch today, arriving around 09:00 and heading back home at 15:30.

I have sown red clover along six strips, each strip 24" apart. This is where we will be planting our brassicas. There is some evidence to suggest that brassicas grown within this surrounding foliage will become sufficiently camouflaged to confuse Cabbage Root Fly. This method is often used in organic agriculture. I am just trying it on a smaller scale.

Heather has planted a row of celeriac plants and sown a row of swede in our 'roots' beds.

We have also decided to sow borlotti beans again. After last years crop we decided that the effort was not really worth the returns, but the dried beans have been proving to be really nice in soups and casseroles, so we are growing some up a 'wigwam' and are going to grow some more up and over our mini-pergola.

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big butt....

We spent all day down at the patch. I finally completed fixing the guttering to the shed and connecting it up to the water butt that we acquired. You just know that there's now going to be a long, dry Summer !

Heather has mulched the Strawberry bed with a mixture of straw and leaves and this has been covered over with a net to keep the birds at bay.

Heather sowed another row of beetroot, sowed borlotti beans under a 'wigwam' of hazel poles and planted a row of spinach seedlings.

The autumn onions are developing bulbs, the peas and broad beans are starting to set pods, the first tips of asparagus are emerging and the potatoes are coming along nicely.

It's now starting to get really interesting.


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