Allotment Wars

From The Sunday Times, March 29, 2009

Allotment wars flare up as gardening gets competitive.

read on here

Spuds we like...

We were down on the patch extra early this morning as we put the clocks forward a week too soon !

Signs of life showing from the onion sets and the nursery bed where leeks and brassica seeds have been sown.

Heather planted two rows of early potatoes... International Kidney, which are better known as Jersey Royals but can only be called Jersey Royals when they are grown in Jersey !

We have decided to turn very 'new age' and plant the potatoes to a biodynamic cycle which uses the signs of the zodiac to position the phases of the moon. So today the moon in Capricorn which is an Earth sign. It is a good time to sow root plants like asparagus, beetroot, carrots, chives, early potatoes, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, onions, parsnips, radish, shallots and spring onions.

This information can be found in The Guide to Planting by the Moon which can be found here in The Gardeners Calender.co.uk


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So sow !

We took advantage of a beautiful sunny afternoon to get some seeds sown.

It is the first time we have ever sown Onion seed, but it is more cost effective than growing from sets... you can even use the thinnings as 'Spring' Onions. We have sown Bedfordshire Champion which has been a popular variety for the past 100 years.

Another variety we have sown is the Japanese Bunching Onion Ishikuro. This has a very long harvesting period and can be pulled when pencil-thin or left until they are like mini-leeks.

Our Autumn sown Shallots are coming along nicely, but the sets were expensive and I wanted to try to grow some from seed.

I was looking for a seed to produce the long, French style Shallots, but most of the seed on offer was for the 'pickling' variety.

I finally found a variety called Banana from Thompson & Morgan.

Better still, the same seeds were on offer at Capital Gardens with 25% discount and free postage !

You can see their website here.

We also sowed brassica seed in the nursery bed to establish plants that we can move to permanent beds in June.

We have sown the following :

• Savoy Cabbage Tarvoy F1
• Kale Nero di Toscana
• Cabbage Red Drumhead
• Cabbage Offenham 2
• Cauliflower Candid Charm F1
• Calabrese Aquiles F1

We are also growing the same varieties in modules as a comparative trial.

Spring in the air...

It was quite chilly this morning down at the patch, but a bit of digging soon warmed us up !

Heather was busy planting Onion sets... 50 Red Baron and 50 Setton .

Heather then sowed a row of Beetroot in the plot where we will be planting Leeks. The idea being that we can harvest the Beetroot (for pickling in jars) before we plant the Leeks in early summer.

We have sown a variety called Moneta which has single (monogerm) seeds as opposed to the more usual varieties which have seed clusters. This will, hopefully, mean that there will be less thinning and less waste.

We have had a couple of days down at the patch this week breaking up the soil to create new beds for Spring and Summer plantings.

Beyond the trenches that were dug for Potatoes, a series of mounds have been created where Corn, Beans and Squash (Three Sisters) will be grown.

The pictures shows the next bed being dug over. This is where we will grow Onion and Leeks. We are conducting a trial : Seeds from two types of Leeks have been sown under glass and the same two types will be sown in a nursery bed in March. We will transplant them when they reach the thickness of a pencil and decide which method has been most effective.

Up from the Onion beds we have marked out where we will be planting our brassicas and this will be dug over during the next week or two.

Back to work...

It was our first opportunity to get down to the patch after all the snowy and icy weather. Fortunately everything seems to have survived, although our winter sown Broad Beans and Peas are looking a bit sad !

We spent most of the morning marking out where our new beds are going to be dug, ensuring that there is a strip left as a path between us and our new neighbours.

I then prepared a permanent bed which will be used to grow Asparagus. A trench was dug and filled with well seasoned stable manure ready for planting the crowns which will be delivered in April. I will be growing the variety Dariana from Simpsons Seeds .

Expanding horizons...

We have just taken over an additional plot that runs alongside our existing patch and braved the freezing conditions to measure out where the new beds will be dug.

I then made a start on the trenches where our potatoes will be planted in March.

There are nine trenches : Four will have Desiree planted, three will have Cara and two will have International Kidney (otherwise know as Jersey Royals).

The raised soil either side of the trenches will be used for earthing up.