First Beds Ready

[Samurailord]

Just wondering ... did you rotavate the couch grass?

Unfortunately yes, we did cut up quite a bit of it. I spent quite a lot of time trying to get most of the roots out before refilling the beds, but I am aware that I can't possibly have got it all.

I am hoping that by putting raised beds with flagged paths between them over the majority of the ground it will keep it down to a minimum, and using square foot gardening will also help suppress any weeds.

Lots of weeding to follow I am sure, but hopefully the double dug bed with no cardboard will have the worst problem so I can say 'Told you so' to my stepdad

This is still a steep learning curve for us both, so we are bound to make mistakes in the way that we do things - the important thing us to learn and adapt.

Andy

[Samurailord]

Good job Andy, a lot of hard work but the rewards are worth it.......you may be struggling with toms & peppers with winter drawing in.........ducks........

I agree BigM, but as the plants are already starting to carry fruit in their small pots at home I don't see I have any other option but to use them to fill some of the space we have made.

As for winter - can it be much worse than we have been experiencing lately?

The plants are already paid for and so I lose nothing by trying apart from a bit of time - something a Yorkshireman should be appreciative of I would have thought

Andy

[Bigmallly]

I agree BigM, but as the plants are already starting to carry fruit in their small pots at home I don't see I have any other option but to use them to fill some of the space we have made.

As for winter - can it be much worse than we have been experiencing lately?

The plants are already paid for and so I lose nothing by trying apart from a bit of time - something a Yorkshireman should be appreciative of I would have thought

Andy

Nick a bit o' space in that polytunnel Andy...............only joking of course.

[Samurailord]

Nick a bit o' space in that polytunnel Andy...............only joking of course.

I would - but it's full (and I do mean full ) of tomatoes

Andy

[Cue the Toms]

All looking good mate.

Keep up the hard work, it 'll be worth it once you can get some bits and bobs in the ground.
I'm shattered after 2 hard days on the plot but enjoying it all the same.

Chris

[Two_Sheds]

Unfortunately yes, we did cut up quite a bit of it [couch].

... but you're aware that it will regrow from the tiniest piece of root, so you won't be shocked and disheartened when it does grow back.

Keep on top of it: I'm still digging it out after 4 years. It will come up amongst your crops which is a pain, but get a hand fork under it and wiggle it out as it appears. Don't let it get established again

we are bound to make mistakes ... the important thing us to learn and adapt

There's no shame in making a mistake ~ some are inevitable as you find your way. We Grapes just try and prevent people from repeating the same ones we made

[Samurailord]

I managed to get an hour or so down at the plot tonight and got a handful of plants in before it went dark.

I have planted in the no-dig bed which I have marked off to use the square foot gardening method.

The beds are 4.5' x 9.5 because of the length of the wood we have used to make them, so I have made 24 1 foot squares and 13 1 foot by 1.5 foot down one side and across the top. The plan is to use these oversized squares to plant up the bigger brassicas and other plants that need a lot of room.

So far I have transplanted 5 Brussel Sprouts, 5 Purple Sprouting Broccoli, 5 Purple Curly Kale, 16 onions (in one square) and 16 lettuce (4 to a square).

I have covered them with netting to try and keep the cabbage whites away, and liberally scattered slug pellets around.

Each plant was watered in well to try and minimise any transplant shock.

I have also left the remainder of the plants that I didn't get into the ground down at the allotment, also covered with netting.

It was starting to go dark as I was packing up so I wasn't able to get a picture - I will try to get one and post it tomorrow.

I am hoping that when I go back tomorrow night I will still have some plants left.

Andy

[Bigmallly]

Sounds good Andy, what I did was put a sprinkling of FB in the holes before planting & a dash of lime around the brassicas. I'm not saying that's what you should do but I had some good results, keep the pics coming.

[Feral007]

Nurseries around here recommend using seaweed drink when you transplant anything from seedlings to fruit trees and roses. I figure it can't hurt!

[Samurailord]

I managed to get a couple of pics down at the plot tonight - unfortunately it was starting to go dark so they aren't too good.

This is the small bed of potatoes that I planted just over three weeks ago - they are growing so fast it is noticable from one day to the next.



Considering that these were just supermarket potatoes that had been left too long and had sprouted I am very pleased - they have performed much better than the seed potatoes I planted in bags at home earlier this year - I hope that the crop is equally better too.



This is the first planted bed - mainly brassicas but a few onions and lettuce as well.

The brassicas are still looking good and strong, but the lettuce have gone all floppy and limp - not sure if that is a reaction to being transplanted and if they will recover at all.

One thing I am very pleased about is that none have any slug or snail damage at all as yet - I sprinkled the area with pellets after planting and it seems to have done the trick so far.

The remainder of the bed will have some cabbage, perpetual spinach, french beans and peas transplanted in, plus some pak choi, spinach and turnips seeds sown direct.

There may even be some space for a couple of tomatoes too, and perhaps some beets.

Andy

[Feral007]

Looking good SL!

[Samurailord]

Thanks Feral.

[Two_Sheds]

Just looking through your blog, and can't make comments (I don't have any of the required user accounts).

Re: your caterpillars. There are 3 caterpillars that will attack brassicas

1) small cabbage white (bright green cats)
2) large cabbage white (drk grn & black cats)
3) cabbage moth (brown cats)

You need fine butterfly netting to keep them out

[Two_Sheds]

I have planted in the no-dig bed

All raised beds are no-dig aren't they? That's the point of them.

(but you still have to dig at the very start, to get the perennial weed roots out of the ground)

[Two_Sheds]

I'm still reading your blog, I like this bit:

a guy ... took on a plot last autumn, rotivated [sic] intensely and got a nice looking plot, but his latest video has shown that he is suffering from a huge amount of weed regrowth, just as folks on the Grapevine Forum had told me would happen.