Mr H's Plot

[Mr H]

Ok so the seeds I bought:

Charlotte potato seed - 12
Pea - early - Kelvedon Wonder
Tomato - Alicante - hopefully to grow for outdoors
Salad - mixed
Tarragon - Russian - (only realised afterwards this is the Russian not French variety - hope it tastes good)

Chives
Radish - French Breakfast
Kale - Dwarf green curled
Broccoli - early purple sprouting
Turnip - Purple Top Milan
Leek - Lyon
Beetroot - Boltardy

Please feel free to chip in with advice on how, when, to grow any of these etc

[veggiechicken]

The Forum has its own "Growing Guides" https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/how-to-grow which give sound advice for growing most fruit and veg.

[Mr H]

The Forum has its own "Growing Guides" https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/how-to-grow which give sound advice for growing most fruit and veg.

Thanks VC - I'll check it out. Still a Newbie

[veggiechicken]

Lots of members don't realise they're there!!
They're a good place to start for advice on what to do with each veg every month. Have a read and come back with questions.

[Penellype]

Ok so the seeds I bought:

Charlotte potato seed - 12
Pea - early - Kelvedon Wonder
Tomato - Alicante - hopefully to grow for outdoors
Salad - mixed
Tarragon - Russian - (only realised afterwards this is the Russian not French variety - hope it tastes good)

Chives
Radish - French Breakfast
Kale - Dwarf green curled
Broccoli - early purple sprouting
Turnip - Purple Top Milan
Leek - Lyon
Beetroot - Boltardy

Please feel free to chip in with advice on how, when, to grow any of these etc

Turnips - one thing I have found here is that it is impossible to grow turnips without cabbage root fly damage unless you cover them with fine insect mesh. They look fine until you cut into them and then you find the brown tunnels and maggots and the whole thing can be inedible. They seem particularly attracted to turnips - I've never had root fly problems with any other brassicas.

[Mr H]

Turnips - one thing I have found here is that it is impossible to grow turnips without cabbage root fly damage unless you cover them with fine insect mesh. They look fine until you cut into them and then you find the brown tunnels and maggots and the whole thing can be inedible. They seem particularly attracted to turnips - I've never had root fly problems with any other brassicas.

Thanks for the info. I'd never have thought of that. Will have to make sure they are properly protected

[gardening_gal]

The Forum has its own "Growing Guides" https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/how-to-grow which give sound advice for growing most fruit and veg.

I didn't know this. I just automatically come and ask you lot.

I shall read.

[Mr H]

Last weekend's update. Yes I know I'm nearly a week late with it. I was trying to be clever and get the photos resized so that I could combine photos and news. I failed with that so here's the news. Photos to follow:

Had a quick drop in visit on Saturday when I was out shopping for seeds but didn't do much other than organise my mind into what was to be done.

Sunday I spent the afternoon - about 3 hours at the plot.

First I repaired the two worst parts of the perimeter fencing. At least the wire and post are now vertical rather than blocking the pathways. Hard work hammering some new posts into the ground to act as supports to the original ones that had rotted. Luckily there is a stack of wood and posts on the plot which as I sorted though delivered up sufficient posts to use for the repairs. These looked like they were the remains of a previous fruit cage where the posts had rotted but the posts were still about 7 foot long. Unfortunately I'm not 8 foot tall so hammering these into the ground was going to be fun. Let me explain that said posts were of the round variety with a diameter of about 40mm. I know I mix feet and mm together. It's an age thing.

I cut the posts down to about 6 feet - 2m which is still taller than me and when sawing cut diagonally to create a spike on the end. Armed with a lump hammer I managed to sink these 2 feet into the soil next to existing broken posts. To solve the height problem I maneuvered a tyre that was holding down some of the tarpaulin to each position and stood on it wielding said hammer. That gave me enough of a height boost that the hammer had some force behind it. All in all took me close to an hour to cut and hammer in six posts and then tie the old posts in using wire I also found in the wood pile.

Needed a rest after all that hammering so dug up the rogue rhubarb from what will become the herb patch. Fortunately the rhubarb came up easily, it was a baby which was quite waterlogged and split itself into three very small roots. I dug a trench where I want these to grow and hopefully they will.

Feeling refreshed from actually planting something it was time to start some weeding. There are two main growing areas and I'd mentally divided each of these in two giving me four sectors for some crop rotation. Thus making the weeding easier by breaking the whole plot into more manageable areas. I got stuck in with the fork and turned over one of these areas. The soil is light and with the recent rain in about 35 mins I'd dug over one of the four sectors where I will grow Potatoes and tomatoes this year.

Time for another rest so I grabbed my wheelbarrow out of the car along with the car air compressor and reinflated the tyre on the barrow. I knew there was a puncture and I actually purchased a new wheel, tyre and inner tube which has sat in the garage since Christmas. Really I should have just swapped this onto the barrow but decided it was quicker to put some air in and cross my fingers that it would last for a while.

So with a limited timespan I set off to the manure heap and filled the barrow to bring back nicely rotted horse manure to the plot. The first load went round the transplanted rhubarb and the tyre looked good.

Rested from digging, I removed some of the tarpaulin next to the fruit area and was pleasantly surprised to see nothing but soil underneath. A perfect spot for the asparagus crowns I had purchased in the heat of the moment the day before. I measured up an 8' by 4' space and forked over the ground, there being no weeds to remove it was easy going and broke up the surface nicely. Spurred on I took to the barrow and went to fill up on manure. Despite getting my feet sucked into the very waterlogged entrance to the manure heap, and then in trying to unsuck my feet losing my balance and falling clownlike onto my backside (fortunately there were no other plotholders on site to witness my stunt) I managed four barrow loads of manure before the tyre gave up. Ideally I'd have like a couple of more loads but I spread out what there was over the Asparagus-to-be bed.

I reckoned I had about an hour of time left, it was about 3pm, and settled down to hand weed the patch I'd first dug over (the potato and tomato patch - are you keeping up?) I lost count of how many buckets of weeds I pulled out, mostly grass, buttercup and plantain. I threw these into one of my daleks, I know I probably shouldn't have but didn't know what else to do with them. Anyway took me about an hour and I now have one of four of my rotational spaces weed free and looking nicely dug.

That was the end of the afternoon for me. Going back this Sunday to continue the work.

[Mr H]

This weekend's plans

Plans for this weekend's visit:

Change tyre on the wheelbarrow - this will enable me to move in more manure. Both Done
Finish adding manure to the Asparagus-to-be bed DONE
Give the next rotational plot the dig and weed treatment. That one will be used for beans and peas and mean that I can start on the peas. DONE

Barrow in woodchip from the woodchip heap to top up the two paths within the plot. One of the paths is DONE

Decide if my 12 charlotte seed potatoes are ready to plant and if so learn how to plant them

Finish preparing the Asparagus bed and plant the crowns - I might wait a week for this.

[Mr H]

Remaining jobs to do

In no particular order:

Sort through the assorted wood pile and keep anything useful and not rotted - burn the rest

Remove the tarpaulins from the two remaining rotation patches, dig over and weed if necessary DONE

Clean out the shed, repaid the window, paint the outside (and probably the inside)

Weed around the fruit bushes.
Decide if the PSB is going to be edible or not. If not then remove, dig over and weed - this area will be used to grow sweetcorn in a compact grid
Harvest the 8 savoy cabbages, dig over and weed - part of the beans and peas area

Sow the seeds I bought once it's warm

[Mr H]

Photos. Week 1

Photos of my first afternoon of work

Asparagus-to-be bed with a few barrow loads of manure spread over it.

Intend to use the space across the front and down the side for lettuces.

The first of my four crop rotation spaces. This one will have the charlotte potatoes and tomatoes in it.
After forking over and then hand weeding.
compared to beforehand - although a different angle. This second photo is actually the first two of my rotational spaces. The second half will be for the peas and beans and currently also has the savoy cabbages I inherited in it.

The herb bed, this is where the rogue rhubarb was. Need to get some rosemary, thyme and sow some chives in here.

[Chrissyteacup]

Oh wow you sound like your really getting cracking!

[mrmauy]

Looking good Mr H - I've got plot envy at the moment as it's going to take me a lot longer to get anywhere near that!

[Mr H]

Looking good Mr H - I've got plot envy at the moment as it's going to take me a lot longer to get anywhere near that!

I was really lucky that the plot was in good condition when I took it over. Ok I've had to spend time on the perimeter fencing. But in terms of the ground it's just light weeding really.

[Mr H]

Week Two

Got up early on Sunday and was at the plot before 9, a little fresh but soon warmed up as I started work.

First job was to fit the new wheel on my wheel barrow. Gosh that made such a difference

I quickly barrowed in four more loads of muck onto the asparagus bed and lightly forked it in. Should be ready to plant the crowns next weekend now. I then finished weeding around that area so once the crowns are in I can grow lettuce along the sides.

Next I forked over the rest of the area I started last week up to where my inherited cabbages are. Dug down a full fork depth, turned and broke it up. That took the rest of the first hour.

My back wanted a break then so I turned my attention to the other side of the plot which was all covered up in tarpaulin and weighed down with tyres. Wondering what I was going to find underneath I uncovered the whole lot. Pleasant surprise, the ground was bare, it must have been covered up like that, certainly no sign of any rotting vegetation. Spurred on I took the tyres and tarpaulins to the site recycling centre and forked over the whole area. Two robins certainly approved of this as they sat on the fence watching my work and dived down each time I turned over a juicy worm to devour the poor things.

The whole thing was done in half an hour and then I returned to the area I'd dug over first. There was nothing for it but to get down and hand weed this. Took me a bout 45 minutes to generate a mountain of weeds and clean up the area I'll use for beans and peas.

I'd unearthed about a dozen primulas in the process so these I relocated to the edge of the bed along the pathway.

This means all four of my rotation beds are completely dug over and weed free ready for planting. One of them still has the inherited cabbages along one side and there's a few weeds and grass growing around them.

I just had time to prepare an area for peas and planted a short row. The peas are earlies so hopefully they'll germinate over the next two weeks and that'll be my first growth

Just had time to barrow in four loads of wood chip for one of the paths, clear up and leave the place tidy and it was home in time for lunch.

Photos to follow once I've resized them.