Keeping The Lights On - Week 6
3 May 2020
Hello all,
On the one hand it's been an extremely productive week at the garden, on the other hand it seems like for every dandelion I dig up ten more take its place! The potted potato plants have pushed their way through their final earthing-over and are now reaping the rewards, spreading large leaves to the sun and promising a bountiful harvest. The chilli plants in the greenhouse have been potted on and will soon be large enough to be given a quick snip with a pair of secateurs, ensuring they bush out nicely and produce lots of fruit. The assorted veg in the beds had a thinning-out this week, with the strongest, healthiest shoots and roots given enough room to stretch and grow. See below for more details of some of the planting that has gone on this week.
This week also saw the return of an old friend and faithful garden workhorse - our chipper/shredder is back from its service and has already turned out a binful of soon to be rich nutritious compost. With the whole compost area receiving a late spring clean and forking over, we're well set to supplement our sometimes heavy clay soil with some top notch homegrown organic matter - with more than a few earthworms included at no extra charge!
The main lawn at the garden has really appreciated the warm weather, and occassional torrential downpour, and is looking extremely lush, which is great to see as I'm sure you all know it took a bit of a pounding over the winter. It's due for its first cut next week, which will encourage it to spread and fill in the remaining patchy spots. It's good to see how the garden can heal itself like that.
I hope everyone out there is staying safe and taking good of themselves - please don't hesitate to get in touch with me any time on 01795 539915or tom.abbeyphysic@gmail.com
Best wishes to all,
Tom.
Antirrhinum Alert!
In a shocking act of vandalism, some despicable ne'er-do-well has obscured the painstakingly cultivated soil around the iron lady with nearly 150 snapdragons and flowering sages. We weren't able to apprehend the culprit, but rest assured we're on the case. For now we will have to preserve the evidence and allow it to grow into a riotous floral summer display.
Nearly-Vertical Gardening
Take a last look at the gorgeous, nutritious soil on the not-quite-vertical sides of the hugelkultur bed, before they're covered in the gorgeous, nutritious vegetables it was planted up with this week - including bush beans, courgettes, lettuces, tumbling tomatoes and more, with a few flowering annuals thrown in for good measure.