We have been appreciating the lovely warm sunshine this week for both of our gardening sessions. We’re not, however, so sure the bee keepers will be too happy as the bees in the hives were very active which must mean they will be using up their food reserves as there is so little to forage.
We have raised some of the brassica netting as they were trying to burst out. The purple sprouting is set to be at full production by April so we need to keep a close eye on them. Once the netting was off we took the opportunity to remove the lower leaves and mulch the bed beneath before replacing with a looser canopy to deter pesky pigeons! We have certainly been steaming through the compost pile and are starting to run low already, however we have not had to be frugal with it this year which is a luxury.
We have taken up the swedes and most of the celeriac as they had not been as good as we had hoped and it is too late now to expect them to get any bigger! Some examples from Fremantle Park from the same batch of seeds and grown at the same time were compared (see picture below), so it is clear that something else such as compost or moisture levels have been to blame. Always a guessing game when growing plants, trial and error.
Having cleared a bit of space we were able to plant three more rhubarb roots. We will not be able to harvest any of the stalks this year but they should be large enough in 2023 with any luck! We also had a few small asparagus crowns which are a useful addition to one of our planted asparagus beds which was a little sparse in places last year. We will have to remain patient with this crop as there is no collecting of the delicious shoots until next year, and then only a few of the spears can be taken until it has had a chance to become well established.
We took a trip out to Brook near Ashford, to visit Rebel farmer Ed at his market garden, specialising in edible flowers and microgreens. It was fascinating, even at this time of year when not much is growing outside. Ed’s microgreens are available all year round, growing in insulated and lit outbuildings. Demand for his produce is great and he is running flat out in order to supply, and has plans to expand. Like us, Ed likes to grow using organic, no dig principles, using just a yearly layer of new compost to maintain the health and vitality of the soil first, which will then sustain the plants growing in it. No fertilisers, no chemicals, just simplicity itself. We will be keeping contact with Ed to see how his business develops over time as he has lots of ideas in the pipeline.
We have another trip planned for next Saturday 22nd with Seed Sovereignty UK at the Locavore growing project at the Martello Primary school in Folkestone. It being our gardening day on Saturday, there may not be any of our volunteers at Enbrook Park, but we will be back the following week as usual, hopefully full of lots of seed saving ideas.
What’s next?
- Review the compost situation
- Keep an eye to make sure the brassica netting is doing its job
- Order some more fleece
- Work to be done at Fremantle and Golden Valley
Comparison of celeriac (top 2 examples) and swede – the larger roots grown at Fremantle from the same batch of seedlings Polytunnel envy! Rebel farmer Ed showing us around. Microgreens growing in an outbuilding Microgreens boxed and ready to be distributed to markets, cafes and restaurants.
