It’s the time of year where things are ramping up at the plot. I post a lot of updates on mastodon but want to capture some of that here. I was away the first two weeks of March, this is a rough overview of the second two weeks.
It’s no wonder I keep feeling various muscles and joints. I’ve packed a lot into two weeks! With most visits to the plot I just do an hour or two. Now that the days are getting longer there’s more wiggle room to spend time over there so I’m there more frequently.
17th and 18th March – I planted shallot sets in a bath tub, 28 in total with a few medium sized but most small. The small sets will give me fewer but larger shallots for eating, and the medium sized should give me more but smaller shallots to use as sets for next year. Weeded and topped up the tub with homemade compost before planting up. Protected with metal mesh.
Made a raspberry patch. Previous left-side tenants had raspberries growing along the central path which I dug up in late autumn into grow bags with compost to overwinter. I’ve then replanted these in two short lines with hazel stakes driven into the ground to provide supports. I had way too many raspberry canes so I gave some away and the other spares went on top of my dead hedge.
The grow bags of raspberries had been held in a wooden crate. Now this crate was empty I managed to screw together a broken corner and then roll it down the plot next to another crate I have as a raised bed. I set up the crate on old bricks in the same way as the other is set up. At some point I’ll line it and then fill the bottom half with logs and the top half with top soil and compost. It’s a good height for carrots (away from root fly) and deep enough to accommodate root veg.
I planted out my skirret and welsh onions that I have grown from seed and overwintered in the greenhouse. The skirret will be 4ft / 120cm high when mature but I’ve planted it in a raised bed / crate for this season so I can give it more tlc this year. Both sets of plants are looking happier for being outdoors.
19th March – At home I planted a big module tray of seeds, including: tomatoes, a second try at chilli peppers, strawflowers, oriental poppies, mixed statice (Limonium sinuatum), pink poker statice (Statice suworowii), basil, parsley and dill. These are on a heat mat with a grow light indoors.
20th March – I planted my remaining shallot sets in my neighbours raised bed along with a line of carrots. I haven’t seen any sign of him over the last couple of months, and was told he’s had a series of illness recently so this will give him something to look forward to. Other people have helped him by cutting his hedge in February and other odd jobs.
For myself I planted radish, lettuce and viola seeds in the raised bed I grow mostly salad leaves in. I shifted some of the perenials in this bed around, so the curley parsley and chives are next to each other with perenial rocket / arugula in a row next to them.
21st March – I finished digging over and edging my front left bed. I had expanded the size of the bed over winter but had left one corner that had the black “weed blocking” fabric (it does not block weeds) left from the previous tenants. It was an arse to dig out because it quickly perishes in the ground, and it was enmeshed with couch grass rhizomes and dock roots pinning it down with composted wood chippings on top to bury it. Anyway, I managed to remove all of that and edge the remaining section to keep it tidy.
My first early potatoes (Lady Christl variety) went in the front left bed. Last year I grew Pentland Javelin which did surprisingly well given I didn’t get any rain in April, so it will be interesting to see how these do. I believe Lady Christl are more waxy in texture whereas Pentland Javelin were floury, I generally prefer waxy spuds but the Javelins made good potato scones / cakes and were plentiful. I’m at the whims of what seed potatoes the committee orders in bulk each year, it’s far cheaper to buy them from the site shop than to order my own from a supplier.
Think it was also this day where I transplanted some of my broad bean plants as not all had survived and I wanted to rationalise them together. In the space left I planted saved calendula seeds.
23rd March – Dug over a section of the front right bed ready to plant out two half rows of gypsophila plants in a block. Also did some weeding of another row that isn’t being dug over (for annual cut flowers). Transplanted some self-seeded snapdragons and cornflowers into this row from elsewhere.
I’ve finished the herb row in the front left area by adding a rosemary plant I’ve grown from a cutting, and added some oregano (it happily grows all over my plot which in turn makes me happy). Also picked my first four tulips to take home (a couple of days later I picked half a dozen for my nan too).
24th March – Moved a temporary insect house from near my glass greenhouse to the end of the herb row I finished yesterday. I made sure the ground from where I moved it has cover for the baby beetle and other beasties I found underneath.
Also laid some reclaimed hexagonal paving slabs I’d been keeping by. These now form a path to the new pond. I then planted my astilbe plants around this area – the astilbes are from bare roots I bought from J Parker’s which I potted up in early spring until I got the ground ready.
27th March – Went to the site to water plants in the greenhouse and ended up getting two barrows of free wood chippings and a barrow of logs.
28th March – Did an hour at the plot potting up my young scabious plants that I’ve grown from seed. I germinated the seed in trays, then pricked them out into individual pots / modules when large enough to handle. They’ve overwintered like this but are now of a size where they would prefer to go up another pot size before being planted out in a month or more. 12 Giant Scabious (Cephalaria gigantea) and 10 Macedonian Scabious (Knautia macedonica). Both varieties are perenial, drought tolerant and very low maintenance. Both loved by bees and butterflies and can be used as cut flowers. I’m looking forward to seeing them grow!
