Accelerating apple tree growth…

I planted a mini apple orchard in March 2008 consisting of eight trees of varying varieties. They grew a bit and we even got some miniature fruit from them.

This year I have tried to gain more growth at the expense of harvesting less fruit. I’ve never had much experience at growing fruit trees before this particular venture and would be lying if I said I had done much research into the matter either.

Anyway, yesterday, I removed all but six or seven fruits on each tree to enable it to focus its energies in new growth throughout the summer. Hopefully I shall notice bigger trees by October. Here is a picture of them currenty:

I will post an update on the topic later in the year with more pictures.

In the meantime, the squash seeds went in on Tuesday.

Potatoes in containers, potatoes in the ground and sweetcorn

The Wilja second early potatoes that were sown in containers a couple of weeks ago are coming along very well. Probably due for their first earthing up by the end of the week.

The same can be said for some of the potatoes sown in the ground. These early potatoes were sown about 8 weeks ago in soil that was unknowingly contaminated with the aminopyralid manure in the winter. Anyway, these spuds went in before I knew the herbicide even existed. You can see from this next photo that the leaves on the plants on the left dont look as bad as those on the right so the manure cannot have been spread very evenly. The vast majority are all showing signs though. I cant really be bothered to just dig them up and burn them now as I may just aswell get even the smallest of harvests from them by just leaving them in.

A close up of one of the badly affected plants:

On a happier note, the sweetcorn plants (hardy to aminopyralid) are growing rapidly in the greenhouse:

The carrots in the greenouse have well and truly germinated. The pipe is used for watering – to direct water deeper into the container and hopefully therefore the carrot roots to make longer carrots!

Thanks for reading!

BBC Dig In seeds arrived…

Yes, the long awaited seeds from the BBC arrived this week. Fantastic.

They are a great freebie. And I mean FREE. All you had to do was submit your postage and email address and your seeds were promised to be delievered within the month.

5 packets were delivered, tomato, squash, lettuce, beetroot and carrot. Some will be saved for next year but I think the squash and the beetroot are going to go in this week.

I believe they have run out but the offer can be found here. I’m not sure whether they will be running it again, only I know that they should.

Brilliant!

All risk of frost has passed.

I have come to the conclusion that all risk of fros has passed, for me anyway.

• It’s mid-May
• I’m by the coast
• There hasn’t even been a light frost for about two months

I surely can’t see there being any more…

So, last night I went ahead with an experiment, putting some of my celery plants out in the ground without hardening off (under fleece of course and in a sheltered trench). Also I put a few french bean plants out, I seem to have hundreds still in the greenhouse and could afford to lose a few.

After an inspection this morning, all seem to be doing well. It appears that everything got a good soaking last night which is the way it should be. Wouldn’t it be brilliant if it rained in the nights and was sunny and warm during the days all spring and summer!!!

Two celery plants have also been planted in an old roses tin in the greenhouse. An early crop would be very welcome!

Talking of early crops, I emptied the potatoes that were sown in containers in February in the greenhouse, the ones that unfortunately suffered from the aminopyralid manure, there were no tubers to be found anywhere!!! Very strange!!!

Anyway, about three weeks ago, when I found out about the aminopyralid, I planted, in about 7 containers, some Wilja (second early potatoes). They are just beginning to show through and It shouldnt be long before I’m earthing them up. Im going to need some more compost to do that though.

Runner beans seem to be doing very well and are already beginning to climb up the frame.

Some pictures…

I’ve been quite busy in recent days, due to impending exams, hence my lack of posting.

Anyway, things have been growing quite a bit as the miserable wet weather ceased for a few days whilst the sun came out. We are now back under the usual clouds and it appears we will be for the next 3/4 days at least. Anyway, as promised:

The french beans are in the process of being hardened off. I plan on sorting out the celery in the next couple of days also.

The runner beans that can be seen along the back went in at the end of last week and three courgette plants, which can sort of be made out in this photo, went out on Monday. Also, sweet peas have been planted at the base of the vertical supports of the bean frame in an attempt to attract the bees. The pots have had their bottoms removed so as the roots can bury further into the soil (I just wanted them raised above the other crops).

As can be seen from this photo, from left, spinach, lettuce and beetroot seem to be doing quite well. I have made a few successional sowings of beetrootin containers since these were sown  to ensure continuous cropping hopefully.

The same can also be said for the beet leaf and radish and also the kelvedon wonder peas.

The debris netting protecting the brassicas has also managed to stand up to the recent winds. After a caterpillar egg inspection yesterday I believe it is doing its job as I didn’t come across any. Fingers crossed.

This aminopyralid is still doing my head in! I’m having to be so careful with what I compost. I have to remember where I put manure over the winter and anything that has grown in it cannot be composted. All rhubarb leaves and radish leaves have had to go in the grey bin so as the herbicide hopefully does not to make a comeback.

River cottage repeats

One of my most favourite tv programmes ever has to be river cottage where hugh fearnley relocates to the west country in search of a better quality of life. Like many others I’m sure, I would love to be in a position to do this.

My life is, at the moment, semi-rural: I live in a large village and am very lucky to have a large back garden. One day though, I would love to own my very own smallholding – much like the original river cottage – or, if I’m very lucky, one more like river cottage hq (the big 40 acre farm as featured in 2008 river cottage spring and autmn).

Anyway, more to the point, I’ve been watching river cottage spring repeats on 4od this morning. Hugh was making broad beans on toast and harvesting new potatoes and raddish (all grown in that polytunnel for early cropping).

I’m looking forward to re-creating this recipe for myself in about a months time with my container grown broad beans! Until then I’ve got exam after exam and I could really do with beginning to revise and prepare.

iPod update.

Another iPod update

Since the last post; courgettes have gone in. I need more room for potatoes and was in the middle of clearing an area of grass and weeds when I remembered it was the same part I had spilt some diesel last year (I could still smell it in the soil). Obviously it’s unsuitable to grow anything there and probably will be for another few years – annoying because it’s a good, sunny and otherwise fertile spot.

Brassica cage refurb.

Beginning as a miserable and wet day and ending boring and overcast…

That aside, completed in the garden today was the task of butterfly proofing the brassica cage to almost air-tight standard. Yes, the long awaited debris net arrived today via FedEx.

As I had been reliably informed, the netting I was previously using (10mm general garden netting) was not up to standard as it could in fact be easily breached by today’s evermore cunning cabbage white butterfly, I deemed the scaffolding netting a necessary purchase.

Anyway, the brassica patch cage was transformed from this:

to this…

As I imagine a refund on the netting would be out of the question, it is now being used to support the peas and beans. I have a bit left over that will be used to protect the soft fruit plants aswell.

Also, as I now own a rather large amount of netting, another cage was added. This one is over the patch where the potatoes were going to be. Since the aminopyralid realisation I am just growing crops that tolerate the herbicide in the various affected areas to make best use of the available space. My brassicas this year are brussels sprouts, cabbage and swede.

An inspired greenhouse viewing area, a slight bi-product to be honest but a great feature nonetheless:

Further jobs today included putting the runner beans into the ground and the companion sweet peas. Hoping theres no more frost.

First ipod update

Bit of an experiment really. Thought I would have a go at making a post from my trusty iPod. Apologies for the odd mispelt words that are bound to occur.

Anyway, today weather has maintained is recent miserableness. It’s beginning to resemble summer actually (the last two).

Tomorrow I could do with ensuring I’m in for the delivery of the debris netting – doubt I will be though.

I may be cutting down part of a tree tomorrow as I’m in need of the wood. More to follow…

Nettle tea, smashed glass, c**p weather and the first lettuce…

On an otherwise miserable day weatherwise, a lot has been completed this bank holiday monday.

Firstly, upon opening the newly created coldframe this morning and leaning it against the conveniently positioned runner bean frame behind it, a heavy gust of wind brought it back down and managed to smash three panes of glass. Luckily I wasn’t stood inside it and should really consider myself lucky to be alive! (The gap in the ‘air tight’ seal has now been filled with a couple of binbags nailed to the wood.)

Note to self – build working locking device into coldframe asap to reduce mid-morning fatality risks to closer to zero.

Secondly, the weather today has been truly miserable. The worst I’ve been out in for at least a month. This however didn’t give me any excuse to put off the work that was required:

• runner beans had to be potted on
• tomatoes for school plant sale had to be potted on
• another batch of carrots, salad onions, beetroot and lettuce had to be sown

Later in the day, browsing through the forums of allotment.org.uk I came across a post regarding ‘nettle tea’ – a fertiliser for brassicas. This interested me and as there is a rather large patch of nettles doing little more than stinging me every time I walk past I decided to give it a go. Instructions are as follows:

Into a bin or suitable bucket, add 1 gallon of water for every 2lb of nettles. Leave for two to three weeks, stirring occasionally. After this period, dilute liquid at a ratio of 1:10 anduse to water plants.

Apparently this is meant to enrich the soil with nitrogen and is consequently a good idea to use on brassicas as they are ‘nitrogen hungry plants’ ~ apparently!

The first lettuce of the season was eaten this evening. The first crop of 2009 however was three stems of rhubarb that were eaten on Friday…

Furthermore, debris netting is now on order to cover the brassicas 2MX50M of it! I was using some bog standard 10mm netting but apparently this isn’t up to the job, I was informes on the forum, as the cabbage whites just stroll through it and take even greater pleasure in laying their eggs.

At least I can end my hunt for comfrey now after my discovery of ‘nettle tea’.