First signs of spring

Welcome Back to Reads Retreat, for a long overdue update! Regular readers of our Allotment Blog will be aware of the reasons (weather & health) that have curtailed any gardening activities. The latter is still an issue, but that doesn't stop the enthusiasm ! These daffs (pic) are in their second year now, and these lovely blooms were the first to show just last week. We have a bed in front of the house with about fifty bulbs in it. They're a lovely sight when all in bloom!


Elsewhere around the garden, we have a lot of small clumps of snowdrops in flower. Aren't they gorgeous!
Planning for the raised beds is well underway, not least the Asparagus bed . The crowns will be 2 years old this year and we are eagerly awaiting a crop to grace the dining table. We will also grow a load of cut and come again salad varieties, beetroot, onions, spring onions etc that we can harvest right when we need them.




We've also been given a half dozen trailing winter pansies, which have already been given new homes in baskets and tubs. It's nice to see a bit of greenery, and the prospect of colour too in a few weeks will bring the garden to life again.

Thats all for now, but hope you'll pop back soon for more updates.

Take care all and enjoy your gardening.

TTFN.

Spuds are sprouting!

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, where we bring you the good news that our spuds are sprouting already ! I know it's hard to see from the picture, but 3 of the 4 tubers are sprouting. The largest is at the 1 o'clock position in the pic!
It certainly is a reassuring sight, i was beginning to think we had left it too late for these to grow. But, wouldn't it be nice to dig them Christmas morning, and eat them the same day !
Not much else to report from RR. The wind and rain continues virtually unabated, and not much is getting done with the raised beds. If there's an opportunity today, I will cut back the asparagus fronds, and cover the bed with a layer of home made compost.

Hope you will pop back soon for more updates .

Till then, enjoy your gardening,

TTFN

The Merry Raspberry Polka !

Welcome back to Reads Retreat. Sorry for the somewhat long absence from posting, there's been quite a few changes around here of late, not least a new shift pattern at work to get used to!
As the title suggests (nicked and adapted slightly from a similar song by the Andrews Sisters), it's Raspberry planting time here at the home plot. Three of the four canes pictured planted are from the Homebase "Grow Your Own" promotion they are currently running, whilst the other is a nondescript variety purchased from Wilko's last summer. The former though, are the variety Polka, which are an Autumn fruiting type - producing their bounty on this years growth. It's a first growing effort for me, so I'm keen as always to do the necessary to get a good crop. I'll be keeping a close eye on there! I planted them close to a fence, as the fence should make a good backdrop to an impromptu "cage" as and when it's required. The idea I have in mind is that I can attach an old net curtain to the top of the fence, and simply drape it over the canes when i need to! Let's see how that idea works!

The other little job completed today was the planting of these two little Blueberry bushes. They've been kept in a frost free location for a couple of weeks, and finally have been tucked up in their new home. I made larger than required planting holes in soil, before part filling with ericaceous compost. The roots were then backfilled with the same before I covered the bed with a mulch cover. I don't want these tender two competing or struggling for moisture. I read recently in Grow your Own veg magazine that blueberries should only be watered with collected rainwater, as tap water contains Lime, which the bushes hate. High hopes for these two too.

That's about it for this little update, but I hope you will be back soon for more of our updates.

Take care all,

TTFN

Blueberries - a bit of Research!

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, our guide to growing your own veg in Raised Beds. Fruit too, it seems!
Sitting at the pc tonight, I thought I'd start gathering some info on growing this delicious crop, and thought - why not share what i find !
We bought 2 bushes from Homebase in the last week, having been advised that we need 2 for good pollination. The best reference site I've stumbled across so far is the BBC Gardening Basics page, which gives a whole host of information on growing this fruit, as well as recipe ideas and a history of its cultivation. There's also some great information on the Telegraph website.
Quite often when you try growing something for the first time, you simply overlook the vast amount of information that's so readily available. Hopefully; if you're following our plans here at Reads Retreat, then you'll be able to access the same info. Simply clicking on the coloured text will redirect you to all this wonderful info. Luckily we have a dedicated Raised Bed available for planting our bushes, and the soil therein will be thoroughly mixed with Ericaceous compost, as these plants favour this type of soil. We opted for 2 x 15Litre bags from Wilkinson's, priced at £1.49 each, which seems like a good price to pay. The bushes themselves are currently residing in our unheated but frost free "Greenhouse", in the 3" pots they are supplied in. These will be transferred to 6" pots in the next couple of days and kept inside until all danger of frost has passed. In the meantime, the 30Litre of "new" compost can be added to the raised bed, to give it time to settle. Our darling Ruby is a big fan of Blueberries (or Blueys as she calls them) so it would be nice to get a decent crop here, maybe even this summer, and hopefully for many more summers to come.

Check back soon for more updates, it's going to get busy, very busy!

TTFN

Oh no, more snow!

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, our home plot guide to growing your own veg in Raised Beds. (Picture taken this morning, trying out a Sepia filter on my digital camera).
As you can see, the snow has once again returned, but thankfully at this time of year, it won't pose any problem as the plot is mostly dormant. There's a few straggly Leeks left to pull, and some tiny Beetroot waiting to get picked and pickled. All that's really left then is the late winter clear up. The bed at the back is the newly planted Asparagus bed, planted using the Lasagne bed technique to get the ground into shape as the plants grow. As i can't get out to the plot or the allotment, I may take some time out to sort the box of seeds out? That'll pass an hour or so!

Pop back soon for more updates from Reads Retreat.

TTFN

Lasagne Beds - April Fools ?

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, our guide to growing your own veg in raised beds.Earlier in the week I took delivery of a new order from Victoriana Nurseries, who are based at Challock in Kent. In the past I have ordered only dribs and drabs from this renowned supplier, And I have been eagerly watching the postman for a few days now!

This latest order included a Red Currant Bush (v.Rondom) Bare Rooted, a Rhubarb Plant (v.Victoria), 10 off Asparagus Plug Plants (v. Jersey Knight), a packet of Climbing Pea Seeds (v. Victorian Colossal Climbing), and a packet of Sweetcorn seeds (v.Swift Early).The package that arrived was somewhat larger than I had been expecting, and I was not sure how well the plants would have survived the postal service. Imagine then my delight when I opened the packaging and found all was well. This order had obviously been packed by someone who cares about what they do for a living. The Rhubarb plant looked fresh and full of vigor, as did the redcurrant bush, the latter having it's bare roots neatly enclosed in a polythene sack. The asparagus plugs were also well wrapped, undamaged, and still in their original "plug" shape, in spite of the fact that the root balls were quite moist. The accompanying packs of seed, like the rest of the produce, came complete with detailed information on propagation and growing, not the sort of thing you come to expect of plants by post. To say that I was impressed would be an understatement.Having ordered this lot a few days earlier, I had been kept away from the veg beds and the lottie, by the continued cold spell, and was keen to be doing some sort of "Gardening". With that in mind, I had been browsing the Feb 09 issue of the "Grow your own veg" magazine, which i got as a gift subscription from wtb. It was in there that I chanced upon an article entitled "Lasagne Beds". After checking the front cover to make sure it was not the April 1st Edition, I eagerly read on.

This bed system is utilised mainly where you want to create a Raised Bed, without digging and weeding the soil to start with. Often the hardest part in creating raised beds is the soil preparation required before you start; which is often hard work, especially on hard compacted ground that has never been worked. All you need to do once you have constructed your borders (I use scaffold planks) is cover the base with a good thick layer of newspaper, use a watering can to fully soak the paper, then cover with a layer of general purpose / home made compost to about 2" depth. This layering is then repeated until your bed is filled to the level you want. When you have finished, you will have a good layer sufficient for seed sowing / plug planting, and the "Lasagne" layers will rot down whilst at the same time preventing the base layer of weeds from growing, by excluding light from them. At the same time, worms will thrive in this new environment of moist soil and get to work breaking all the humus down. Newspaper also contains the trace element Carbon, which is useful in sustaining healthy plant growth.

The Raised Bed at Reads Retreat that I am going to turn into my Asparagus bed will use this method to top dress the existing bed content. Last season I grew my Climbing French Beans in this space, so the soil that is already there contains a large amount of organic kitchen waste, as well as the Nitrogen bearing roots which I left in the ground this winter to rot down. The reason I'm trying this layering method is that I hope it will help keep the weeds down which in turn should mean that I can leave the bed alone for a greater amount of time. At least the weeding wont be such a chore, and the newly planted asparagus plug plants shouldn't get disturbed too much.

Watch this space to see how I get on. Pictures to follow!

TTFN.

It's snowing !

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, our guide to growing veg in Raised Beds.
There won't be much gardening done today,this photo taken 10 mins ago! There's about half an inch cover so far, and it's forecast to continue the rest of the day.

Lovely.


TTFN

Brrrr Winter on it's way! 07.12.08

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, our guide to growing your own veg in Raised Beds.

Not a lot has happened out on the plot in the last week. There's still a fair bit growing: Leeks, Beetroot, Chard, Carrots to name a few, but the garden at this time of year is very low maintenance.

One job that needs daily attention though, is to break the ice every morning in the bird bath. Also keep an eye on bird feeders - keep them topped up or your feathered friends will steer well clear of your garden. More info can be found on the RSPB website.

One thing that really does bug me though; as the growing comes to a close and beds are cleared, is the amount of Cat poo all over the place! Many is the day I've taken great delight in launching it over the garden fences! I think that's ok, as the neighbours have cats and we don't!

I've made a couple of visits to the allotment this week, read the updates at Reads Allotment Retreat.

I've a couple of jobs to do on the plot this week, and hope you will find time to come back next weekend for the next update.

Till then

TTFN

String of Beans 13.11.08

Welcome back to Reads Retreat - our guide to Growing your own veg in Raised Beds.
With so many jobs to get done on the plot, it's often a case of "Where shall i start " . Yesterday I managed to clear the runner bean wigwam away. Before this however, i harvested these bean pods for seeds to use next year. In the past I have usually dried them out by laying on some old newspaper (the pods, not me! ) , but read recently this idea of stringing them up. This method should ensure good air circulation around the pods, and help to prevent any mould from forming. Also, as the pods dry out ( and you can shake the beans in the pods ) they can simply be removed from the pods and placed in an airtight container, ready for use next spring. I thought this was a great idea, and thought I'd share the idea with you all too. I will do the same over the next couple of days as I complete the same task on the climbing french beans. All we now need is a modicum of dry weather, and of course some time!

I'll be in touch again soon!

TTFN.

Its a bit chilly ! 23.08.08

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, our guide to growing your own veg in Raised Beds.

Just popped out to look over the plot - and there's a definite chill in the air. The good news though was the sound of the Bee's in the garden. They are everywhere, all over the French Beans(v.Blue Lake) as well as on the Nasturtiums. It seems they arrived late and are now on overtime!

At long last we have a couple of Aubergines forming. All previous flower buds have died back and dropped from the stems. Perseverance with regular watering / feeding seems to be having the desired effect!
Slightly off topic ( I know! ) but wanted to share this pic of one of the many "Bonsai's" in the garden. This Acer is now on its second growth of the year. I let it dry out at the middle of June, die back, then re commence watering and feeding. This gives a second show of the leaves, and I'm told that it helps keep the tree healthy. We have several other trees in pots, including Ash, Walnut, Elm, and are all growing well this year.


I'm having trouble uploading further pictures today, so will have a go again later .

Pop back soon for more updates from the plot.

TTFN