Progression in the polytunnel

Well, it's getting closer to May and the weather has been warming up. It's certainly not really been a rainy April. I remember this time a few years ago being so wet and my polytunnel shelves groaning under the weight of countless seedlings waiting to go out!

At the moment,, I've carried on planting inside the polytunnel in the raised beds. Right now I have tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, garlic and parsnips all doing well.

Tomatoes:
My tomato plants are growing nicely, with about 50% now in the raised beds. I'll put about 30% more in this coming weekend and then the remainder (I'll not have room for all of them in the raised beds) will go in the greenhouse and mini greenhouse. Height wise, they are about 30cm tall but I've only tied the ones planted in the beds temporarily to sticks. I'll be attaching them to string (and I'll show you why I like this method when I do it) later.

Lettuce:
I've two varieties growing: Lollo rossa and Little Gem, both of which could really be picked now. I've not had a need for salad leaves at the dinner table just yet but it's good to know that there's something I can pick.

Pak Choi:
This is something that I also enjoy growing. It's easy to look after and I love it in a stir fry. I'll be sowing more seeds at the weekend to produce this in succession to carry on enjoying this leaf.

 Lollo rossa looking very good here.

 Pak choi growing on, some will still be in pots and I'll be sowing more seeds very soon.

 The tomatoes in their final growing place after being moved from their pots. I will keep some in bigger pots as well as growing in raised beds.

I've also gone ahead and removed some plants from the polytunnel, transferring them to the garden. I must admit that I haven't really hardened off any plants as the weather has been warm but if anything happens due to a cold snap then that's my own fault!

Why harden off?



Hardening off plants prepares them better for the outdoors if they have been grown indoors/under glass. It's not just the potential of damage from cold but also from wind and sun exposure (yes, plants can also get burnt in the sun just as we would do if left out all day). Gradual introduction to the great outdoors is often overlooked when it comes to growing (and I'm no exception).

Broad beans:
So, some of my varieties are being grown outside the old chicken shed (as I no longer have poultry). The soil should contain lots of nutrients from having poultry live there before and nothing else has grown there since. I don't really think that the soil should be damaging in any way to crops and plants (fresh manure can be too "hot" for plants, burning their roots etc but this area doesn't contain any fresh manure anymore). I've put out two varieties and am saving the other two for the allotment. Aquadulce Claudia and The Sutton are out in the garden and so far looking quite healthy.

 The roots of my broad beans getting quite busy in their pots!

 Healthy looking bean plants with no aphids or signs of chocolate spot.

Globe artichokes:

I quite like these both as flowering plants and as edibles. I think they look striking in a garden setting, reaching tall heights with unusual looking flowers. I like pickled artichokes but I'm the only one in the family that does! I've grown all mine from seeds I purchased last year. They are ready to go out as they are outgrowing their pots so I've planted them in a permanent area close to a fence by the old chicken shed. With growing this many I can keep some to flower in the garden and some to eat. Best of both!





 Globe artichokes raised from seed this year.

 Now in the ground, the globe artichokes will remain in this plot for a few years.

Blueberries:

Last year I also potted blueberries that I purchased as very young plants. They didn't produce any fruit last year but they are thriving this year. The reason behind growing them in pots is because they prefer a more acidic soil and I would like to be able to move them around in case they get attacked by pests or I simply want to have them in another location in the garden!

Also in this area, but in pots, are blueberries that I bought last year. They are already flowering.

All in all things are going well although I still feel that they are progressing too slowly this year, due to my work commitments. Hopefully I can find the time to do a lot more very soon!

Till next time x



The story so far

So, I've been trying to work as best as I can with the little time I've been given for now (work and other commitments).

It's now April and there's much to be done. I've made a start on my allotment, preparing the ground for the onions first as I'll need to transplant them soon. I've done this by manually digging instead of using my rotavator. The ground was quite good to work in that the soil wasn't too hard to dig. It was rich in life with plenty of worms, grubs, spiders and other marvellous creatures! It's always good to see and it is a good sign. Soil without any insect life shows that there's something wrong. Remember: not all insects are going to be out to get your plants. They can be pest predators, soils improvers and help to break down old plant fibres. As for the onions: well, my seeds have germinated but they are tiny in comparison to the sets I'm growing and although I'm experienced in growing both ways, having both methods grown in the same year has definitely made me think much more about it!

 

Seeds vs sets: The top photo is of my onion seedlings and below it the sets. Both put in at the same time. It seems like more patience will be required for the seedlings at this stage. 

As the weather continues to improve, I can't help but feel that I'm falling behind as I've given myself rather a lot to do. Not only do I have what is hundreds of seeds to sow, I have to prep the ground at my allotment and work on my front garden. It can seem very overwhelming and at a glance you may be thinking 'what's the point?' and 'is it really worth it?', while also thinking that maybe gardening is stressful and unforgiving. Having spent Mothers' Day sowing seeds and transferring plants into bigger pots and tidying up, the stress did go away. It has been upsetting as Mrs C, my last chicken had passed away recently. She's now at rest and probably with her old flock somewhere though. I will miss having chickens as I've kept poultry for 15 years, so watch this space as I may be tempted to get more after a break.

The dear, late Mrs C, my last hen. I photographed her here only just back in March.

 

The tomatoes are now growing very well. I did lose a few to damping off but I suppose that was due to lack of care as I perhaps had too much water in my heated propagators. The tomatoes on my windowsill planters did better and now I'm potting them on to encourage growth. There's two varieties that didn't come to much: Red Pear, which didn't germinate and White Wonder, where only one germinated and is quite slow to grow. Marmande is by far developing better than any of the other varieties.

 Transplanting tomatoes to larger pots is an easy task.

The one other plant I got on working with was the strawberry. I bought several online this year at a good price (about £15 for 25 plants). They arrive by post wrapped up in plastic to prevent drying up and I didn't hesitate getting stuck in to give them the best chance of survival. The variety I got was Late Florence. Last year I bought Cambridge Favourite, which produces some good sized fruit.

 Is it just garden rubbish or some potential tasty strawberries in this bag?

 There was some sign of life in this plant. 





Some of the strawberry plants looked almost dead when I removed the packaging but you needn't be so worried. Strawberries have a habit of looking their worst when they are dormant and I'm hoping that after some tender loving care they will provide me with good sweet fruit in the following months! I placed them in 9cm pots with an organic, peat free compost and am keeping them in the polytunnel for now. The Cambridge Favourite that overwintered in the poly has now been moved outdoors into a strawberry pot in a sheltered spot. I'll keep you posted on everything I've done so far.

Stress over, till next time!