Friday 15 March 2024

Life on The Weald - February 2024

 

Life on The Weald - February 2024

and at Home and in the kitchen 


After the wet autumn and December and the unpredictable, unsettled and changing January, things were beginning to look a bit more hopeful at the beginning of February and there was produce to be harvested as well as a lot of delayed preparation for spring planting. Unfortunately we did not experience the cold, dry February that we needed - globally the month turned out tobe the warmest February on record and as far as the UK was concerned one of the wettest.


2 Febuary
The early morning rain had stopped by midday and the afternoon was cloudy, with a high of 10C.  After removing the fleece there was sign of the most recently planted broad beans but also a few weeds that need to be removed.  I lifted a few of the remaining leeks, expecting them to be damaged by alium leaf miner but was pleasantly surprised that they were OK so I left the others in the ground. 

2 February - sign of broad beans (and weeds)

The broad beans sown in December and early January also seemed to be doing well
2 February - December and January sown broad beans

I top-dressed all the broad beans with a sprinkling of coffee grounds mixed with crushed egg shells which, hopefully, will act as slug deterrent as well as supplying nutrients to the soil.

With Sylvi's help I had removed the grass from what will be this year's potato patch.
This is the area where the squashes and courgettes had been growing last year and which had benefitted from a layer of cardboard covered with compost and manure early in 2023, so no "digging" was needed.  The clumps of grass were not couch grass and could be easily pulled out with light forking so there was minimal disturbance to the soil. In the next few weeks, before planting the potatoes, I will spread the contents of our compost bins which are in a pile on the edge of the bed.

2 February - The 2024 potato patch and compost pile

The nearby raised bed, where spinach had been growing last year, also had clumps of grass that need to be removed. The grass was easy but there had also been an invasion of raspberries which needed to be dug out.   There is also a threat of invasion of couch grass from the raspberry bed which will need to be tackled by digging up and replanting the raspberries whilst they are still dormant.

2 February -A raised bed in need of weeding

3 February
Saturday was another dry cloudy day with a high temperature of 10C so a good opportunity to continue the weeding and the tidying up and, with the help of Luke and our little chainsaw, removal of the lower branches from the apple tree, some of which were touching the ground as a result of being heavily ladened with fruit.

All the hard work was beginning to seem worthwhile as we were able to begin harvesting our early purple sprouting broccoli.  I had removed the central head from one advanced plant about a week ago to encourage the growth of side shoots and that had paid off.

3 February - purple sprouting broccoli

So I removed the head from a second plant, hoping for fresh shoots next week.

3 February - purple sprouting broccoli
central flower head for removal

3 February - Harvested broccoli

We also harvested the first of our forced rhubarb.

3 February - Rhubarb

4 February
Today was Brighton's Seedy Sunday, the UK's largest and longest running seed swap.  Not only was there an abundance of seeds on offer but a whole load of interesting stalls connected to horticulture, bio-diversity, wildlife etc.  Sylvi and I were volunteering on the Weald Allotment stall where our allotment shop was selling seed potatoes and we did a roaring trade.

4 February - Seedy Sunday

6 - 9 February
There was heavy rain all day on Tuesday 6th February but I ventured out in the evening for a meeting of the Allotment Association Committee.  it was a miserable, wet and wild night and the heavy rain continued for the next few days.


10 - 11 February
There were brief dry periods between the showers on Saturday but my dranddaughter, Tilly, was visiting for the weekend so no work was done on the plot.  That was a missed opportunity as Sunday was a clear day and would have been a good one for gardening.

12 February
Fortunately the dry spell continued and Monday was a clear bright sunny day.  Sylvi continued to trim the pruned appple branches - we will compost the little twiggy bits or add to the footpath mulch, and the branches will go to the shredder.

I planted out some Stuttgart  abd Rumba  onion sets and sowed a double row of Kelvedon Wonder peas and covered them all with fleece.

12 February - newly planted onions protected with fleece

I'm glad we took advantage of the sunny Monday as the next two days were again very wet with contuinuous drizzle and heavy mist.

15 February
Thursday saw another change in the weather with unusually high temperatures. Around this time of year we would expect it to be no higher than 10C but in some parts of the country it reached 16C and in Hove was 14C in the afternoon.

I planted some red onion sets, Red Baron  and Kramer  as well as a few Menhir and Biztro  shallots.

15 February - red onion sets planted

17 - 18 February
It was another wet but warm weekend!  I did venture to the allotment on Sunday but only to visit the shop to get some seed compost and vermiculite to prepare for seed sowing at home. I did manage to do a write-up for the Weald Allotment blog on seed sowing and the use of vermiculite and perlite.


Seed Sowing – Perlite or Vermiculite?

The Weald Shop has supplies of both

Now that we have begun the seed sowing season it’s time to think about sowing mediums.  It is important to remember that germinating seeds and seedlings need air around the roots as well as moisture.

One way of improving composts for sowing seeds or planting seedlings is the addition of perlite or vermiculite, both of which are inorganic compounds but both are natural materials and generally accepted for organic gardening. 

What’s the difference?

Perlite

Perlite is a product formed from rapidly cooling magma (volcanic glass). It is light, bright white and is hard and porous.  It is made by heating magma until it pops like popcorn. Perlite allows water and air to penetrate but does not retain water.

Perlite is used as a soil additive to improve aeration and drainage.  If you see white particles within bought compost or potted plants it is possibly perlite (although it might be Styrofoam – extruded polystyrene foam, which most gardeners would not recommend).

Perlite can be very useful in improving aeration, drainage, and compaction in soils.  It is a particularly good additive for growing Cacti, non-cacti succulents, and epiphytes which prefer a drier growing medium. It is also a good additive for rooting cuttings from plants and is pH neutral

Vermiculite

Vermiculite is a mineral (magnesium-aluminium-iron silicate) that is mined in several countries including the United States, Russia, China, South Africa, and Brazil.  Vermiculite is heated to expand its particles and can absorb up to 3 to 4 times its volume in water. Vermiculite also attracts and holds nutrients such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium (essential nutrients which are then slowly released to plant roots). Vermiculite is usually brownish to silver grey in colour and very lightweight.

It can be used as an additive to soilless growing mediums for its water retention and nutrient attraction properties. It is also pH neutral

It can be applied as a thin layer on top of seed starting mixes to retain moisture and prevent crusting of the top layer of soil, or mixed with compost/soil before sowing/planting.  It may not be suitable for some house-plants as it retains moisture which could result in root rot if over-watered. Vermiculite can also useful in storing bulbs/root vegetables etc. If a layer is placed around bulbs when storing it can absorb moisture and prevent mildew.

Vermiculite vs Perlite

As a general rule of thumb – use perlite when you want better drainage and aeration and vermiculite when you want more moisture retention – and of course you can use a mixture of the two.

Footnote: Both products are natural minerals and non-renewable and therefore not sustainable products but it is estimated that less than 1% of natural resources have been mined. Mining/extraction/refining will inevitable mean use of energy/fossil fuels and transportation and for this reason some gardeners may look to other products/methods.

There is also a useful guide on Gardeners’ World at https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/kp-lessons/how-to-propagate-strong-seedlings

Posted by John Austin – 22 February 2024


19-24 February
Monday 19 was a very miserable day - full of Mizzle, a combonation of mist and fine drizzzle.  For the rest of the week there was more heavy rain.  I thought things had changed on Friday as it was bright and sunny early in the morning but that didn't last and there was more heavy rain in the afternoon.

25 February
Sunday was the Brighton Half Marathon and usually we go to cheer the runners on at the bottom of our road but as it had stopped raining I thought I ought to visit the plot.  

I lifted the few remaining leeks and thankfully they were pest and disease free.

25 February - leeks

25 February - Leek

There was also a plentiful supply of perpetual spinach which had over-wintered well.

25 February - PerpetualSpinach

The pond was loking healthy, but no sign of any frog, toad or newt spawn 😞

25 February - The Pond

I managed to harvest some more broccoli to go with the leeks for dinner.

25 February - broccoli

25 February - Leeks

26-28 February
I was up in London for various events on the Monday and Tuesday and on Wednesday at the josptal to see the hand-therapist following my recent operation.
But February wasn't over as it's a Leap Year!

29 February 
The extra day this month was little different from earlier ones - wet, wet, wet!
 

29 February - Path to the plot

Should I consider growing rice?

29 February - waterlogged approach

Far too wet to do anything on the plot do we indulged ourselves and went to the cinema.  Hoping for a few dry days in March - please!

John Austin

Hove, February 2024











Monday 5 February 2024

Life on The Weald -January 2024

Life on The Weald - January 2024

and at Home and in the kitchen 

I no longer need a sling but with my right hand in plaster there will be limited opportunities to do much on the plot in January!


1 - 2 January
The year started with more heavy rain and the arrival of Storm Henk. My son, Damien, and daughter-in-law, Sharon were down from London but it was too wet and windy to venture down to the beach, as we usually do, to see in the New Year, so we celebrated at home. 

We did manage a brief visit to the plot on 2nd January to lift some Jerusalem Artichokes and pick some Kalettes for them to take home. It was very, very wet underfoot and the rain was to continue for a few days.

7 January
We didn't visit again until Sunday 7 January.  At last it was dry and sunny, but as there was a very cold wind we didn't stay too long.  
 

7 January - Plot 247b looking north

7 January - from the plot looking east

7 January - from the plot looking west


Sylvi fed her worms as we had rather a lot of kitchen scraps and I picked a good supply of Cavolo Nero.  We also removed the fleece from the broad beans that had been sown in 1 December. and were just coming through.

7 January - Broad beans sown 1 December

So far, the November sown broad beans seemed to have survived the storms....

7 January - November sown broad beans

...and the garlic was doing well too.

7 January - Garlic

One of the purple sprouting broccoli has produced its first floret, the rest look a few weeks behind.

7 January - purple sprouting broccoli

The leeks looked healthy enough but sadly, when we lifted some it became obvious that they had been infected with alium leaf miner and had split below the surface.


7 January - victim of leaf miner

We lifted a few more Jerusalem artichokes - all things in moderation - for dinner that night.  They were delicious but I have written before about the down-side of Jerusalem artichokes and their effect on digestion

7 January - Jerusalem artichokes

8 January
The clear weather was not to last, however, and we had more rain and heavy sleet showers - not a day for venturing out!  Fortunately the south-east did not suffer the havy snowfall and floods that were being experienced in other parts of the country.

8 January - heavy sleet on loft windows

11-12 January
Thursday 11 January was another bright sunny day but very cold with overnight temperatures down to -4C.  But according to the weather forecasters we can look forward to milder weather and hopefully next month the ground will have dried out a little.  On Friday the seed potatoes arrived in the allotment shop and hopefully the onion sets will follow soon. 


12 January - arival of potatoes

14 January
At last a bright, dry Sunday and I had a chance to inspect the rhubarb which I had covered with inverted recycling boxes to force it.

14 January - forcing the rhubarb

I lifted the covers and was pleased to see some progress.  Hopefully some will be ready for picking later in the month.  I crossed my fingers and replaced the boxes.

14 January - rhubarb

14 January - rhubarb

We picked some Cavolo nero and our first purple sprouting broccoli as well as a few rather small purple brussels sprouts. I visited the allotment shop and bought some First early Red Duke of York potatoes and some Second early Charlotte. It's a little early to start chitting so I will keep them in a cold dark room for a while.

15 January
There was no problem finding a cold room for the potatoes as we don't have the heating on in the upper bedrooms! On Monday 15 January the outside temperature
was zero at 7am and dropped an hour later to -1C, reaching a maximum of 3C in the afternoon.

21 January
At last the onion sets and shallots had arrived at the shop.

21 January - Onions and shallots had arrived

21 January - The Weald Shop - ready for Spring

It was relatively mild and we managed to do abit of general tidying up.  We emptied the contents of the compost tumbler which had not yet fully composted, as it contained a lot of fibrous material from the squash vines, but we decided to pile it on the open ground where we will be planting out in the spring and let nature take its course.

24 January
We spent some time digging out couch grass and bind weed from the area where the potatoes will grow.  This was the area where the squashes had grown lasy year and where we had laid a layer of cardboard covered with compost and manure 15 months ago.  The soil was very friable and had drained well and it was relatively easy to pull out tufts of grass and weeds that had seeded and grown there.  We did need to do a bit of more physical digging however towards the boundary path where couch grass and bindweed had spread.   It might be necessary to dig out some of the fruit bushes, where bindweed and couch grass had invaded and replant them as the roots had become entagled.

In December I had emptied one of the compost bins in a pile near this year's brassica patch and we were able to spread this with a rake.

24 January - preparing a brassica bed

24 January - pile of partially rotted compost from the tumbler

26 January - 28 January
Friday morning was sunny with a temperature of 9C and no wind, rising to 13C in the afternoon - a perfect day for being on the allotment - but we were away for the weekend in Sheffield. Sylvi's family are all Wednesday supporters and had tickets for the FA Cup match at Hillsborough that evening, so I joined them, and Sylvi's son, Luke had a ticket for the Brighton & Hove Albion FA Cup match against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday.  It was a good excuse to spend a weekend "up-north" and visit family there.

Family Friday night at Hillsborough

Given the weather of the past few weeks we thought we might encounter floods or snow, but not only was it unseasonably warm when we left Hove on Friday morning but the weekend in Sheffield was positively spring like on Saturday and we had to shed several layers.  Some areas in the north and Scotland recorded record high temperatures for January!

January has been a month of contrasts and extremes as temperature and rainfall have seen large fluctuations with mild wet weather interrupted by cold dry spells and significant floods and snow in some parts of the country.  

We have had 3 significant storms on top of each other during the month causing major disruptions, HenkIsha and Jocelyn.

Surprisingly, however, the average mean temperature and rainfall for the UK as a whole have been near average for the time of year.  After a very wet December the break from the rainy autumn and winter was welcome as the wet conditions have hindered preparations for spring.  Generally gardeners favour a cold, but not bitter January.  Too warm a January encourages early growth of seedlings, and premature flowering of fruit trees and bushes, which renders both vulnerable to frost damage.  We are hoping for a dry, bright, albeit chilly February and more settled conditions.

John Austin

Hove, January 2024

Friday 12 January 2024

Life on The Weald - December 2023

 Life on The Weald - December 2023

It was a very cold start to December with the first really heavy frost. Nevertheless I went to the plot to sow some more broad beans, where the red cabbages had been growing, and then covered the area with fleece.  With freezing fingers I decided not to stay too long.

1 December - a new row of broad beans

2 December
As the cold weather continued, I decided to stay at home and spend some time in the kitchen.  I removed the seeds from the bulbous end of one of our butternut squashes and stuffed and roasted it.
 
2 December -  butternut squash

2 December - roast, stuffed squash
6 December
The cold spell continued and I had to scrape the ice from the car windscreen and despite the cold visited the plot. The temperature rose to 3C

6 December - a frosty morning

I removed the fleece from the garlic which now appeared to be firmly rooted.  The fleece was more to protect the cloves from being pulled up by birds rather than to protect them from the cold.  Garlic does well if it has two months at 0-10C.

6 December - garlic


6 December - garlic

I found some netting to put loosely over the broccoli that was outside the netted cage.  The ground was quite hard on the surface but with all the rain we had recently was soft underneath so I thought digging out some couch grass and bindweed might keep me warm. This is the area where either the potatoes or brassicas will go next year.

6 December - couch grass removed

Back at home, it was clear that Christmas was on its way as the Schlumbergera (Christmas flowering cactus) was in bloom.

 6 December - Schlumbergera 

That evening there was heavy rain and several flood warnings.

7-14 December 
The rain and stormy weather continued as Storm Erin arrived, followed by Storm Fergus  and there was heavy flooding in the Midlands, the North and Scotland.  We escaped the worst but it was miserable weather and not conducive to gardening.

15 December
There was a break in the rain so i paid a visit to a very wet and waterlogged plot.  I had collected a lot of cardboard and laid this where the brassicas will go and covered it with the contetnts of two compost bins.  The compost was not fully rotted but I am relying on the worms and fungus to do the rest. i did then cover the area with tarpaulin as more rain was threatened and I didn't want it to get too sodden.

I also managed to pick a lot of perpetual spinach for a warming sag aloo (spinach and potato curry) over the weekend


27 December
On my last visit of the year, I noticed that the rhubarb was beginning to show through, so it might be time to force it by covering with an old recycling container.



29 December
After many months of delays and cancelled appointments, I eventually had surgery on my right hand to correct Dupuytren's contracture - (a thickening of tissues in the palm of the hand causing one or more fingers to curl towards the palm, restricting certain functions).  Whilst am pleased to have had the operation at last it might curtail my allotment activity for weeks and possibly months.


29 December
The sling comes off in a few days, but it will be a week or so before the dressing and plaster come off and the stitches removed but I will have very limited use for about a month and it will be longer before I can drive or do strenuous physical activity - but hopefully back to full activity for the spring.

John Austin

Hove, December 2023