Welcome back to the Patch. Good week so far with significant rain, a proper soaking at last - 4 inches if my bucket is anything to go by.
Patch:
Added beetroot, spuds and raspberries to our kitchen produce list, and planted out chard seedlings. Decided to harvest our garlic crop, at least a month earlier than usual in west Wales, but the bulbs are large and leaves turning yellow so went for it. This will free up a bed, probably for swedes and turnips. If you can find the right place to store garlic and onions, they will see you right through to next spring. For us the perfect place seems to be hanging in our front porch which is cool and dry.
Compost:
Lockdown appears to have hit compost supplies from local garden centres. We try to make as much of our own as possible – you can never have too much. Logic tells me that you need to put in as much or more organic material into your garden as you take out in produce, or you will gradually degrade your soil. One of the problems is bulk and bought in compost can be expensive. It can also be a problem sourcing peat-free, organic compost. We try to get around this in three ways. Firstly we are lucky to be able to collect loads of well-rotted horse manure from friends. (Thanks to Steve and Julie). Secondly we gather seaweed from a nearby beach. We wait for a storm and then collect it the next day from a handily placed line of rotting seeweed where it has been thrown up by the high tide. If neither option is available try our third method. We have built three large compost bins and have encouraged our helpful neighbours to dump cuttings, clippings etc in it. This is win win. We get effort free compost and they can dispose of unwanted green stuff. There’s lots of science and expertise written about making good compost, but in my experience all organic matter rots down eventually. It may take longer than skilled compost making, but so what - it works in the end.
Like many of you, I am sure, I am plagued by a strange recurring phenomenon. I am trying to turn my soil into a fine tilth for root veg such as carrots or parsnips. If you don’t get all the stones out then the roots split and fork around the stones and can make preparing them for cooking a nightmare. So I spend hours of unalloyed fun getting the stones out, but no matter how hard I work, the next day the bed is once again full of stones. Clearly someone (or some thing!) is visiting the patch by night. Many are the long dark nights I have sat up waiting to apprehend the phantom stone-dumpers. But to no avail! Let me know if your night vigils have been more successful.
One particularly enterprising rook has successfully located the ducks nest box, so it is a race each morning between me and the rook to collect the eggs. Score draw at the moment but neither of us looks like backing down. Game on!
Just heard a pheasant calling in our woods, which surprises me as I was led to believe that pheasants won’t live in proximity to badgers (of which we have loads) as the badgers reputably find and eat the eggs and chicks. Perhaps another rural legend!
Grass on patch chock -full of tiny toads. Having to walk carefully in the fashion of a Buddhist monk to avoid crushing them. Wren nesting in our bee smoker seems to be doing well although I haven’t seen evidence of hatched chicks yet.
Tip of the week:
If you need to water root veg make sure you water heavily or don’t bother. A light watering only penetrates the top couple of inches of soil and carrots and parsnips respond by producing funny little hairy side roots rather than lengthen down into good long veg for eating.
Have a good week in the garden and “may the fork be with you”.