I’ve planted most of my outside overwintering Spring crops. They all look a bit flat after the blast of wind at the weekend. Ideally Spring crops are planted with enough time to reach a decent size before Winter. Then they look sad all Winter and start growing again in March, that’s the theory anyway.
The wind gave the greenhouse a good shake and some emergency repairs were required. The French beans and courgettes all survived though. I’ve some experimental celeriac in the greenhouse which has grown a lot of very impressive leaves but not a lot of root so far. My experiments this year have been a bit hit and miss – the kohl rabi tasted nice but grew so slowly there wasn’t much point to them as a hungry gap crop, the various types of cauliflower have produced some nice green caulis which I will grow again and the pepper crop in the Polycrub is very successful. I think that last one is more to do with the weather than anything I’ve done.
On the potato front I’ve dug up about half of the really big bed. The soil there is lovely now, I’m looking forward to growing something else there next year, I’m thinking leeks, onions, beetroot and some of the shorter brassicas.
After quite a long tidy spell we’re back to an untidy croft. The back field is pretty good but the net tunnel is being overtaken by dock. I need to rethink how that space is organised for next year. Keeping the paths weed free is virtually impossible, but I’m not really a fan of putting down black plastic. On the plus side there is a lovely crop of apples in the net tunnel. The trees in there were only planted three years ago and have grown very nicely.
This week’s Croft Shares have the following:
Small – Tomatoes (cherry and cooking,) French beans, purple sprouting broccoli, Summer squash and peppers.
Medium – Tomatoes, French beans, broccoli or a small cauliflower, courgettes, mange tout, salad leaves and tree cabbage.
Large – Tomatoes (cherry and cooking,) French beans, courgettes, broccoli, potatoes, salad leaves, kale, onions and parsley.