Much tidying has occurred. The greenhouse is mostly tidy, and fully planted for now. I have some beetroot in there which did seem to have attracted the attention of a vole, the vole appears to have relocated and now the beetroot it didn’t scoff is growing fairly well. When it does well beetroot is my favourite crop, it looks attractive, can be eaten raw or cooked and the leaves make a delicious soup. It’s such a good Autumn plant as well, will stand in the ground or can be stored somewhere cool. My plan for more Autumn veg is going fairly well, the follow on crops have been sown, but my leek planting has taken ages. I now have two raised beds of leeks in a cool spot which they prefer. At the start leeks look a bit pathetic but once in the ground are fairly quick to establish. I’m about to do some quick spuds as a follow on crop, this has worked for me in the past but it does depend on what the weather does in September. If it’s warm and rainy like last year potatoes don’t sit well in the ground.
The Polycrub is also much tidier, the tomatoes are pruned and all the old crops and plants have been cleared out. If you’ve never grown tomatoes the best way to do it is to choose cordon varieties and train them to grow up a string. Any side shoots have to be ruthlessly pruned or the whole plant turns into a giant unwieldy tree. I’ve also relocated a great many adolescent spiders. It’s good to see so many beneficial creatures I just don’t want them in my hair.
Next on the tidying rota is the net tunnel, the current batch of onions and most of the garlic has grown over Winter in the net tunnel, this was a really good use of that space. There’s enough protection from the wind but it’s still cold which these plants like. Most of the garlic seems about ready and there’s time for a follow on crop like sugar snaps or broccoli. My plan is to harvest all the garlic and probably all the larger onions, have a thorough weed then assess how much space there is, and think about what could fit in next. I’ve just sown some plants for over Wintering which seems like a weird thing to do a few days before mid Summer, but any plants for growing outside in the Winter have to be a decent size before Autumn or they just don’t grow well.
This week’s Croft Shares will have Spring onions, garlic, salad leaves, kale, sugar snaps/mange tout and one from the following – courgettes, broccoli or French beans. I can’t tell how many French beans there are, it’s a case of pick and see! The mange tout are growing undercover but it looks like the plants outside are about to start producing. These Spring onions are from February’s sowing and are growing outside. I’ll be taking a salad leaf break next week, I’m about to pick the last of the Feb sown lettuce and then I’ll need wait for the outside leaves to grow a bit more. We’re about to reach the non leafy section of the growing season which from my point of view is much quicker to pick!