Border preparation
Drier weather in March means I've been forking over the borders, weeding, raking and removing the surface stones – with the help of our garden volunteers. I also incorporated some well-rotted compost in the onion and pea/bean borders. This waste vegetable matter had a wonderful crumbly dark texture, teeming with worms.
The gardens staff have been busy helping out – Shelley has been direct sowing salad crops, mainly radish, plain leaved parsley and Lettuce 'Webbs Wonderful'. Tim has been pricking out coriander and lettuce into small pots.
I planted out organic onion sets, garlic cloves and some shallots last autumn. These have all established well, particularly the garlic which benefits from an earlier planting to establish its roots. I also carefully hoed between the rows to remove surface weeds.
I've added some more onion sets and garlic cloves. These spring varieties will be harvested slightly later (August – September). This is how we sow onion sets:
- Use a line and standing boards to avoid damaging the soil structure
- Space onion sets out 10cm (4in) apart, with 30cm (12in) between rows.
- Plant sets 2cm (¾ in) deep, firming round the sets to deter wood pigeons.
I also put in the seedling peas ‘Feltham First’ and broad beans ‘Superaguadulce’. These were spaced out at 20cm (8in) with 30cm (12in) between rows. Shelley helped me to stake the plants with hazel pea sticks to provide a climbing support and deter birds. These crops as well as being popular as a salad crop in our Restaurant will help to fix nitrogen in the soil, which is beneficial for future plants.
Soon we will be planting out our first early potatoes, as well as direct sowing carrots, and a wide range of salad varieties.
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