More mulching and planting
This month we have continued preparing and mulching the borders for the mid-season crops. With the help of volunteers we have forked over, weeded and raked the borders ready for planting out or direct sowing.
We applied a thick layer of woodchip/compost mulch to the pumpkin border prior to planting out these crops in early June. The woodchip deters slugs, as well as providing a good mulch layer to retain moisture. Shelley sowed the pumpkin seeds in small pots, potted them on, and transferred them to the plant tables (under green shade netting) to grow on for the next few weeks.
With the help of garden volunteers I continued direct sowing salad and root crops. This included:
- Parsnip 'Gladiator'
- Carrots ‘Aututum King’ and ‘Yellowstone’
- Beetroot bulls blood
- Perpetual leaf spinach beet
- Rocket salad leaves
Most of these have germinated following the recent rain – and I will thin out the rows to space the plants.
We planted out:
- Cabbage ‘Golden Acre’ – and mulched and netted these to deter slugs and pigeons
- Cos lettuce ‘Marshall’ and lettuce ‘Unrivalled’
- Red orache (Atriplex hortensis) a heritage vegetable which we use as salad leaves.
- Herbs, including coriander ‘Lemon Queen’ and parsley ‘Moss Curled’
Most of the plants have survived – but the rabbits have caused some damage to the lettuce and coriander, when they gained access to the area. Tim has now reinforced the Kitchen Garden gates to deter these pests.
In the heritage border I recently planted out some kale 'North Devon Ragged Jack' – an ancient variety with striking grey-green ruffled leaves. I also planted out lettuce ‘Marvel of Four Seasons’, and sowed a green manure (Phacelia tancetifolia) to improve the fertility of part of the border. The final section is due to be planted out with leek ‘Musselburgh’.
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