I think it is fair to say I'm not the only person who is fed up with the snow. I've been itching to get out on the plot and do something, and have been using the cold snap to do some head-scratching, ably assisted by the commonsense-rich Mrs Moog Keeper.
I had a fairly poor season last year, with swede, radish, peas, potatoes and carrots all doing badly. Mrs Moog Keeper was the first to spot the obvious dividing line, with one half of the plot doing well and the other badly. I think there are two explanations, both equally plausible. These are: (a) it has never really been worked very much at all, the natural soil is poor and everyone who's used it in the past has given up; or (b) it has been over-worked, the soil is exhausted of nutrients and there is a build-up of pests and diseases. I think this second explanation is more likely, and it makes me feel better, because it means it's not my fault.
To combat this poor performance we've decided to have a bit of a shuffle around. The poorest beds will become, variously, a storage area, compost heap, and rough lawn; this will then free up some space on the other side of the plot which I haven't worked before. Time will tell if the soil under there is any good. It will also mean I concentrate my efforts on the more productive side of the plot, with the aim of improving both crop yields and morale in equal measures.
Moog thinks all this is an excellent idea, but then, as we know, Moogs can't think. He's probably a bit spaced out from eating raw potatoes, anyway.
Monday 22 February 2010
Moog the Unpopular
I received my seed potatoes, onions and shallots by post last week. They were accidentally left on the floor in the kitchen overnight, and I woke up to find that Moog and his accomplice had been inside the box. Casualty count: One bag of seed potatoes totally consumed (why??) and the onions and shallots have been mixed up, so now I don't know which is which.
Tuesday 2 February 2010
2010 plans
I've been asked what I'm growing this year and I can never remember, so here for the delight of my readers but largely for my own memory, are my plans for 2010.
1. Carrots. I had problems with carrot fly in 2009, virtually all my carrots were ruined, so I've left spaces to companion-plant in between my rows of garlic, as I did in my first year. I have also bought Flyaway, the variety I had success with in 2008.
2. Coriander, I will try growing this again, because we use a lot, but it seems to go to seed almost before you get any useable leaves. I think it needs more sunshine than I was able to supply last year.
3. Beans, I am sticking with my favourite Cobra French beans. I have also been promised some runner bean seeds by neighbour John, who is now back from his hernia operation and has reclaimed his plot from the weeds. Again these didn't perform so well in 2009 so I have been slowly, slowly preparing the bean bed by digging fresh kitchen waste and horse manure into a trench and then filling it in.
3. Beetroot, I am going to try a variety called Detroit 6, which are supposed to be better than the variety I grew last year. I was quite pleased with what I grew despite the beets only getting to about golf ball size.
4. Courgettes, you can always rely on these. They seem to produce loads of fruit, even if they get mildew. I'm going to grow a variety called Fender F1, and avoid the yellow ball type we grew last year, because although they were OK they mostly went to waste because they spoiled really quickly after picking. I think there was also some hybrid pollenation which caused some wierd-looking and unusable half green, half yellow fruits.
5. Leeks, these will be the same variety as last year, Porvite, and they'll be planted this week indoors, time permitting.
6. Parsnips. I love roast parsnips but haven't really had good specimens yet, so I'm going to put the variety Gladiator F1 in my favourite, most productive bed, which happily sits at the front of my plot where everyone can see it.
7. Onions. Nothing exciting but a staple in the kitchen: Red (Red Baron) White (Santero) and Shallots (Picasso) all on order from Thompson & Morgan. Not the fastest of suppliers but a good range and it's easy to use their website.
8. Radish. I'll stick some of these in wherever I can. Last year the leaves were decimated by flea beatle (again) and slugs took bites out of the actual radishes, rendering most of them useless, but I'll give them a go because they come up fairly easily and I might get lucky.
9. Peas. Apart from the very first harvest (about 1 meal worth) most of these were riddled with pea moth larvae in 2009, but I am going to try Kelvedon Wonder again, this time paying better attention to the dates you're supposed to avoid to steer clear of moths.
10. Pumpkins . A Halloween variety, for fun. Grew some very small but delicious green pumkins last year and they stored for ages, which is a big positive as far as we're concerned, you don't have to eat them all at once.
11. Squash We had great success by just planting seeds from a supermarket-bought squash, so this year we're going to try a proper British variety, Avalon.
12. Chard. I have now grown this two years running and it grows slowly, but nothing seems to attack it, so it is a good standby to add colour to a stir fry, or just braised with garlic and served on the side of a roast. Also it looks smashing on the plot with its big glossy leaves.
And finally...
13. Potatoes.. Again, a really disappointing harvest last year, various diseases and mystery problems, so I'm going for slightly different varieties this year - Cara, and Sarpo Axona, both supposed to be disease resistant, and similar to the Sarpo Mira I have grown for the last couple of years. Fingers crossed it won't be wasted effort this year.
So, there you have it. This little lot will join the garlic and broad beans that I planted in the autumn. Hope my bad back buggers off and lets me prepare the ground properly.
1. Carrots. I had problems with carrot fly in 2009, virtually all my carrots were ruined, so I've left spaces to companion-plant in between my rows of garlic, as I did in my first year. I have also bought Flyaway, the variety I had success with in 2008.
2. Coriander, I will try growing this again, because we use a lot, but it seems to go to seed almost before you get any useable leaves. I think it needs more sunshine than I was able to supply last year.
3. Beans, I am sticking with my favourite Cobra French beans. I have also been promised some runner bean seeds by neighbour John, who is now back from his hernia operation and has reclaimed his plot from the weeds. Again these didn't perform so well in 2009 so I have been slowly, slowly preparing the bean bed by digging fresh kitchen waste and horse manure into a trench and then filling it in.
3. Beetroot, I am going to try a variety called Detroit 6, which are supposed to be better than the variety I grew last year. I was quite pleased with what I grew despite the beets only getting to about golf ball size.
4. Courgettes, you can always rely on these. They seem to produce loads of fruit, even if they get mildew. I'm going to grow a variety called Fender F1, and avoid the yellow ball type we grew last year, because although they were OK they mostly went to waste because they spoiled really quickly after picking. I think there was also some hybrid pollenation which caused some wierd-looking and unusable half green, half yellow fruits.
5. Leeks, these will be the same variety as last year, Porvite, and they'll be planted this week indoors, time permitting.
6. Parsnips. I love roast parsnips but haven't really had good specimens yet, so I'm going to put the variety Gladiator F1 in my favourite, most productive bed, which happily sits at the front of my plot where everyone can see it.
7. Onions. Nothing exciting but a staple in the kitchen: Red (Red Baron) White (Santero) and Shallots (Picasso) all on order from Thompson & Morgan. Not the fastest of suppliers but a good range and it's easy to use their website.
8. Radish. I'll stick some of these in wherever I can. Last year the leaves were decimated by flea beatle (again) and slugs took bites out of the actual radishes, rendering most of them useless, but I'll give them a go because they come up fairly easily and I might get lucky.
9. Peas. Apart from the very first harvest (about 1 meal worth) most of these were riddled with pea moth larvae in 2009, but I am going to try Kelvedon Wonder again, this time paying better attention to the dates you're supposed to avoid to steer clear of moths.
10. Pumpkins . A Halloween variety, for fun. Grew some very small but delicious green pumkins last year and they stored for ages, which is a big positive as far as we're concerned, you don't have to eat them all at once.
11. Squash We had great success by just planting seeds from a supermarket-bought squash, so this year we're going to try a proper British variety, Avalon.
12. Chard. I have now grown this two years running and it grows slowly, but nothing seems to attack it, so it is a good standby to add colour to a stir fry, or just braised with garlic and served on the side of a roast. Also it looks smashing on the plot with its big glossy leaves.
And finally...
13. Potatoes.. Again, a really disappointing harvest last year, various diseases and mystery problems, so I'm going for slightly different varieties this year - Cara, and Sarpo Axona, both supposed to be disease resistant, and similar to the Sarpo Mira I have grown for the last couple of years. Fingers crossed it won't be wasted effort this year.
So, there you have it. This little lot will join the garlic and broad beans that I planted in the autumn. Hope my bad back buggers off and lets me prepare the ground properly.
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