Spring Updates & Exciting Changes to our Journal
Hello Everyone,
Bob and I hope you are well and enjoying the beautiful season of Spring. Our hedgerows and Spring flowers are all about to explode into blossom, leaf and flower. More than enough to make you smile provide you with an energy boost for the duties ahead. Thank goodness the days are getting longer and lighter as the work now is all go! go! go!
A little comment on producing the Journal…
During the past seven years or more, this Journal has been made and sent via an email to you our lovely friends. From now on we will only email you monthly. The Journal will still be placed onto the website each and every week but you will only be informed once each month. This may change in the future, particularly when the Chefs Box becomes available.
Thank you for taking the time to read, what has become our reference point. Greatly appreciate the following.
The Walled Garden
Walking around the walls of this Georgian garden and it is great to see that trees we planted last year are now beginning to blossom. Tiny buds are revealing white, pink and pale green petals. The soft fruit bushes, planted just two weeks ago, are all showing signs of new growth to. That is good news as there is something of a ‘punt’ when planting new plants. As gardeners we understand that the out-going expense of buying is expensive. However, the experience of growing is extremely satisfying for the soul, never mind the stomach.
We intend to plant other produce in the Walled Garden. This first year of growing, the garden will be just like a ‘test kitchen’ used by chefs to experiment and test recipes, and we will use this year’s growing as a ‘test garden’. We are lucky to have the opportunity to grow while checking for frost pockets, wind issues, temperature values, best growing areas, water retention or dry conditions along with more varieties of produce. All of which will be used by Alex and his crew.
We are ‘chitting' first early potatoes, ready for planting out into the next large bed. We are trying nine different varieties of potatoes. This will be to allow Alex to judge which is the better tasting potato as well as identifying the best areas for potato growth.
Our lovely builders have completed the breeze block ‘footing’. This is the base for the greenhouse brick wall. I know we have just entered the season of Spring, but Summer will be here before we know it and the greenhouse will transform the Freyja Garden.
The Farm
The greenhouses are chock-a-block with thousands of seedlings, some of which are ready to be moved to their growing bed. Always, always the first spring vegetable to be planted out is the Broad Bean. We do two sowings, one early and one later in the season, of these beans as they are very popular, the first were planted out last Thursday. A great sign of Spring.
To ensure germination of our seeds with a more positive outcome, we generally sow our seeds in the greenhouses. This also means we have more control of the growing and tending of our seeds growing. There are a few crops we ‘direct sow’. These tend to be vegetables which may not like being transplanted out i.e. they do not enjoy being moved around from place to place, or they are vegetables which we grow in an abundance. These are: carrots, spring onions, radishes, parsnips and sometimes beetroots. All tend to germinate quite quickly and we may add more seeds if we see a gap along the line of the sown seeds.
Carrots: we grow lots of carrots as they are a staple in any kitchen. We use our seed drill to sow carrot seeds.
Spring Onions: again, we use the seed drill but we also may multi sow seeds in a cell to fill in the gap in the growing bed.
Radishes: direct sow, with the drill, time and time again through the Spring and Summer seasons. Probably the fastest growing vegetable to grow.
Parsnips: an excellent example of a vegetable which definitely does not like to be moved. These will be sown now and will be in the ground for months.
Beetroot: a popular vegetable we multi sow in cells and also direct sow. The cells will slot into the gap where beetroot may not have germinated.
The herb gardens are all popping back into action. As we walk along to reach each polytunnel, we do pass the herb gardens and everyday we see more and more signs of the Lovage or the Fennel or the Garlic Chives or the Carraway. These are great signs.
The growth inside the tunnels is speeding up…the lettuces are great as are all the oriental plantings. The kales are still sprouting more leaves but the Cavolo Nero has now come to the end of its giving. These plants have been stripped of their leaves which are being used to make oils in Alex’s kitchen.
This ex bed of Cavolo Nero will now become the new bed of Broad Beans. Perfect crop rotation plan.
The YouTube Channel
Lucy can be seen in her office - the greenhouse, sowing seeds and transplanting seedlings into pots. Seeding will continue right through till the end of the Summer months, this will give you a taster of the process. One thing for sure, the greenhouse will heat up to over thirty-five degrees in the coming months and Lucy’s hat will be off!
As ever, your time is appreciated,
Take care,
Ann
