More and More Planting Out

Hello Everyone,

Bob and I hope you all enjoyed the Easter break and watching life come back into gardens, allotments, parks, hedgerows and countryside. I always find it amazing how numerous the shades of green there are and that they can be distinguished from one another.

The birdsong is a delight to hear. Amazingly, the birds on the farm and in my garden are all capable of living together in harmony! Nice…if only? We have one particular Black Bird who sits on top of the shed, singing at the top of its voice regularly throughout the day. A simple looking bird with such a strong song. A more colourful bird is the Yellow Hammer and we have seen two in the area. The Swallows are back! Always a sign that Spring has Sprung. They land on the wires and swoop athletically across the pond chirping. Thank you “Mother Nature”.

The Farm

Such a lot has happened over the last week. Everything grows sooo quickly now that even our own pace of life increases which suddenly becomes sixth gear! 

Polytunnel 1 is laid out as three separate raised beds (unlike the other 9 tunnels which are not raised). Asparagus was in one of these beds, and now we have Asparagus in the remaining two beds. The Asparagus arrived on Wednesday evening and was planted out on Thursday. They come as “crowns”…weird looking as you can see from above. Buried over a mound, laying each crown carefully by spreading each crown finger across the mound. 

We are so happy that the three beds are now all full of Asparagus, however the new two beds we will not crop for at least two years, maybe even three years. This ensures that the crowns receive all the energy, establishing a solid root system and continuing growth for decades.

Alongside the indoor Broad Beans are our indoor Peas. We planted out a bed of Peas to grow outside. This extends the growing season of the Peas…which are always a hit. To follow our ethos of sustainability, we are using Jute string as netting. The spent netting can then be placed straight into the compost bin. Placing the netting into position can sometimes be a challenge, especially when we need thirteen meters of netting! Tasks very often require two people…this is definitely a job for four hands! All Peas, inside and outside, are looking good. 

As the weather has been really kind to us, so far, we are taking advantage and have begun the ‘big plant out’ of the Tomatoes. This will take some time as we are planting four hundred tomato plants - four beds of one hundred in each bed. We have nineteen varieties of tomatoes; all colours, sizes, shapes and tastes. Tomatoes are the most time consuming crop we grow. They need to be sown, potted on, fed, watered, nipped, strung, turned, fed and watered, nipped and turned…constantly. However, well worth it as there is nothing better than selecting that fruit which is calling to you and eating it fresh off the vine. Delicious.

Sooo much more to say, re the Farm duties- watering, weeding, tending, chickens, seeding, direct sowing, planting, checking, signage, covers and I could go on. This time of the year it is a full-on day. We do have daylight for longer spells in the tunnels and outside growing areas. And we need it!

The Walled Garden

It is a delight to see the blossom popping out on the trees around the walls and also the trees in the Orchard. The trees in the Orchard have had a little trim. The trees along the walls will be trained to grow beside the wall. The trees in the Orchard are to grow like a goblet. Last year we removed the central growing branch while this year we are shaping the tree to have a number of outward growing branches in the shape of a goblet. Neither Bob or myself can claim to be Arborists, however I have been on a local course and we do our research. But, as usual, we want the Orchard to look spectacular, have some symmetry and obviously be productive. We are just giving the trees a helping hand. 

Watering is one such helping hand. All the trees are being given a good drink on a regular basis. Drinks are also being given to the fruit bushes, which are also blooming with quite a colourful mix of blossom.

The YouTube Channel 

This week’s episode is a great one. You get a snapshot of the Greenhouses and the outside growing areas of the Pond Field. Bob walks these areas with a little chat about what we have been doing over April and what is about to happen in May. You can watch from Sunday a film which was made just three days prior. Enjoy and Subscribe if you wish. 

We are extremely busy during this time, probably now is my favourite time when everything is fresh. This week’s Journal is slightly later than usual and I apologise. We did have a technical issue…Me! Then the chores got carried away with myself. Now I will get back to said chores and my total enjoyment of the outside and gardening. 

Take care,

Ann