July 2023
As every gardener knows, we are now knee-deep in the busiest time of the year – in fact, we’re no longer gardeners, instead we’re plate-spinners desperately dashing from job to job to prevent calamity.
But this hard work has its rewards and it’s great seeing residents and diners enjoying the fruits of our hard labour in the restaurant and Cider House pizzeria.
The chefs even created a whole dish for local’s night recently comprising primarily of produce grown on site – from the the ground to the plate in less than a few hours, not bad at all.
They called it “Tim’s Potager Garden Heaven” and it offered kohl rabi, spring onion, almonds, baby carrots and a garlic and parsley sauce – obviously the odd one out are the almonds!
But it is so very satisfying to see that all our hard work is delivering results – and that doesn’t even include the cavolo nero, courgettes and courgette flowers, mange tout, French beans, radishes, shallots, cucumbers, beetroot, cabbages, curly kale, aubergines and spinach that make their way from the ground to your plate.
Hang on – one of the spinning plates is slowing down. Got it.
We’ve had plenty of visitors to the potager garden and a surprising number have all asked the same question – “Why are there plastic pots buried in the ground?”
Well, we sink plastic flower pots besides the squashes (courgettes, pumpkins, butternut etc) to help with watering.
Fill up the pot with water and it seeps out the bottom and deep into the soil, encouraging the crop roots to dive down to find it.
This way, the roots are kept away from the surface where they are more likely to dry out and hence affect growth.
Hang on – the plates in the mange tout enclosure are teetering on the edge.
Talking of mange tout, we’ve suffered like a lot of people with the very dry weather and the natural reaction to water again and again, leading to unintentional overwatering.
This can result in the plant roots failing, the plant turning yellow, the pods discolouring and becoming distorted – and eventually the plant will die.
If this starts to affect your plot, try this – work a handful of chicken manure pellets into the soil around the base of the plant and water in well.
This will give the plant a nutritional boost.
Then only water once a week, and water well (about an inches worth), preferably in the morning so that the water drains through before the temperatures drop.
There is no guarantee this will work, and if that’s the case it may be time to investigate the quality of the soil.
Good luck.
Next time I write, we’ll be talking polytunnel business – tomatoes, peppers, chillis, tomatillos, etc. and we’ll also bring you up to date with the work on the main garden…
Hang on, I can see another plate spinning.
~ Tim
