Slow Progress

My back is a little better, but it’s far from right. Regardless, I’m managing to get something done in the garden, although everything is taking longer than normal.

New Raised Bed

Gary spent a fun day filling the new raised bed with a mix of compost from the nearby bins and soil from the old raised beds. Much trundling back and forth with the wheelbarrow. That night there was a really heavy downpour, which settled the soil down in the bed. There’s still plenty of room to add more compost, but the bed is well usable as is.

The first thing to go in was the last of my Sharpo Axona seed potatoes. They’re very blight resistant, so I’m not worried about them being a tad late and catching the blight. At the other end of the bed, I planted out some perpetual spinach that I started in modules.

There’s still space left in the middle, which will probably get the broad beans from rootrainers after I’ve used some to fill the gaps in the directly sown bed of broad beans. It’s so much easier planting and cultivating a bed where I don’t have to get up and down with my bad back.

Last Leeks

Harvested the last of the leeks from the polytunnel. They’d gone in the centre bed after the sweetcorn and beans were finished. I’m surprised how much growth they managed, despite being planted so late. Only one bolted!

Watered the potatoes and strawberries in the tunnel and then headed back down to the potting shed. First task was to pot on some Cosmos for Val. She’s got quite a few lobelia and some begonias in the Eden greenhouse. Happily, the predicted good weather arriving next week means they’ll be planted and I’ll get my greenhouse back.

Sweetcorn Germination

Chitted Sweetcorn

Next job was to pot up some sweetcorn that I’ve been chitting in the house. Bit disappointed by the apparent germination rate. Out of 24 seeds, I’m confident of getting just 12 plants. That might rise, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Then on to the Vitavia greenhouse. The potted up sweetcorn is placed on the heated tray with the thermostat sensor in one of the pots. Temperature set at 20ºC, which is ideal for sweetcorn.

Mulching the greenhouse border.

Wool insulation mats in greenhouse border

I’ve been given some insulating wool pads. They’re used with an ice pack when chilled products are sent by post or courier so the contents reach their destination still cold. Being made of wool and, therefore, biodegradable, they can have a second life as matting in the greenhouse border. Eventually, they’ll be composted.

The mats are doing a number of jobs:

• Weed suppression
• Regulating root temperature
• Keeping moisture in the soil

They’re just laid onto the surface over the dripper hose and the plants go in where the mats join – or I can cut a slit or make a hole.

Popped some French Marigolds in to ward off the whitefly as well as look pretty along with some Lollo Rosso lettuces and Marvel of Four Seasons lettuce. The tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are going in next week