[devonlady]

In past years I have always seized upon the seed catalogues that come through the door, made copious lists, added up and amended the lists!!
This year I feel weary and can't even get up enough enthusiasm to even open the envelopes. My land is clay and shale and difficult to work and a target for pigs, though I have no pigs now. The gardens in this bungalow consists of a back garden with just room for a washing line and the only plant in the front is a two hundred year old oak tree with a TPO on it.
So, no, I have no sense of excitement at all.

[Fleecewife]

[member=89885]devonlady[/member] keep reading the thread.  I felt like you do just a few days ago, but reading about everyone else's plans and excitement has cheered me up a bit.  Once the Solstice is past on the 21st, then the days will be longer and less depressing. Do you have any ground at all for planting in, or does it need to be containers?


[member=7747]farmershort[/member] those sound like 'lazy beds'.  To make them more fertile you can spread manure or even veg trimmings from the kitchen, anything, on the central grass before you start folding.  They are apparently perfect for potatoes and help to get your land going for other stuff next year.  I've not tried them (they don't sound exactly 'lazy' to me) but I think we'll all be interested in how you get on. I wonder if it would be worth covering the made beds with dark material for the winter, just to discourage grass from coming through?

[farmershort]

Ah yes... lay beds... the chap I got the idea from did call them that actually, but I assumed it was his own pet name for them.. didn't realise they were a 'thing'.

Yes good idea about covering them over winter just in case.

The other (future) beds might get marked out in the spring and treated to the old cardboard and compost mulch system.... see if that works at killing Rye grass.

[big soft moose]

My land is clay and shale and difficult to work and a target for pigs,

If the land is rubbish you could build some raised beds out of scaffie board or similar and fill them with a 1:1:1 mixture of topsoil , compost and sand  - yes buying it in is an expense but its also a one time thing and if you put down a membrane , or a load of cardboard first you shouldn't have a weed problem

I did that on our smaller bed 3 years ago and i'm still not seeing weeds coming through - except the damn baby fennels that got everywhere and rooted down into the subsoil (per bu post on the herbs board)

[cloddopper]

Farmershort  ,
In the 1950 & 60 's my parents did all their half acre of digging by hand like you have described.  Each year the twitch ( couch grass ) & other perennial weeds grew less & less .
The blue clay soil started to build into a decent garden ,  it only took both of them 15 years or so .
.
Digging turf in by hand is hard graft , you'll be better off hitting it with round up in a dry period , leaving it for a week to ensure it has killed the weeds ( they'll also  make a type of compost ) spreading  the load of compost over the whole area .  Then if the area involved is much more than 10 mtrs by 15 mtrs  hire a decent heavy rotavator to work the whole bed area down to about 15 inches deep in a few hours .

 That way you stand a good chance of getting useful healthy crops out the plot next season .

Depending on how fresh the compost is & what it is made of may affect root crops like parsnips & carrots ..too much nitrogen & they'll grow multiple roots .
 
So if you want a bed of them it's best to not put any compost on the area the year they are to be grown for up to five months before you sow their seeds .

 If you fight shy about using Round Up,  have a look at the toxins & stuff in cardboard as well as the sodium th-isulphate that's used as a fire prevention additive to the cardboard & the mould inhibitors  put in at the making stage .

[Lesley Silvester]

Heritage seed library catalogue just arrived in my inbox so now to have a look and decide which six packets of seeds I want to receiver.

[TracyC]

I can't wait - I am chomping at the bit.  This was our first year and we did surprisingly well.  We've made more raised beds for this year which are full of just manure at the moment.  I'm going to get a top soil delivery and put that down before it all kicks off.  I heard the traditional day for sowing onions is Boxing day so I may pop one or 2 in  

Can I start all year round cauli yet?  The name suggests so, but any advice?

We're going to be aiming to grow all our own veg this coming year.  Obviously it will be a slow start, but then that will be it!  So exciting.

[cloddopper]

Tracy , don't be in too much of a rush . Far too many folk sow much too early & lose a lot of seedlings to bad weather & pests.

If you look online you should be able to find your average first & last frost dates for your locality .
 
 Sowing a day or so after the last average frost date  should soon see your seedlings catch up & in a lot of cases over take earlier sown seeds that have suffered thermal shock & water distress .

If you sow a few seeds in an indoor plant pot in well damp seed compost , germinate it covered in cling film in the airing cupboard   As soon as the yellowish green shoots start to poke their heads up in 7 to 14 days .
So check every day mentioned  ,  take it out the airing cupboard & put the pot on a saucer on a window cill that's not got a radiator frying the seedlings under it or where it has strong sunlight on them you should be able to bring the seedlings on to about an inch high .
Now put them on a cill in a north facing window  but don't have them right against the glass in case it freezing .

 On a frost free day at about 10  o C or above , when the seedlings get to 2 " tall carefully prick out the plants with the back of a teaspoon handle after soaking the pot for a good hour in a bowl of room temp rain water.
Without damaging the stem or roots transplant in to dibbed holes ,  gently back fill & them water well .
Perhaps  sprinkle slug pellets if you have any sign of slugs . Cover with a weighted down at the edges white fleece to ward off a sharp frost .
They will develop bigger natural roots in about a month .

Don't sow a lot in one go , unless you hope to fill the freezer .
Sowing three or four seeds every a week to ten days apart should see you have them throughout the year & you can eat all the greenery as well .

 Cauli's can be difficult to grow , they like Boron in the soill .. this can be added by giving a dressing of Epsom salts a week or so , scratching & watering it in to the area you want to plant up

It's taken me five years to get decent caulis's in virgin garden soil.

 .

[TracyC]

Very informative reply, thank you!  I think I am going to do a bit of experimenting.  We do hope to fill the freezer to take us over winter but this year is the year of testing how much is enough/too much, so watch this space.

I'm copying your words to print out.  You can't beat a been there, done it advice

[Fleecewife]

Tracy, are your onions from seed or sets? You can start onion seed from after Xmas, if you use modules.  Onions are very slow to germinate, so this gives them a good start, then when they are large enough to have a good root ball, you can transfer them to their final growing positions in your raised beds.  You could plant out sets in Feb to Mar depending on where you are and they harvest at the same time.
'All the year round' is a bit of a misnomer - it really seems to mean that they can be used as summer or winter caulis, not that they can be sown all year.  I wouldn't sow them before Feb and they will need to be protected from frost when small, and given plenty of light so they don't grow long and pale and drawn. Any set-back and you won't get a decent head.

[TracyC]

Fleecewife - both.  I'd like to see what we get the best results from.  Experimenting with what I can.
I am in the North East of England.
Thanks re cauli tips.  Much appreciated.