Tuesday 13 March 2012
The Sweet Pea man of Hurstpierpoint.
Here’s what you do:
- Choose a sunny spot and hammer two stakes into the ground to make a row.
- Attach parallel wires between the posts, one at the bottom and one further up. Push canes into the soil every nine inches or so and secure them to the wires.
- Plant one sweet pea in front of each cane – the Sweet Pea man of Hurstpierpoint has actually colour-coordinated his along the rows, but you might choose to mix the really highly scented varieties like the grandifloras amongst the others (the Spencer varieties usually have bigger flowers but less scent) to encourage the pollinators who will be drawn by the fragrance and then travel around the rest of your plot.
- Let the plants grow to a foot tall and then select the strongest shoot and remove the rest – painful, but necessary if you want really strong flowers.
- Tie this shoot to the cane and regularly pinch off side shoots and tendrils – this step means the plant gives all its strength to the flowers rather than dissipating it in side shoots and climbing growth. You will need pea rings or horticultural tape to keep tying the primary shoot to the cane.
- When the plants have reached the top of the canes, untie them and lay the stems on the ground, parallel to the row.
- Now re-tie stems to a cane further along the row, so the tip of the plant reaches about a foot up its new cane.
This is why so many people grow sweet peas on the allotment rather than in the garden at home - it's just too much to be expected give up so much garden space for a single plant, but on your plot you can extend the cane row as far as you like without losing much in terms of space.
Allotment Blog: The Sweet Pea man of Hurstpierpoint: "The Sweet Pea man of Hurstpierpoint"
'via Blog this'
- Choose a sunny spot and hammer two stakes into the ground to make a row.
- Attach parallel wires between the posts, one at the bottom and one further up. Push canes into the soil every nine inches or so and secure them to the wires.
- Plant one sweet pea in front of each cane – the Sweet Pea man of Hurstpierpoint has actually colour-coordinated his along the rows, but you might choose to mix the really highly scented varieties like the grandifloras amongst the others (the Spencer varieties usually have bigger flowers but less scent) to encourage the pollinators who will be drawn by the fragrance and then travel around the rest of your plot.
- Let the plants grow to a foot tall and then select the strongest shoot and remove the rest – painful, but necessary if you want really strong flowers.
- Tie this shoot to the cane and regularly pinch off side shoots and tendrils – this step means the plant gives all its strength to the flowers rather than dissipating it in side shoots and climbing growth. You will need pea rings or horticultural tape to keep tying the primary shoot to the cane.
- When the plants have reached the top of the canes, untie them and lay the stems on the ground, parallel to the row.
- Now re-tie stems to a cane further along the row, so the tip of the plant reaches about a foot up its new cane.
This is why so many people grow sweet peas on the allotment rather than in the garden at home - it's just too much to be expected give up so much garden space for a single plant, but on your plot you can extend the cane row as far as you like without losing much in terms of space.
Allotment Blog: The Sweet Pea man of Hurstpierpoint: "The Sweet Pea man of Hurstpierpoint"
'via Blog this'
Monday 12 March 2012
Sweet Peas.
Simply by being late every season, I have discovered that what works best for me is to sow the seeds in a rich but well-drained potting compost in late February. They are ready to plant out by mid-May and will grow away strongly. It might mean we do not get flowers until midsummer, but what comes late stays late. We pinch out the growing tips when the plant is about 6in tall and still in pots, which makes for bushier growth.
If you want sheer scent then the best are the original 'Cupanis' or 'Matucanas'. Both are bicoloured, as is the pretty pink and white 'Painted Lady'. Unless it is described as having a strong scent then look beyond the most common Spencer varieties and go for the grandifloras Eckford developed, which will make up most of any so-called 'Old Fashioned Mix'. As I have said, in general I like the richer colours, such as 'Purple Prince', 'Black Knight', 'Midnight' and 'Black Diamond', as well as the red 'Gypsy Queen', 'Violet Queen', the magenta 'Annie B Gilroy', 'Henry Eckford', which is bright orange, and good scented whites like 'Dorothy Eckford', 'Royal Wedding' and the ivory 'Cream Southborne'. Finally, I do grow one sweet pea that is to all intents and purposes scentless - the species L chloranthus, which is only 5ft tall but an essential acidy yellow-lime green that we use to lighten up a dark corner.
Sweet Pea - 'Monty Don'
Sweet pea suppliers: Peter Grayson, 34 Glenthorne Close, Brampton, Chesterfield S40 3AR. Unwins Seeds, Histon, Cambridge
Roger Parsons Sweet Peas - Links: 'via Blog this'
Sweet peas prefer cool, damp conditions, so a regular soak is essential in a hot summer.
If you want sheer scent then the best are the original 'Cupanis' or 'Matucanas'. Both are bicoloured, as is the pretty pink and white 'Painted Lady'. Unless it is described as having a strong scent then look beyond the most common Spencer varieties and go for the grandifloras Eckford developed, which will make up most of any so-called 'Old Fashioned Mix'. As I have said, in general I like the richer colours, such as 'Purple Prince', 'Black Knight', 'Midnight' and 'Black Diamond', as well as the red 'Gypsy Queen', 'Violet Queen', the magenta 'Annie B Gilroy', 'Henry Eckford', which is bright orange, and good scented whites like 'Dorothy Eckford', 'Royal Wedding' and the ivory 'Cream Southborne'. Finally, I do grow one sweet pea that is to all intents and purposes scentless - the species L chloranthus, which is only 5ft tall but an essential acidy yellow-lime green that we use to lighten up a dark corner.
Sweet Pea - 'Monty Don'
Sweet pea suppliers: Peter Grayson, 34 Glenthorne Close, Brampton, Chesterfield S40 3AR. Unwins Seeds, Histon, Cambridge
Roger Parsons Sweet Peas - Links: 'via Blog this'
Sweet peas prefer cool, damp conditions, so a regular soak is essential in a hot summer.
Friday 2 March 2012
Sowing.
Planting: Fruit tree - 25 feb
Chitting Potatoes: 28 feb
Sowing:
- Leeks
- Celeriac
- Early Peas (grown in situ)
A good tip for broad beans and peas is to sow a short row every three weeks between now and April, providing a constant succession of crops between June and October. For the first sowing of peas, choose a wrinkled pea such as 'Celebration', a delicious petit pois type, or try sugar snaps or mangetouts. A real beauty is 'Carouby de Mausanne', a C19th French mangetout with the added benefit of great good looks with lilac flowers.
Under Cloche: radish, lettuce, dill.
Parsnips - come up, digg up.
Vegetable seeds
Tuesday 7 February 2012
Friday 18 November 2011
Ревень, как стимулировать его рост под колпаком в темноте.
Родиной ревеня считают Сибирь с ее холодными зимами.
Так Ревень является одним из тех растений, которые требуют определенного количества холодной погоды, чтобы процветать в следующем году.
В Англии в знаменитом "Треугольнике" (The Rhubarb Triangle -the three cities of Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford) ревень выкапывают поздней осенью до заморозков и оставляют его лежащими на поверхности поля до начала весны, когда настанет время стимулировать его рост,
выращивая в темном помещении - в специальных сараях как под колпаком в темноте.
Так местные фермеры разработали тайные методы для создания нежных и сладких версий ревеня.
Стимуляция ревеня.
Лучше использовать растения которые росли на открытом воздухе в течение двух лет, поглощая солнечный свет и набираясь энергии.
Этот Ревень выкопать поздней осенью до заморозков и оставить его лежащими на поверхности поля до начала весны, когда настанет время стимулировать его рост под колпаком в темноте.
В начале весны подготить место для посадки. Гораздо лучше не садить Ревень туда, где он был раньше, если возможно. Выкопать довольно глубокую яму и добавить туда перепревший навоз. Если нет перепревшего навоза, то компост и органические удобрения, производимые из морских водорослей, костной муки, крови, рыбы.
Даже если у вас есть навоз, хорошо бы еще добавить пару граммов удобрения чтобы обеспечить растения всем необходимым. Смешайть хорошо вилами.
Посадить Ревень, утрамбовать землю вокруг него хорошо. Когда появятся листья в конце весны, дать каждому растению хорошую горсть или две гранулированного куриного помета -разбросать по поверхности. Это обеспечит необходимое количество азота для питания и роста листьев.
Нет ничего особенного в выращивании, но этот метод стимулирования предполагает ревень один из лучших на вкус.
Так Ревень является одним из тех растений, которые требуют определенного количества холодной погоды, чтобы процветать в следующем году.
В Англии в знаменитом "Треугольнике" (The Rhubarb Triangle -the three cities of Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford) ревень выкапывают поздней осенью до заморозков и оставляют его лежащими на поверхности поля до начала весны, когда настанет время стимулировать его рост,
выращивая в темном помещении - в специальных сараях как под колпаком в темноте.
Так местные фермеры разработали тайные методы для создания нежных и сладких версий ревеня.
Стимуляция ревеня.
Лучше использовать растения которые росли на открытом воздухе в течение двух лет, поглощая солнечный свет и набираясь энергии.
Этот Ревень выкопать поздней осенью до заморозков и оставить его лежащими на поверхности поля до начала весны, когда настанет время стимулировать его рост под колпаком в темноте.
В начале весны подготить место для посадки. Гораздо лучше не садить Ревень туда, где он был раньше, если возможно. Выкопать довольно глубокую яму и добавить туда перепревший навоз. Если нет перепревшего навоза, то компост и органические удобрения, производимые из морских водорослей, костной муки, крови, рыбы.
Даже если у вас есть навоз, хорошо бы еще добавить пару граммов удобрения чтобы обеспечить растения всем необходимым. Смешайть хорошо вилами.
Посадить Ревень, утрамбовать землю вокруг него хорошо. Когда появятся листья в конце весны, дать каждому растению хорошую горсть или две гранулированного куриного помета -разбросать по поверхности. Это обеспечит необходимое количество азота для питания и роста листьев.
Нет ничего особенного в выращивании, но этот метод стимулирования предполагает ревень один из лучших на вкус.
How to extend the raspberry season until October.
We also tried a novel technique known as 'double cropping' on our raspberries. This allows you to harvest raspberries from the same plants from July to October. We were impressed with this new technique and think it’s a great way to get more fruit from the same space and plants. Not all varieties performed as well with double cropping, though. The best in our test were ‘Joan J’ and ‘Autumn Treasure’.
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Carrots.
The earliest crops are best, with Amsterdam-type cultivars that have narrow, cylindrical roots with smooth skins. These are delicious eased from the soil, swished under a tap and munched while holding on to the feathery foliage. They are also the most suitable to consider sowing between now and early spring - but only under glass, or at least cloches. Nantes types are generally bigger and can be grown both as early- and maincrop. Chantenay, berlicum and Autumn King types are all best for maincrops that you would expect to harvest in autumn, and can have the biggest roots. You can have carrots with round-ish roots, yellow carrots and every shade of orange. But all of them should have that sweetness and slightly musty aroma that you instantly absorb when you spull a baby carrot from the ground, but which seems to be almost totally lacking on the supermarket shelf.
Carrots do best in light, slightly alkaline soils that have not been freshly manured. They taste better in rather dry conditions, although a very dry spring will harm germination. I used to sow my carrots in rows and then thin them by hand to allow an inch or so between each seedling. But for the past few years I have broadcast them, simply scattering the seed over an entire square bed or in loose rectangles approximating to rows. These are never thinned except by random harvesting and seem to do just as well, without the same risk of attracting the dreaded carrot fly.
Carrot flies can apparently smell a carrot from half a mile away and are irresistibly drawn to it to lay their eggs. This does no harm. But when the maggots hatch they tunnel into the carrots. Early in the year this can make little difference to the crop, but by autumn it will encourage rot and can reduce each root by half. The answer is to prevent the fly from laying its eggs, by masking the scent with strong-smelling companion planting, such as chives, in and around the carrots - or simply by screening the fly off. The latter works well, either by pegging fleece over the growing carrots, lifting and replacing it when you harvest, or by putting up a 3ft (the flies keep low) screen around the bed. The fleece option is rather more practical.
Early:
- Amsterdam Forcing, small cylindrical roots but very early;
- Nantes 2, blunt ended, early and sweet.
Mid season:
- Chantenay, wedge-shaped, fast growing if sown into warm soil;
- Flyaway (F1), good all round carrot, especially raw and extra carrot fly resistance; Parisier Market 4, round-rooted carrot with good flavour.
Late, main-season varieties:
- Berlicum 2, long cylindrical root for harvesting September to Christmas;
- Rothild, stores very well and good for juicing;
- Flakee,
- an Autumn King type with conical roots that keep well in the ground over winter.
Monty Don: Home truths | Life and style | The Observer
Carrots do best in light, slightly alkaline soils that have not been freshly manured. They taste better in rather dry conditions, although a very dry spring will harm germination. I used to sow my carrots in rows and then thin them by hand to allow an inch or so between each seedling. But for the past few years I have broadcast them, simply scattering the seed over an entire square bed or in loose rectangles approximating to rows. These are never thinned except by random harvesting and seem to do just as well, without the same risk of attracting the dreaded carrot fly.
Carrot flies can apparently smell a carrot from half a mile away and are irresistibly drawn to it to lay their eggs. This does no harm. But when the maggots hatch they tunnel into the carrots. Early in the year this can make little difference to the crop, but by autumn it will encourage rot and can reduce each root by half. The answer is to prevent the fly from laying its eggs, by masking the scent with strong-smelling companion planting, such as chives, in and around the carrots - or simply by screening the fly off. The latter works well, either by pegging fleece over the growing carrots, lifting and replacing it when you harvest, or by putting up a 3ft (the flies keep low) screen around the bed. The fleece option is rather more practical.
Early:
- Amsterdam Forcing, small cylindrical roots but very early;
- Nantes 2, blunt ended, early and sweet.
Mid season:
- Chantenay, wedge-shaped, fast growing if sown into warm soil;
- Flyaway (F1), good all round carrot, especially raw and extra carrot fly resistance; Parisier Market 4, round-rooted carrot with good flavour.
Late, main-season varieties:
- Berlicum 2, long cylindrical root for harvesting September to Christmas;
- Rothild, stores very well and good for juicing;
- Flakee,
- an Autumn King type with conical roots that keep well in the ground over winter.
Monty Don: Home truths | Life and style | The Observer
Морковь. Как посадить морковь под зиму.
Во второй половине октября или в начале ноября можно посеять морковь под зиму. Сеять морковь нужно на глубину 2-3 см., с обязательным мульчированием посевов слоем 3-4 см.Расстояние между рядами моркови должно составлять около 15-20 см.
Ранней весной грядки требуется накрыть полиэтиленовой плёнкой. С появлением первых зелёных росточков, плёнку можно убрать.
Семян нужно брать немного больше, чем при посеве весной.
Ранней весной грядки требуется накрыть полиэтиленовой плёнкой. С появлением первых зелёных росточков, плёнку можно убрать.
Семян нужно брать немного больше, чем при посеве весной.
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