"There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments"
Janet Kilburn Phillips
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Bye bye summer veg π
Hi Everyone. The Tomatoes are finished, the Courgettes have gone and if you were forward thinking enough you're now starting to harvest your winter veg. It's time now for the Brassicas, like Kales & Cabbage and root veg to keep you going through the winter.
So what have we got in store for you this month?
- What to sow and grow in November.
- On the lookout for seed bargains.
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And lastly, Lottie news and members questions.
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What to sow and grow in November.
It's been relatively warm here in the U.K. and although it's okay to plant your Garlics and Broad Beans in October, I'm waiting until nearer our first frost date, which is next week to plant mine. Lettuce, like Winter Density and Onion sets are still good to go in now.
Talking of winter varieties, hardy Peas are good to plant outside this month. I've just sown some 'Meteor' Peas in a couple of large, spare tubs to hopefully get an early spring crop.
If you're quick you can take advantage of what warmth we have left and still sow or plant Spring Cabbage, Kale, Chard and Spinach, but they may however need a bit of protection with fleece when there are frosts about later on in the year.
And lastly, if you can get hold of some Strawberry plants, now's a good time to get them in the ground as they are incredibly hardy. I have in fact several spare Strawberry plants in my cold frame at home if anyone local would like some. Just ping me an email.
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So What Is No Dig Gardening? | |
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In a nutshell, No-Dig gardening is a method of cultivation that aims for minimal disturbance of the soil. No dig gardening is beneficial to your soil, your garden or veg patch and the environment. You need less fertilisers, less pesticides and very few slug deterrents, if any.
Personally I have been doing the no-dig method for several years now mainly because it's easier on my back, seems logical and the biggest reason is that it's much better for the environment and wildlife.
Just click the #Nodigday picture below for an in depth look into what I think is a brilliant way of gardening or see the video, No-dig gardening explained in 6 minutes, well worth a look.
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Did you know?
Soil is an antidepressant. The smell of mycobacterium vacil, a microorganism found in soil, compost and leaf mold, lights up neurotransmitters that release serotonin (a mood-lifting hormone)
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Anyone seen these little creatures on your veggies this year? No need to panic, they're just Shield bugs, sometimes called Stink bugs.
There are two species of shield bugs in the UK, the common green that is native to Britain and the Southern green shield bug, which was found breeding for the first time in London area in 2003.
Shield bugs are a sap sucking insects that are partial to Runner Beans and French Bean pods. However these little bugs don't seem to turn up until the late summer or early autumn when the beans are coming to the end of their cropping period.
The pictures below are the Southern variety with the left picture being a nymph while the other is a fully grown adult. I think they're quite sweet!
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πββ¬ A farewell & a hello π
Not really food gardening info, but some of you may have known Freebie, aka The Devildog, our black cat with a big personality. Sadly we had to say goodbye to him a few weeks ago after he finally succumbed to kidney disease that he'd had for some time. He was a total legend in his own lunchtime and will be very much missed by all who knew him.
Rather than go out and try and replace him, an impossible task, we decided to do some cat fostering with the charity www.hereforcats.org and I'd like to introduce our first charge, the lovely Daisy. The total opposite of The Devildog, she's quiet, dainty, shy and doesn't bite! She's like a princess cat, so well behaved. If you're looking for a really easy to look after moggy, Daisy is looking for a forever home.
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Lottie News!
Fox update! I despair π© Another three new holes in the poly tunnel and several bags of compost ripped apart. We're now resorting to a chicken wire barrier that the Geezer Hubby is working on completing this week. A veritable poly tunnel fortress is being constructed to keep the buggers out!
A couple of weeks ago I did a tidy up inside the poly tunnel and I picked the last of the Tomatoes, mostly green. I don't mind as we managed to get just over 31 kilos of Tomatoes from 8 plants this year with probably 4 kilos being green. Green Tomato chutney on the cards.
The Red Peppers and Aubergines were very late, but that was my fault for leaving it to the last minute to sow them. Next year I'll be starting them off much earlier in a heated propagator. I haven't got it yet...it's going to be an Xmas prezzie to myself.
I didn't get many Butternuts off of my four plants this time round, which was a bit disappointing, although what I did get were absolute whoppers with the biggest weighing in at just under 3 kilos.
Most of the beds have been covered in compost now and I'm beginning to plant out the last of the seedlings I started off at the beginning of the month. Now that the clocks have gone back there won't of course be as much time on the Lottie. To be honest I'm looking forward to having a bit of a rest now that things are slowing down. It's nearly time to think about what I'm going to grow next year. What will you grow next year? The same as this year or are you going to try something different, let me know, I'd love to hear.
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On the lookout for seed bargains.
Last night I dug through my overflowing seed box to discover that I didn't actually have any of the Aquadulce Broad Bean seeds that I wanted. So I went online, like you do, to order some. What I discovered was quite a shock. The difference in price of the seeds and the postage that I looked at was vast. Not only the price, but the amount of seeds in each packet ranged from 30 to 100. I thought you might like to see what I found.
When you are looking at a seed catalogue or on a seed companies website thinking about what you want to grow next year, remember that it pays to shop around and to check out how many seeds are in those packets.
I actually went for the Simply Seed ones as their reviews were really good with people saying that the germination rate was excellent.ext Link
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Members Questions - Martine Asks... | |
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...Without experience it's not obvious for a beginner to know when to harvest things like Carrots, Potatoes and Garlic as they're in the ground.
Good question Martine. Carrots are edible at any stage of their growth. To get an idea of their size, brush away some of the compost to reveal the top of the Carrot to see the width which will give you a rough idea of the size or pull up a couple to see how big they are. The longer you leave them the bigger they will get.
With Potatoes it's recommended you wait until either the plants have flowered or the 'haulms', the green leaves and stems, have gone yellow and started to die back.
With Garlic it's when the leaves have started to die back. This usually happens July time.
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If you have a food gardening question you'd like to ask just pop me an email and I'll see how I can help. I don't proclaim to be an expert, but I will do my best to answer any of your questions.
In the meantime, if you know of anyone who might like to become a FG4A member do feel free to forward them this email and get them to visit the website and sign up, it's free!
Or you can always catch up with what I've been up to on Facebook or instagram.
Keep safe.
Christine x
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33 South Worple Way
London, SW14 8PB United Kingdom
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