Heavy sh*t

Chris added another stack of pallettes to to make one big pile out of both because we need a pile that we can use immediately fopr trench-filling with no horse manure in it. So, the double-decker pile on the right is now the manure pile.

tough world

Melon are coming out. I pricked out broccoli and pumpkin into bigger pots. Planted out marigold and basil next to the tomato bed. They are good companion plants for tomato. When the sun came out the marquee turned into a sauna. I had to water salad twice. Even new mizuna and shungiku bolted. This is too harsh for them. Komatsuna taken out for hardning seem to grow well and ready to stay outside but nibbled badly. Looks like outside is also tough world for the veg.

Feeding

I fed comfrey pellet liquid to newly planted tomatoes and peas. Also gave nettle juice to tranplanted santona and karashina. Sprinkled finely chopped corn salad, spinach and nettles onto outside bed in which salad will be planted out next week. We have pile of horse manure but have to wait for months or a year. We are hopefully making hot compost to speed up its breakdown. I cropped rocket and lettuce for the new salad bag, called East West Mix. The new label is pretty.

working party

We held the first working party in our garden this weekend. Three people came and joined us for making new beds. Tomatoes were planted out straight out in the new bed in the marquee. Komatsuna and lettuce will be planted outside next week.
I cooked Japanese food for lunch and we enjoyed the meal together: Spinach & carrot with sweet sesami sauce, cucumber & avocado with wasabi & soya sauce mayonase, oinarisan which is sushi rice in soya beans pastry. We would like to have regular open weekends for anyone interested in growing. It would be a great chance to meet different people, show them how our food is grown, how they are eaten in other countries and get feedback from participants.

temperature control

Today was cloudy and chilly all day long. Then the temperature of the marquee was constantly 13-15 ℃. Salad looks very happy but this was not warm enough for other veg such as tomato, pepper, cucumber and soya beans. When sun comes out, temperature reaches 30 ℃, which is obviously too hot for salad and brassica. Leaves will get hard and bolt soon with heat. I started taking out seedlings of salad outside to harden off, planning to transplant them next week. People say it is too early but who ever know the future weather? I also planted out santona and more lettuce inside for safety.

coming out

Outside potato is finally coming out. Hello spuds! Pepper and basil, which failed to germinate last time, also came out followed by sweet corn(Golden Bantam) and cucumber. I gave diluted nettle juice to mizuna and lettuce. Nettle particulary spring leaves contains a lot of nitrogen and liquid fertilizer from nettle is perfect to boost leaves growth. It is super stinky, though.

summer day

I sowed shiso which was given by my japanese friend in London. She said it is grown well in a container although some people say it is impossible. Let's see. It goes well with tofu hamburger. I love it. Sweet corn(double standard) , Eschsholtzia(mission bells) and Nigella was sown too.Cold frame became busy. I pricked out komatsuna, santona and courgette into bigger pots. Today was sunny and too hot to work inside. 31 ℃！I was also trying to clear the boarder but had to go outside every now and then. Chris turned up in a short pants and we dugged out a bed for brassica, hopefully transplanting komatsuna, karashina in a week time.

Bed time for St Pierre

Today we cleared B1 and planted out 14 St. Pierre and one Lylia tomato. Soon we will be clearing C1234 and putting out the rest of the tomatoes.

Everything is doing really well - the indoor potatoes and peas are flowering.

The salads are all growing well and other seedlings are coming along well.

Soon we will begin to focus more on planting outside. Still a little too cold and windy.

plan plan plan

I sowed more lettuce (salad bowl) in modules as well as kabu, gobo and spinach.
The mizuna and shungiku transplanted from the potato patch look good and will probably be marketable in two weeks time. Strangely, the bed is dried out quickly but constantly mossy around crops.
I'm gradually clearing the salad beds to finish, hopefully after another crop next week. I need to make a new bed for tomato as I keep changing the plan while more and more salad are taking up space. Should we stick to the plan??

crop for market

Today was cropping day for the Treehouse. We are now in the process of clearing old leaves and starting new stuff. Then we are running out of marketable salad and realizing it is difficult not to create gaps of supply. Hopefully new salad would be grown in two weeks for the market. So, I sowed more komatsuna to ensure consecutive supply as well as nira(garlic chive) , chinese cabbage and marigold in a module. I also collected nettles, trying to make liquid compost from the nettles to boost leaves. Tomato and french beans (from seed savers) are coming out in a cold frame.

Columbine

Spuds Beans & Rocket

Garden Army Girl

Sh*t shovelling

Last 2 days I've been clearing up the horse poo in Dr. Hosker's field. We now have a small hillock of dung weighing about 600kg. I have another half day's worth of raking and wheel barrowing to do, probly another 100kg.

Began earthing up the indoor potatoes

Helpers

Today, Nicky and Janet turned up to help us. Nicky and I dug a new bed outside while Chris was carrying horse manure to pile up. Janet put finishing touches to a new bed inside which looks great. I planted out Komatsuna into this bed straight away. Courgette, broccoli, sweet pea and Japanese snap pea are coming out in a cold frame. I am hoping it will be warm enough to plant outside soon and should be careful as it was frosty this morning.

more and more sowing

Junka
I sowed more seeds, courgette(Nero Di Milano), cucumber(styx F1), tomato(Sungold), sweet corn(Golden Bantam) and melon(cantalope).
Cleared yukina and planted out more lettuce and rocket, still wondering if it might be too hot in a month time for those who don't like heat. Actually, marquee was too hot to work long hours today although outside was chilly. I also tried to make a new bed for komatsuna but gave it up half way.

more sowing

Sowed more lettuce(paris white cos), pumpkin, pepper, basil and santona. The cold frame is full of seedlings.

Outside salad bed

Sunny day! We made outside bed for salad, composted thinned yukina, mizuna mixed with kitchen waste and covered by blacksheet. Lettuce and roket are pricked out from modules into pots and are going to be planted out in a couple weeks in the bed.

sowing

Today was chilly, hailing and blue sky appeared in turn every half one hour. I sowed tomato from Dyfi Sead Savers, My Girl and Welsh Farmer Law in a cold frame. Also sowed courgette(Albarellodi Sarzana), broccoli(corvet), karashina, climbing french bean (Lazy Housewife), dwarf french bean(Xenia field), Japanese snap peas (from Peter) and sweet pea(Tamar Mix). Chris made a new bed near the entrance and planted out lettuce, roket and radish.

New salad mix

Salad bed in the marquee became too messy. I tend to avoid weeding unless they don't take over the crop or cut only top bit and leave the cutting on the ground as mulch. However, overcrowded crop and weeds althgether create too humid environment for crops. They still taste all right but don't look good for market. Of course, they were anyway too old though, they should have been tidy up to get fresh air and sun. We finally started clearing mizuna & yukina and put corn salad in the salad bag mixing with the surviving Japanese leaves, named 'Lamb Japan Mix'. Hoping the new product will be popular.

Flower bed

I planted out lettuce and rokket in the Marquee, worrying it might be too hot in a month time. Actually today was so hot to work inside (28 ℃) that I planted out flowers outside, worrying it might be too cold. The floweres such as geranium, lavendar, colombine, gangi lily and etc. in the middle of veg patch will hopefully give beautiful coulours in summer.