Planting the remainder of the beds, those that are not raised, is the main priority. Peas will be planted in succession for a short period to stagger the harvesting time. I am thinking about where to plant the sweet corn, probably just near the raised beds. Sweet corn is a bit of a quandary. I like corn on the cob, and have had some success, but not every cob produces a full complement of seeds in our climate. Corn is a warm weather crop, and we are not in a warm climate. I would like to grow it in greenhouses, but it is wind pollinated and so needs exposure to moving air, otherwise the pollination does not happen. Cauliflowers are a favourite vegetable with me, and so some will be laid down when the weather warms up, along with kale, which resists slugs well. Protecting the cauliflowers against the ever-predatory wood pigeons is urgent, as these little beasts gobble the heart out of a cauliflower.
I need to plant up the greenhouse, but it is a matter of timing. Too early a planting can result in disaster, if a late frost destroys the crop. Tomatoes can be turned to black mush by a simple frost. It has happened to me once before. I need to spruce up the greenhouse, tightening bolts after winter, before I plant.
There is a small greenhouse to be erected. Andrew, my horticulturalist son, will help me. His fiance [due to be his wife in June] is off to her native Portugal to see her mother, who is too unwell to attend the wedding, and so Andrew will be alone. It is good to have a thirty three year old helping with any digging, though it brings home forcefully to me that I am in my mid sixties and slowing down, but still very fit for my age.
But as an allotment committee member [vice chair] I cannot guarantee being able to work undisturbed. The ever-busy and wonderful secretary, Barbara, sometimes comes to discuss an issue, such as the vandalism of the neighbouring greenhouse. Moreover, I have just been elected to the area committee [Urmston Allotment and Garden Society.] Official role, site representative; unofficially, trouble shooter, sent to resolve issues in the most peaceful way possible. You may be surprised that the grumpy individualists who till allotments can be quite quarrelsome sometimes.
You have had a glimpse into the life of a plot holder on a small, but friendly allotment site.The council allotments officer likes our site, because we never give her any trouble. We are short of space and money, though Barbara is a Godsend, as she busies herself trying to obtain grants and hold events. We won an award last year for progress made. This year we want best allotment site in Trafford. It's a hard task, but we live in hope.
I had better work on that flowerbed!
All photographs were taken by Frank Beswick
Comments
Thank you for the expert experience and expert expertise ;-D!
You have mentioned four vegetables that are hard to grow in window boxes because of their size. Rhubarb is a non-starter because it develops a large crown and takes up much space. Cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli [all the same species] can grow in large pots. Corn needs a square space where there is exposure to air flow, as corn is wind-pollinated. I don't think that any cereals have been successfully grown indoors. In the UK Adam Henson, a television presenter on Countryfile, and a farmer, tried to grow rice in glasshouse conditions, but the experiment was a complete failure. Low light levels at his latitude, somewhere in the early fifties [Southern England] ruined the crop and made it susceptible to fungal infection.
Thank you! I intend to keep all this helpful information in mind as I look at floor-, porch- and window-boxes and sills as easier, simpler gardening projects this spring. (I know it's spring because I finally saw my first fireflies, two each on Tuesday in the south grasses, two each on Wednesday in the west grasses, perhaps two each tonight in the north grasses?!).
But also, I meant to ask you, How would broccoli, cauliflower, corn and rhubarb do in porch- or window-boxes and pots?
My experience with corn is that it can be hit or miss, for some cobs are better than others. However, different varieties will produce different results. I have seen a field of corn in South West Scotland, which surprised me, but I discovered that farmers often grow it as a fodder crop.
Corn particularly interests me since it was the first edible that I remember planting as a preschooler intent upon growing a popcorn garden ;-D.
So it intrigues me where you say that "not every cob produces a full complement of seeds in our climate." Is the complement that's produced not healthy or sufficient (in case of attrition) or viable?
I am growing onions and carrots in pots in my yard,but the carrots need deep pots. Parsnips need deep soil and are unreliable. Most of these veg will grow on window ledges,but depth of soil and physical size,e.g. chard are limiting factors
The computer today allows me to go only so far in your wizzleys before refusing to go further to get me to your article on vegetarianism, which I wanted to re-read and where I think in a way my indoor/outdoor dilemmas are more relevant.
But here goes! I have acorn and winter and yellow squash, arugula, beet, carrot, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, onion, parsnip, radish, romaine, Swiss chard and turnip seeds.
How would they fare inside in window-boxes and window pots on window sills with lovely, warm southern-exposure sunlight or outside on a table in an eastern- and southern-exposure porch?
What would you recommend in the way of possibly combining some in one box or pot?
You have an excellent allotment. And, I can tell it gives you many hours of joy tending it and eating from it.
I think that living in Britain makes us alert to cold spells, as we can have a spell of warm weather that turns cold. We say here that April is the cruelest month, as it can be warm and comfortable, but then turn nasty with frosts, so I will not plant anything that could suffer from cold before May. Beans have to go in after the last date for frosts, which is late May. I plant onions and potatoes, because they can be protected by the soil, but even potatoes can suffer from frost damage to their leaves if they are not earthed up as they sprout. I once had a lovely crop of broccoli, which is hardy to minus 18 degrees, but one night the temperature hit minus 21, and I lost the whole crop. That was unusually cold for my area, but it shows what can happen.
I hope that one day you get some land to cultivate.
I live in an apartment so I don't garden, but many of my friends and family do. If I ever live where I have some land, I'll be ready because I have learned so much from them and online articles. The hardest thing to resist in the spring is planting flowers and vegetables once the weather gets warm. Usually, there is one last cold spell and it kills everything you just planted.