These
are exciting times here at Harlow Carr with all the flooding over the
last 2 weeks, and much time being spent mending paths washed away by
the torrential showers. Thankfully, a desperate team effort managed to avert the potential disaster of a flood in Bettys cake shop! Our kitchen garden and 3x3m plot are luckily at the top of a hill, and apart from the paths have come off very well. Add to the list of advantages of raised beds that floodwater runs around them on the bark paths!
The
3x3m plot is looking really good just now, as all the tender plants
such as French beans, courgettes and squashes have all been planted. For
the beans, borlottis will provide both fresh pods as well as beans for
drying later in the season - a climbing variety makes full advantage of
the space available and adds height to the plot. Courgette'
Venus' was the variety grown for the programme - it produced 17 fruits
last year, and is perfect for the small area, maintaining a compact
bush shape, so we've grown it again.
Last
year's squash was a bit too rampant for the plot and threatened to take
over, so this year ‘Cream of the Crop', an acorn-shaped squash, has
been substituted - we know from growing it in the kitchen garden that
it produces loads of fruits from a small, non-trailing plant. Well-rotted manure placed in the base of the planting hole suits these hungry plants and helps retain moisture. As
the kitchen garden is on quite a windy site, a few twigs pushed in
around the plant help to prevent wind-rock or snapping of the stem. If
the soil is mounded up slightly around the stem water will not sit
around and cause rot - a moat made in the soil around, maybe about 30cm
away from the stem, catches water to go to the roots.
The
early peas have suffered a bit in the weather, so we have picked them
and will replace with a second sowing direct of more peas. Broad beans are harvesting well and there have been loads of lettuces to eat. The trial lettuce are doing well - ‘Freckles' is a great favourite, as is the colourful red cos Pandero.