At last, some sun and warmth! Let’s hope that the vegie growth keeps pace with the grass growth. We seem to be weed-eating each week at present: even with our planter boxes this is a good use of out time, as once that grass seed and hit the edge of the planter boxes the weeds quickly engulf the vegetables. Happy to feed vegies: not happy to feed weeds!
We have had a massive culling of our rhubarb patch which provides a good harvest each week. If you would like a crown of rhubarb for you garden, drop by on a Wednesday morning and collect one.
This past winter we sowed all our ‘resting’ planters with mustard seed. The advantage of sowing mustard are that it disinfects and regenerates the soil. Numerous studies have shown that live mustard plant tissues, both seeds and roots, contain compounds that work as soil biofumigants by killing nematodes and pathogenic fungi.
Reaping this benefit requires handling mustard like a green manure, because the beneficial compounds are released within hours after the plants are chopped down. But if you wait two weeks after turning under chopped mustard and then plant, you can expect a very productive crop with very few weeds…or so we are told. Will report on improved crops as a result of this.
Given the erratic wet and frosty weather we have held off planting spring/ summer crops, other than sturdy cos lettuce, which seems to be weathering the challenge. Don’t know how much longer we will be able to resist! ( Especially tomatoes as they are so outrageously expensive to buy at the Supermarket).
Our number one crop at present is globe artichokes. We planted these as an experiment, a few season ago, and they have more than proved themselves . Huge crop, currently being delivered weekly to the Larder: and those that mature to bloom provide good bee attraction for the rest of the garden. The trick to growing these magnificent specimens is to plant them in an area of the garden where the soil is not great; ignore them: sit back and watch them go!
