Unfortunately the Garden was closed to volunteers through October. Our community gardeners, Peter and Kirsty, have been getting on with tidying up the garden and planting plenty of exciting crops for the winter and spring.
In the Polytunnel
October saw activities in the garden slow down as did growth generally. The Polytunnel produce came to an end with only a few tomatoes to ripen helped by a couple of bananas! As the beds were cleared the winter catch crops were planted out. These include mustard greens, mizuna, endive, winter butterhead and lollo rosso lettuce, giant winter spinach, red and green kale, greyhound cabbage, cauliflower and winter hardy spring onions.
This will ensure that the Polytunnel beds will not be empty over the winter months. The protected environment will keep the plants growing. It also makes sure that we will have some produce for the ‘hungry gap’ early in the new year. We have young seedlings of hardy ’Aquadulce’ broad beans and ‘Meteor’ peas nearly ready to plant out under cover.
It’s also time to prepare for some early spring cheer. We are replanting the containers and the boat with some of the wallflowers and spring bulbs.
New Irrigation System
Another Polytunnel job to do during the winter months will be getting a new, more efficient irrigation system ready to go in for next season. Our present drip pipe system has been in place for 4 years. It is now getting clogged up with dirt and algae particles from the rainwater collection system. The new system will involve a sprinkler based delivery. It will be more efficient, easier to clean and put less strain on the solar powered pump.
Winter Veg Available
Outdoors, as mentioned in last month’s newsletter, there’s still quite a bit of the winter veg available. Keep an eye on the Facebook page or website for further details.
