Allotment Diary (February – Week 2)
I’m trying something new with my diary, which can now be found here. Rather than just publish it in written form, I’m also going to record a new weekly video, called “The gardening week’.
The diary, will be the show notes for the video
You are a bit ahead of me with your seed starting, but I did sow Asian greens this week. It is amazing to think about cutting the lawn in February! I was chipping away ice here last week, and even the weeds in our lawn are brown this time of year.
We’ve had a very mild winter Dave, after a cold autumn and no doubt a frosty spring
What fun to go through the week with you. Makes it feel as if we’re visiting your garden and region. Thank you for all the tips too. I’m not familiar with relay planting so thank you for the explanation. I’ve been interplanting for decades. You introduced me to doing bunching onions amidst the brassicas which I did this year. Very nice harvests considering the time of year and your climate. How far apart do you plant your calabrese? I usually do 15″ for broccoli and 12″ for the cauliflower, except Romanesco gets 18″ because of the plant size. Thanks.
The research suggests that the flowering brassicas respond well to different planting densities Sue, so I follow suit. I plant quite close together if I want lots of small heads and no side shoots, I will do this if I need to remove the plants quickly after first harvest for a follow on crop, usually in spring. I will give them more space if I want large heads, but more importantly a big harvest of side shoots over a long period, which I usually do in summer. I’m not doing manay cauliflowers this year as I don’t have the space, but I’m still doing calabrese because they are quicker, give a longer side shoot harvest and even heathier : All the best – Steve