A week ago I was writing about the cold, now the sun has come out and all seems so much better with the world and the garden in particular. Suddenly Spring is here and it’s a busy time to get all the veg planted to be ready for the next Farmers Market in July.
In the poly tunnel the warmer weather has bought a new challenge, keeping the plants watered. We have only one water butt in the garden, fed from a very small piece of guttering, so it takes a long time to fill. In the run up to the last farmers market the children enthusiastically watered the salad crops and emptied the butt in the process. We have not had enough rain to refill it so we have a water shortage. The only outside tap is the other side of the playground, we are waiting for an other tap to be installed closer to the garden so in the meantime it’s lots of trips with watering cans.
However with the warmer weather we can get on with planting more outside, where the veg can fend for itself, taking up moisture from the soil and not relying on us all the time.
I am hoping that this week we can get salads planted out, and that will reduce the watering needed in the poly tunnel.
The strawberries in pots are coming on, I saw the first flower buds this morning, so maybe we will get a crop in a couple of months.
Last week the children from 4/5 class planted some tomatoes. 7 days on no sign yet, but that really is a bit soon for germination. They have planted a selection of varieties including cherry tomatoes, a cascading variety suitable for hanging baskets and a striped tomato. I’m looking forward to seeing that one fruit.
This week 2/3 will be planting. They will be concentrating on root crops, carrots and beetroot in particular, so it is good that the weather has warmed the soil ready for them to plant. However, before planting the root crops they are in an experiment with schools in France and Estonia to compare growing sunflowers, and today is planting day.
Happy gardening!
The Ferncumbe Garden 