Something has been at the sprouts. Because there appear to be scratches on the stalks, and they have only been eaten up to a certain height, we think it must be mice or rats or voles or something else on its hind legs. Later, we remember that on our last visit we removed the mini-fence and netting around the sprouts (in anticipation of laying the fifth bed) and conclude that it is probably birds.Despite the attack, there are more than enough for dinner, and they are delicious when cooked with bacon cubes and chestnuts and marsalla. Well, most things would be.
They make a delicious part of our Christmas dinner, along with turkey from a local farm.
We also measure the plot, and its components, for planning purposes. Over the next few weeks, we anticipate finishing off (digging, walling, composting and covering) our beds in preparation for spring planting (spring, here, being a March/April/May affair).
Much discussion ensues about what to grow where, and where the compost centre should be, along with the fruit cage, the shed and what I think of as the lounge. Proper measurements ensure a rational, non-heated discussion. In parallel, we need to prioritise what crops and other enchantments will be grown and when.
Initial work is done on graph paper, which is useful but does not quite capture the undulating nature of our boundary fence and non-straight beds. Also, at slightly more than 106 square metres, some attempt must be made to take account of the curvature of the earth. A second attempt is made, therefore, along the lines of a Peters Projection. To say that this attempt clarifies our thinking would be charitable.
Also to be taken into account is crop rotation, or crop sequencing. Knowledge of those elements that certain crops add to and take from the soil during their growth allows beneficial planning of which the sequence in which different crops are planted, season-by-season. Also, it is suggested that if you keep the same crop in the same soil year after year, diseases and pests which prey on that crop tend to build up.
Plant experts group different crops into the categories of Root, Brassica and (terminology varies) Other. Generally, Roots follow Brassicas which follow Other. (There's also a category, which we have not yet named, of things that can go anywhere or things that stay where they are forever.) I suppose old-school farmers left the fourth year fallow. I'm not sure we have the patience or life-expectancy to allow for that. We have to factor in a seed-bed somewhere, despite the existence of a pre-dug bed from earlier this year (courtesy of AN). The part of the plot which has not been "bedded up" will be used for potatoes and flowers on one side, and the cage, parallel to the shed, on the other.
Here is the proposed crop list for the next year, based on what we like eating, with varieties we have chosen from magazines to be ordered where known (nb. the varieties may well change according to availability):
Roots
Sweet potato (T65, Beauregard) (might be tricky)
Potatoes (Sarpo Mira, Axona - blight-free but probably all gone now)
Carrots (Siena F1)
Brassicas
Broccoli (Ironman F1)
Winter cabbage
Kale - after potatoes
Other
Onions (RIP overwintering onions)
Peas (Keleveden Wonder)
Leeks (Malabar)
Garlic (Elephant and Solent White)
Other other
Spring onions
Radishes
Lettuce/salad
Raspberries (Galanta) - in the cage
Butternut squash (Hawk F1)
Pumpkin - on the bank
Strawberries - in the cage.
There's a further concept: companion planting. This intends to maximise performance by planting particular things together - because they help or protect each other (for example, marigolds masking the carrot scent, which otherwise the Dreaded Carrot Fly can smell up to one mile away). In our case, this means we will try three crops together in one of the beds:
Courgettes/Zucchini (Optima F1)
French beans
Sweetcorn.
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