No Crooked Lines and Robust Barriers
07th April 2021
In: Features
Last years joint winner of the best Allotment, Peter Caffrey kindly penned an article for the website. One of the plotholders with the longest association with the site, we were provided with a bit of insight into his activity. The latest article, is a must read, with lots of information, tips, hints or how to's in terms of Peter's growing calendar.
I maintain two full-sized 10 rod plots, assisted by good friend Dave Wallace, who keeps the grass cut, waters while I am away, enjoys the DIY and generally keeps things neat and tidy. I dare not set out a crooked line!
With the prevalence of destructive wildlife on the plots it has been hugely beneficial to have robust barriers in place to enable the successful growing of such vulnerable crops as sweet corn, peas, brassicas and soft fruit. We have constructed 2 more small scale barriers which means we can follow correct crop rotation.
Thanks to a gift from Ray Lawrence the first attempt growing tromboncinos was a success. It was a bonus that, as well as adding to the menu it also proved to have excellent storage qualities.
This year looks like it is going to be a bumper year for our Kent Cob Nuts. (Due to previous surplus we are still eating nuts that have been 3 years in storage.) Nature never fails to impress as the male hazel catkins reach peak pollination just as the tiny red female flowers emerge on the branches to grow on to be this year’s cob nuts. Next winter it will be time to reduce the size of the two original trees so we have allowed 6 new shoots to develop from the base of the trees to replace the mature trunks that we will remove. The year after we will do the same with the other two trees which were grown from cuttings from the original trees. The mice help themselves to the ripe nuts. They eat some immediately, but others they bury. They forget where some are stored and the nuts germinate and grow. I retrieve these and pot them up to grow on. If anyone would like two plants ( two are needed for cross-pollination) please let me know. As the plants have been raised from nuts the resulting plants will revert back to hazel trees as opposed to true Kent Cob nuts, but nevertheless produce a very worthwhile crop. If the saplings had been grown from cuttings they would be true Kent Cob nuts.
Also with an eye for renewal 4 blackcurrant cuttings, 2 josta berry cuttings and a gogi berry cutting are being established to replace ageing parent plants. In addition to the 9 blueberry plants in the main cage, 6 others have been planted in the wired polytunnel. 3 of these are in the shaded side and do not look happy and so will be relocated. 6 other developing blueberry plants are also now ready for planting in ericaceous compost. Cuttings will again be taken from the most productive plants in July. The main blueberry area was restructured in March with new membrane laid to reduce maintenance and 9 pots were re-positioned.
A new strawberry bed was established using runners from the best of the now ageing strawberry plants in the existing bed. Two years ago this new bed’s development was started by becoming that year’s compost site. The year after the compost had matured sufficiently to grow the season’s courgettes prior to becoming the fertile new strawberry bed.
Although last year was a bumper year for soft fruit as well as apples, pears, plums and cherries, the apples were badly infested with codling moth larvae. To remedy this a winter wash has been applied as well as circling every tree trunk with a sticky collar.
Garlic was planted in late Autumn. The best cloves are saved each year, only from the very best specimens which I have developed over many years from the original stock “SOLENT WIGHT”, so they have become very well adapted to the conditions on the allotment and produce a good yield of long storing cloves.
To feed my obsession with growing peas 4 trenches have been dug out in the main cage to a depth of 2 spades, manured and covered over to settle before sowing. The first row was sown and protected with cloches in early February with the hardy, round seeded METEOR variety. I find this has better flavour than the other hardy variety FELTHAM FIRST. For succession, in early March the next row was sown with wrinkle seeded, sweeter ALDERMAN – a 6 foot tall variety that will take longer to crop. Next will be the best flavour of all – HURST GREEN SHAFT. So sweet the birds would devour it if it were not under protection of the cage.
Cloches have been in place for several weeks warming the soil in preparation for sowing of salad crops. Successional sowings of broad beans are established. Onion sets and shallots are in the ground. Autumn and Summer raspberries along with all other soft fruits have been pruned. Asparagus beds and raised beds have been mulched with manure. Potato trenches have also been manured in preparation for seed potatoes. A row of LADY CHRYSTL and a row of ARRAN PILOT were planted 2 weeks apart (Early and Mid March). Later plantings will be CHARLOTTE and DESIREE.
A new rhubarb bed was planted with 3 different varieties last year as the original rhubarb bed is ageing. The old crowns are now covered by bins to force the last crop before being dug up to create more space. I only force crowns that are over 2 years old and after cropping the forced rhubarb I do not harvest any more for a while to allow the crown to recover. After this year the forced crowns will no longer be productive enough to justify their space.
The next direct sowings will consist of:
Broad beans – AQUADULCE then EXHIBITION LONGPOD
Lettuce – LITTLE GEM and TOM THUMB
Radish – FRENCH BREAKFAST
Carrots – AMSTERDAM FORCING then EARLY NANTES
Beetroot – BOLTARDY then DETROIT GLOBE
Spring onion – WHITE LISBON
Onion – RED BARON and STURON
Parsnip - GLADIATOR
Potatoes – LADY CHRYSTL and CHARLOTTE
HOME GREENHOUSES – currently hold the full range of brassicas, lettuce, beetroot, spring onion, onions, leeks, sweet peppers, chillies and 5 varieties of tomatoes. Later sowings will include cucumbers, squash, pumpkin, courgettes, runner and French beans.
MARCH 2021
Once again a huge thank you to Peter for contributing his thoughts and activities and hopefully we can catch up with his growing successes during the year.
I maintain two full-sized 10 rod plots, assisted by good friend Dave Wallace, who keeps the grass cut, waters while I am away, enjoys the DIY and generally keeps things neat and tidy. I dare not set out a crooked line!
With the prevalence of destructive wildlife on the plots it has been hugely beneficial to have robust barriers in place to enable the successful growing of such vulnerable crops as sweet corn, peas, brassicas and soft fruit. We have constructed 2 more small scale barriers which means we can follow correct crop rotation.
Thanks to a gift from Ray Lawrence the first attempt growing tromboncinos was a success. It was a bonus that, as well as adding to the menu it also proved to have excellent storage qualities.
This year looks like it is going to be a bumper year for our Kent Cob Nuts. (Due to previous surplus we are still eating nuts that have been 3 years in storage.) Nature never fails to impress as the male hazel catkins reach peak pollination just as the tiny red female flowers emerge on the branches to grow on to be this year’s cob nuts. Next winter it will be time to reduce the size of the two original trees so we have allowed 6 new shoots to develop from the base of the trees to replace the mature trunks that we will remove. The year after we will do the same with the other two trees which were grown from cuttings from the original trees. The mice help themselves to the ripe nuts. They eat some immediately, but others they bury. They forget where some are stored and the nuts germinate and grow. I retrieve these and pot them up to grow on. If anyone would like two plants ( two are needed for cross-pollination) please let me know. As the plants have been raised from nuts the resulting plants will revert back to hazel trees as opposed to true Kent Cob nuts, but nevertheless produce a very worthwhile crop. If the saplings had been grown from cuttings they would be true Kent Cob nuts.
Also with an eye for renewal 4 blackcurrant cuttings, 2 josta berry cuttings and a gogi berry cutting are being established to replace ageing parent plants. In addition to the 9 blueberry plants in the main cage, 6 others have been planted in the wired polytunnel. 3 of these are in the shaded side and do not look happy and so will be relocated. 6 other developing blueberry plants are also now ready for planting in ericaceous compost. Cuttings will again be taken from the most productive plants in July. The main blueberry area was restructured in March with new membrane laid to reduce maintenance and 9 pots were re-positioned.
A new strawberry bed was established using runners from the best of the now ageing strawberry plants in the existing bed. Two years ago this new bed’s development was started by becoming that year’s compost site. The year after the compost had matured sufficiently to grow the season’s courgettes prior to becoming the fertile new strawberry bed.
Although last year was a bumper year for soft fruit as well as apples, pears, plums and cherries, the apples were badly infested with codling moth larvae. To remedy this a winter wash has been applied as well as circling every tree trunk with a sticky collar.
Garlic was planted in late Autumn. The best cloves are saved each year, only from the very best specimens which I have developed over many years from the original stock “SOLENT WIGHT”, so they have become very well adapted to the conditions on the allotment and produce a good yield of long storing cloves.
To feed my obsession with growing peas 4 trenches have been dug out in the main cage to a depth of 2 spades, manured and covered over to settle before sowing. The first row was sown and protected with cloches in early February with the hardy, round seeded METEOR variety. I find this has better flavour than the other hardy variety FELTHAM FIRST. For succession, in early March the next row was sown with wrinkle seeded, sweeter ALDERMAN – a 6 foot tall variety that will take longer to crop. Next will be the best flavour of all – HURST GREEN SHAFT. So sweet the birds would devour it if it were not under protection of the cage.
Cloches have been in place for several weeks warming the soil in preparation for sowing of salad crops. Successional sowings of broad beans are established. Onion sets and shallots are in the ground. Autumn and Summer raspberries along with all other soft fruits have been pruned. Asparagus beds and raised beds have been mulched with manure. Potato trenches have also been manured in preparation for seed potatoes. A row of LADY CHRYSTL and a row of ARRAN PILOT were planted 2 weeks apart (Early and Mid March). Later plantings will be CHARLOTTE and DESIREE.
A new rhubarb bed was planted with 3 different varieties last year as the original rhubarb bed is ageing. The old crowns are now covered by bins to force the last crop before being dug up to create more space. I only force crowns that are over 2 years old and after cropping the forced rhubarb I do not harvest any more for a while to allow the crown to recover. After this year the forced crowns will no longer be productive enough to justify their space.
The next direct sowings will consist of:
Broad beans – AQUADULCE then EXHIBITION LONGPOD
Lettuce – LITTLE GEM and TOM THUMB
Radish – FRENCH BREAKFAST
Carrots – AMSTERDAM FORCING then EARLY NANTES
Beetroot – BOLTARDY then DETROIT GLOBE
Spring onion – WHITE LISBON
Onion – RED BARON and STURON
Parsnip - GLADIATOR
Potatoes – LADY CHRYSTL and CHARLOTTE
HOME GREENHOUSES – currently hold the full range of brassicas, lettuce, beetroot, spring onion, onions, leeks, sweet peppers, chillies and 5 varieties of tomatoes. Later sowings will include cucumbers, squash, pumpkin, courgettes, runner and French beans.
MARCH 2021
Once again a huge thank you to Peter for contributing his thoughts and activities and hopefully we can catch up with his growing successes during the year.